epoxy and varnish for log house?

[surfdory]

I've built wooden boats and used plenty of epoxy and varnish, and it all makes sense and works great. Now I'm trying to learn what I can about refinishing the exterior of a log house in North Carolina. Hasn't been coated in over ten years. And carpenter bees have drilled hundreds of holes I need to fill. Can I use an epoxy thickened with wood flour and/or borax to fill the holes/damage? And none of the info suggests using varnish. But it doesn't explain why not, either. Anyone here know? Thanks!

[Nicholas Carey]

What good would borax in epoxy do? It needs to be in an aqueous solution to be effective.

You want Tim-Bor : https://www.borax.com/products/tim-bor

And/or System Three's "EndRot" system:

Bor-8 Rods: https://www.systemthree.com/products/borate-rods

Bor-8 Powder: https://www.systemthree.com/products/borate-powder

System Three also makes other products specifically designed for your use cases. https://www.systemthree.com/collections/rot-repair

[cyclone]

My father-in-law settled on re-coating his log home with a linseed oil/turpentine/pine tar/Japan dryer mix applied either by brush or spray. It soaks in well, deters the carpenter bees somewhat and can be reapplied easily. Varnish or polyurethane will eventually flake and peel and need scraping. Suppliers of log home kits also recommend specific coatings. Epoxy seems like overkill and is not very UV resistant.

[surfdory]

What good would borax in epoxy do? It needs to be in an aqueous solution to be effective.

You want Tim-Bor : https://www.borax.com/products/tim-bor

And/or System Three's "EndRot" system:

Bor-8 Rods: https://www.systemthree.com/products/borate-rods

Bor-8 Powder: https://www.systemthree.com/products/borate-powder

System Three also makes other products specifically designed for your use cases. https://www.systemthree.com/collections/rot-repair

Thanks, just what I was looking for.

[jpatrick]

For the hole filling aspect... I would think the easiest solution would be a dab of polyurethane adhesive and a short length of dowel hammered in would be effective. Then treat the logs with your borax, oil, or whatever.

Jeff

[Etdbob]

Any kind of varnish or epoxy will peel with exposure to the sun.
When I built our little trappers tilt I used some kind of free leftover wood preservative I found at a recycle center. Don't remember what it was - Its held up fine but my tilt doesn't get much sun exposure.

The best thing to do is build the cabin with healthy overhangs to keep water and as much sun as possible off the walls.

There are plenty of pigmented stains and preservatives out there. I'm familiar with some of the Cabot timber oil products having worked at an Ace Hardware, tell ya the truth, they got an awful lot of linseed and tung oil in them! Some of the pigmented deck stains are quite durable and cheaper than actual "log home" products. They will change the color of the home though, but might be worth looking into.

"RotFix" is a very popular product for repairing old cabins. It is a thin, penetrating epoxy. It does need a top coat.

Hey, I wonder if this stuff would be good for sealing a plywood boat??? I gotta look into that....

"Outlast Q8 log oil" is said to be good, it contains various solvents and copper to kill stuff, needs to be reapplied every few years of course.

- Any good exterior latex paint would work very well indeed! It's one of the best things for protecting wood exposed to the elements. Cheap too. In Alaska they do paint cabins bright colors -


SAM_5880.jpg

[heimlaga]

I work partially in log house restoration. The oldest one I have worked on was built in the 1690-ies.

Never ever use latex paint or varnish on a log house you want to keep. The logs will always crack and there will always be bare wood surfaces inside the cracks which will always let water in. If you prevent that water from evaporating the logs are bound to rot out. To hell with all those stains and varnishes. They provide me with a never ending supply of potential customers and the makers with e never ending supply of money and house owners with never ending trouble.

The only two treatments that seem to work are either some sort of pine tar and linseed oil mix or Swedish style red paint "Falu Rödfärg" made from pigment, iron sulphate and rye flour without anything that would form a moisture barrier.

[Rich Jones]

I built our log home 27 years ago and recoat with oil stain every 8-9 years.
I prefer the oil since it really soaks into the wood and is naturally water resistant.
What stain is on the house now?
You can't put oil stain over latex stain. You must remove the latex stain first.
So, if it is covered in latex stain, I would use the same.
I have heard that you can put latex stain over oil stain, but why bother? Oil is so much better.
As for the bug holes, fill with your choice of filler as long as it's waterproof.

[surfdory]

I've learned a lot already. Putting latex paint on logs is highly discouraged. It had oil stain applied 11 years ago. Still a little misunderstanding whether cleaning the logs with high-pressure water, or sand, or corncob grit is best.

[robm]

In my limited experience, sandblasting wood is a bad idea. Water might be a problem, too, as the whole point is to prepare for some kind of sealing coat, so adding water is not a good idea. The corn cobs seem to fit the bill, but try them on some inconspicuous part first, just in case.

[willin woodworks]

We always used Anchorseal on half timbered houses. Should work on logs I think.