Hi. I've just finished putting 3 coats of spar varnish on my cedar
mailbox. (It's only taken me about five months to get this far, so I'm
really cooking with gas now!) I planned not to worry about a few holes here
and there, since I made it out of wood reclaimed from the windows I replaced
last fall. But after seeing how nice the varnish makes the wood look, the
nail holes seem a little out of place. Can you suggest the best way for me
to fill them? It's going to be exposed to at least +/- 30 degC temperatures
plus every kind of precipitation. The wood is only 3/8" thick so it
wouldn't be very easy to make plugs.

I'm mostly worried that water will get in them, rust the nails and stain
the wood from the inside. (I didn't happen to have stainless steel nails at
the time.) Should I be concerned, or will slopping a little more spar
varnish over them do the trick?

- Owen -

Bondo, the auto botty repair material makes a great hole filler in wood and
the tan color helps it match wood projects. It's also quite weather proof
and easy to obtain and use. You should have used stainless nails, as any
moisture in the wood at all will cause steel nails to rust and it will leave
stains down the outside of the wood. The bondo should help minimize water
ingress and prolong it's life though. You will need to varnish over it, and
then apply several more coats every year or so to keep it weatherized as
spar varnish doesn't last forever either. How well sealed are the joints
between the boards?

--
Charley

"Owen Lawrence" wrote in message
...
Hi. I've just finished putting 3 coats of spar varnish on my cedar
mailbox. (It's only taken me about five months to get this far, so I'm
really cooking with gas now!) I planned not to worry about a few holes
here
and there, since I made it out of wood reclaimed from the windows I
replaced
last fall. But after seeing how nice the varnish makes the wood look, the
nail holes seem a little out of place. Can you suggest the best way for
me
to fill them? It's going to be exposed to at least +/- 30 degC
temperatures
plus every kind of precipitation. The wood is only 3/8" thick so it
wouldn't be very easy to make plugs.

I'm mostly worried that water will get in them, rust the nails and
stain
the wood from the inside. (I didn't happen to have stainless steel nails
at
the time.) Should I be concerned, or will slopping a little more spar
varnish over them do the trick?

- Owen -

Owen Lawrence wrote:

I'm mostly worried that water will get in them, rust the nails
and stain
the wood from the inside. (I didn't happen to have stainless steel
nails at
the time.) Should I be concerned, or will slopping a little more spar
varnish over them do the trick?

I'll put my money on the nails rusting whether the heads are plugged
or not.

Spot putty would seal, but it is red and look like ugly on an ape on
cedar.

My choice would be epoxy thickened with micro-balloons.

Nail will probably still rust, it will just take longer.

It is white so you will have to play with tints to get a color you like.

Lew

O
I'll put my money on the nails rusting whether the heads are plugged
or not.

My choice would be epoxy thickened with micro-balloons.

Nail will probably still rust, it will just take longer.


Lew


Agreement on the epoxy only because it will flow and bind with the
wood better than Bondo and has a bit more flex for
expansion/contraction. The nails will still rust because that's what
iron nails do reguardless where they are.

Pete

I'll put my money on the nails rusting whether the heads are plugged
or not.

My choice would be epoxy thickened with micro-balloons.

Nail will probably still rust, it will just take longer.


Lew


Agreement on the epoxy only because it will flow and bind with the
wood better than Bondo and has a bit more flex for
expansion/contraction. The nails will still rust because that's what
iron nails do reguardless where they are.

Pete

I never expected this mailbox to last forever, so if it starts looking bad
I'll build another. I'm replacing a store-bought one that didn't last
forever either. Epoxy it is. Thanks.

- Owen -

The ultimate involves plugging the holes with the same cedar. Get
yrself a plug cutter, cut a few plugs out of some left over cedar
pieces, drill the holes, tap the plugs in, saw flush and finish. (Use
a dab of that varnish - as a glue - in the hole before the plug goes
in. ) Nice project, and really, really nice results.

AS

"ashore" wrote in message
oups.com...
The ultimate involves plugging the holes with the same cedar. Get
yrself a plug cutter, cut a few plugs out of some left over cedar
pieces, drill the holes, tap the plugs in, saw flush and finish. (Use
a dab of that varnish - as a glue - in the hole before the plug goes
in. ) Nice project, and really, really nice results.


I have a plug cutter and have done this on other projects. I didn't bother
with this one because a) the wood is too thin and b) I never cared enough
about it until the last minute. I don't plan to stay in this house for many
more years; the ultimate mailbox will get built once I know where I'm going
to end up. I'm hoping it's a place with acres of hardwood forest.

Well I'm off to visit a friend whose building his log house in just such a
forest. I'm very excited because he tells me trees are mine for the asking,
and there are burls everywhere. We're mapping the place today for a Managed
Forest grant. Woohoo!

- Owen -