bamboo clear coat

This is my first post. How ironic that I am a tiki fan and never knew this site existed. I have enjoyed reading and looking at all the pictures that everyone has posted. I have my own little tiki "escape" in my backyard. I am wondering if anyone has any tips for sealing bamboo. I found a 12'x4' bamboo wall of sorts that I have attached to my house. It is made of real bamboo and is wired together. It is only about 6 months old and it is looking very discolored and old. Anyone have this problem and if you do what works well to seal this stuff?

Detikiful,

Welcome to TC.

There are many more with far greater experience with 'Boo' on these boards than I (cough Bamboo Ben), but, I will suggest spraying polyurethane (clear gloss or satin) directly to it before it patinas (gets grey from the elements)on you. I have much larger boo that I let sit on the side of my house for years literally and all I have to do to bring it back is to sand it and poly it. It turns out beautiful as the day it was cut.

Hold off on doing anything until others pile into this thread.

Mahalo

McTiki

[ Edited by: McTiki 2006-09-25 17:30 ]

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't sure sanding would work but it is worth a shot. It is too cool of a piece to let it get all weathered.

brush on spar varnish. No spray.

no spray. Why?

the brush pushes the finish into the bamboo and all the little crevices...doesnt just lightly sit on top

and when you are spraying larger areas... the spray ends up overspraying and you throw away 25% of the product into thin air.

IMO

[ Edited by: Monkeyman 2006-09-26 18:29 ]

The guys at Oceanic arts told me to use steel wool instead of sandpaper. Did the trick.

I was going to ask about finishing Boo as I have access to a ton of it from my friend and I want to build a bar. Two followup questions:

1. Is there a preferred fire retardant treatment which could be used? Do any of you add this to your creations?

2. What do you use to strap Boo poles together? Where do you get it and how is it handled?

Thanks!

I-tiki

Gheeez...leave it to the newbies (including myself) to worship all of you experts. What a great question detikiful!! I have a fabulous large Bamboo set on my front patio and it is only a year old...but the shine is gone from the sun & the rain. I was thinking about posting the same type of a question....so I will keep my eye on this thread. Great minds think TIKI!!! :)

Just got a batch of bamboo poles from a freecycle ad last weekend. This fella had to cut down a grove of it because the city is making him. It took me about 30 minutes to get there and with a machete and pruner I quickly had quite a pile. Now I have them laid out horizontally so that the rains can rinse them off. The greener ones need to cure to brown but I hope to put these to use soon. Gotta love free bamboo! Crummy cel phone pictures but you get the idea.

Me and my little assistant.

Nice score 8 ft!

A good product to use for your bamboo in an outdoor setting would be Sikkens (the one phase stuff is easier) Cetol SRD. It has a UV protectant as well as sealant against moisture. The trick with steel wool is a good suggestion too.

8 ft, you're a beach combing family in spirit if not in deed. Let us know what you do with all that bamboo.

This might Help with graying bamboo, my Tiki bar was looking pretty sad after a year in the NY weather so when spring came I made a mixture of bleach and water put it in a spray bottle and hit the bamboo. the gray pretty much fell off I used a scotch brite pad on spots that were a little darker, I hit the bamboo with the hose washed it down good and let it dry, after a gave it a few coats of Thomsons water seal and it looks like new, Hope this Helps, EyeballJohn

I am very interested in this thread- i know it's rather old but I really thought there would be more suggestions. If anyone has more to offer please hit me up. I can cut bamboo by the truck loads but I have no experience drying, finishing and sealing the stuff properly....Help.

On 2010-01-31 08:12, whiskeyblood wrote:
I am very interested in this thread- i know it's rather old but I really thought there would be more suggestions. If anyone has more to offer please hit me up. I can cut bamboo by the truck loads but I have no experience drying, finishing and sealing the stuff properly....Help.

china???

Not China! lol I am in Georgia just north of Atlanta. There are tons of people that planted it but it but have let it get out of control with the spreading it does- many will just let you cut what you want.

not a bad idea to put a fire retardant on it if you use it inside.

a friend of mine has some bamboo growing in his yard. he gave me some that he cut down.

I would like to use it in my TiKi bar but don't know anything about drying or sealing it.
the bamboo is 2 to 4 inches in diameter, 9 to 15 feet in length, ranging in color from green to brown.

any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Has anyone ever used this product?

http://www.calibamboo.com/bamboo-sealer-and-protectant.html