Finishing wooden shelves & handle


 
Carlos Estrada

Carlos Estrada

TVWBB Member
To my surprise, what i thought was durawood, is actually grey painted wood. I just finished sanding & cleaning the wood. Now I need help finishing it. I've researched this site & found info on teak oil, lacquer & spar varnish. My grill will be covered & under a porch, I might even store it in the garage. I also live in southern California where there's a drought, so humidity is low. Does anyone recognize the species of wood & have any recommendations on what formula to use. My goal is to keep the wood protected, not stray too far from natural color & keep it simple to maintain. Any input is appreciated.


 
I'm not sure of the species, but I sanded the gray paint off of mine as well and finished with Minwax Pro Series spar varnish (satin). It was easy to apply with a foam brush, and dried pretty quickly between coats. I did 3 coats and it looks great! I can't speak to how long it'll hold up but it's been a couple months in coastal New England and still looks like the day I finished it.
 
That looks like cedar but I don't know for sure. I think the thing to do is to choose a stain that you like and use that and then use a good sealer. The idea is to make it your own. The same holds true for most things we do with BBQ. As an example, after taking Harry Soo's class, I have been using the SYD rub that he taught us how to make and now I am going to modify the recipe to make it my own. In my case, my wife thinks it is to salty so I will make a version that is less salty. Both her doctor and my doctor want to see us use less salt so a change like this will be good for us. The same holds true for your wood. Make it something that you will love because you are the one that has to live with it. If I remember when I stained the wood on my Genesis rehab I used a cherry stain and I love the way it looks with my redhead lid. It is yours, make it what you want.
 
I happen to like the look of spar varnish. It can have that deep gloss that looks like you could fall in. But that is me.
I'd go with a color stain in a blue, perhaps an indigo, or maybe a red, and then spar varnish over it.
 
I'd use several coats of a good sanding sealer (sanding in between coats), and then finish with spar varnish.
 
Hey all, this is all great info. I decided to keep the wood natural looking & finish it with spar varnish. I'll post pix of my grill as I get closer to finishing it. Thanks all
 
I've had great results so far with Spar Varnish. the slats on my grill still look like the day I finished them a year ago.
 
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