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Spar Urethane


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
In another thread, the conversation drifted to the best way to stain (or not to stain) wood slats. Some advocate using an oil stain only. Others believe a quality spar (not poly) urethane is the way to go. I am getting ready - I hope - to start doing a lot of slats, so sharing opinions before I start could be very helpful.

I have already purchased McCloskey Man O War spar urethane to add to my assortment that includes the more common Helmsman spar. The McCloskey is expensive but gets very strong reviews as a "marine grade" spar urethane.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000LNS882/tvwb-20

I recently squeeze a little time to work on some Weber kettle grill handles. Two were brand new replicas and two were 17-year old originals. The new ones looked nice but not very protected. The old originals were dirty, faded and the logos were mostly gone. I sanded these, re-stained, and then my artist friend generously hand-painted the Weber logo, including the kettle. Then I coated with three coats of the Helmsman gloss urethane. I think my friend's work came out really well. What do you think?

30t17cp.jpg


You can see that the nice new spar urethane coating easily repels a Florida quick shower. Of course, the real test is the long haul.

IF YOUR ARE INTERESTED, I WILL BE POSTING A SEPARATE THREAD IN THE KETTLE GRILLS SECTION SHOWING MY FINISHED '00 26" BLACK FLAT TOP. I PLAN TO MAKE IT MY RIB MACHINE:o!

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?75253-My-reborn-00-26-quot-Flat-top-Black-Weber-Kettle

The slats I plan to work on next are made out of red oak. I know a lot of people don't agree with using this wood, but it has the dark, urban look I want for my Skyline project and since I have enough for another grill I am going to experiment with a lighter stain for another black hood grill. My current plan is to go multiple coats with the McCloskey Man O War and pay careful attention to the ends.

Do you think I am on the right track based on using red oak?
 
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I'm just interested in how the oak comes out. I like how it looks on my grill, and as I've lamented again and again on here, I need to spar my oak.

Best of luck, and that kettle handle looks fantastic!

Tim
 
Jon Tofte said:
In another thread, the conversation drifted to the best way to stain (or not to stain) wood slats. Some advocate using an oil stain only. Others believe a quality spar (not poly) urethane is the way to go. I am getting ready - I hope - to start doing a lot of slats, so sharing opinions before I start could be very helpful.

I have already purchased McCloskey Man O War spar urethane to add to my assortment that includes the more common Helmsman spar. The McCloskey is expensive but gets very strong reviews as a "marine grade" spar urethane.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000LNS882/tvwb-20

I recently squeeze a little time to work on some Weber kettle grill handles. Two were brand new replicas and two were 17-year old originals. The new ones looked nice but not very protected. The old originals were dirty, faded and the logos were mostly gone. I sanded these, re-stained, and then my artist friend generously hand-painted the Weber logo, including the kettle. Then I coated with three coats of the Helmsman gloss urethane. I think my friend's work came out really well. What do you think?

30t17cp.jpg


You can see that the nice new spar urethane coating easily repels a Florida quick shower. Of course, the real test is the long haul.

IF YOUR ARE INTERESTED, I WILL BE POSTING A SEPARATE THREAD IN THE KETTLE GRILLS SECTION SHOWING MY FINISHED '00 26" BLACK FLAT TOP. I PLAN TO MAKE IT MY RIB MACHINE:o!

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?75253-My-reborn-00-26-quot-Flat-top-Black-Weber-Kettle

The slats I plan to work on next are made out of red oak. I know a lot of people don't agree with using this wood, but it has the dark, urban look I want for my Skyline project and since I have enough for another grill I am going to experiment with a lighter stain for another black hood grill. My current plan is to go multiple coats with the McCloskey Man O War and pay careful attention to the ends.

Do you think I am on the right track based on using red oak?
Click to expand...

Red oak—the kind that's commonly used for furniture and molding in houses—is not suitable for outdoor use. But a cousin to that wood, known as white oak, is an excellent outdoor wood. It's a dense, durable hardwood that's very strong. ... White oak is a premium hardwood, and carries a price to match.

Jon, if you got the wood already and use the spar hopefully it will be okay. At the worst down the line your out your labor and materials.
 
How does that stuff hold up to heat? I assume those kettle handles get fairly hot. I was wondering how it would hold up on a Genesis 1000 handle. I know they can get pretty hot for an extended period of time.
 
Bruce said:
How does that stuff hold up to heat? I assume those kettle handles get fairly hot. I was wondering how it would hold up on a Genesis 1000 handle. I know they can get pretty hot for an extended period of time.
Click to expand...

The kettle handle in my picture is an original oem Weber one. I don’t know what kind of wood they used, but it is a hard wood of some type. I wonder if it is the white oak that Brian referred to. The stain brings out the grain and is similar to what the originals looked like. There was definitely some variations in the shades and grain, however. They put some varnish on them, I think, but nothing like the three coats of spar that I did on these.

These handles do get a fair amount of heat, probably similar to the closest slats on a gas grill table. In both cases the small gap makes the difference and keeps them from burning.
 
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It probably is white oak its a small piece and the quantities they would be buying for those handles would make it pretty inexpensive. I would hope its not red oak they would kinda of be really cutting corners.

I don't see an issue using it for a 1000 handle the cedar gets pretty hot also when burning it off and cooking.

I got that red oak quote from a site that does outdoor projects and discusses the various woods for outdoor use.

http://www.kregtool.com/files/newsletters/kregplus/june13.html
 
Brian,
I think that there is a very good chance that white oak is what Weber used for the kettle handles back in the day before they went to high heat plastic. It has the feel and appearance that the article you linked describes.

I am already way too far in with my red oak pieces to quit now. I will spar urethane like crazy and hope for the best. I do know, at least, for however long it lasts it will have stunning grain;)! If I decide to do another oak slat set I will at least see what options there are for getting white oak. I have tried to get redwood through special order at our local family lumber yard, but they couldn’t source it. Maybe if I lived out west...Cedar keeps coming back as the most obvious choice. That’s probably why Weber used it.
 
Jon, I think if you get enough spar on it will be fine don't think you can get redwood here either but never really looked and most likely the cost would be off the planet.

I know sure your the same way in the summer the deck is soaking wet in the morning and if my grill was not covered it would be the same cause of the humidity and the dew. A few weeks ago and again to many friends and to much wine when I was done cooking letting the grill cool down forgot about it so the cover did not get back on. You would have thought it rained thats how much water was on the grill in the morning and it did not rain.
 
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