What to seal wood with?

[Ms. Mymoney]

Took all my cockpit upholstery apart to have the shop recover it all. The back portions have a thin piece of wood as a frame and support for where the backs attach to the boat. The wood has a mild musty odor but are in good condition. Id like to seal the wood with something while its all apart to seal in that odor if possible. Anyone been down this road before? Some of my friends suggested Kilz paint but Im not sure how that would hold up in these conditions.

 

[Molson]

You can use a marine grade polyurethane, like Helmsman.

 

[Loneranger]

To seal it indefinitely then coating with epoxy would do it although it would be more expensive. I coat any wood on my boat that will be hidden or exposed to water with epoxy but I buy the stuff by the gallon so it is easy to do. You cannot do it with the prethickened epoxy available at most box stores. Look at west system epoxies if you want to go this route. You mix it without a thickening agent and it absorbs into the wood.

John

 

[Lazy Daze]

You might want to first spray the wood with a mild solution of bleach/water. And/or let them out in the sun for a few days. That should take care of any mold/mildew/fungus, etc.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I'd second the epoxy route as well. You can buy West System (no relation to West Marine) in a number of locations. I just re-stock my workshop and a gallon of resin was $100, and a set of plastic metering pumps, $ 15.00. Off the top of my head I don't recall what the hardeners would cost I buy a selection of the various sizes. For sealing wood, the 209 hardener would probably be the most appropriate.

In the case of musty smelling wood, you might want to give it a bath with a mild bleach and water solution, allow that to dry and then seal.

Henry

Edit; Dennis types faster than I do

 

[Ka1oxd]

I agree with the epoxy. If you really want it to soak into the wood, cut it by 25% with acetone. I did that on some wood of mine and it was amazing how is soaked in. But the time I got the first coat on, where I started it soaked in so far that I added a second and third coat right way. It hardened right up.