I searched and couldn't find...

...a decent thread that talks about preserving the tikis we have. Mine are outdoors.
After seeing what the weather has done to the ones at the Mai Kai over the last 5 days, I need to know how to take care of my BK, Lake Surfer and Tiki Tony tikis, as well as the ones I got on the islands.

If you can, please explain it to me using brand names. Tiki Tony told me to use Marine Varnish and the only place I can find it is on line at a cost of about 100 dollars a gallon with shipping. I mean, I live in Tampa, a port city, and have asked several boat supply houses and none can help me. They want me to basically set the things in epoxy and I'm unwilling to do that.

Surely I'm missing something there.

HELLLPPPPPPP!!!!

I like McCloskey Man'o'War Spar Varnish, from Home Depot, for about $44 a gallon, and $14 a quart.

yeah, i used mccloskey's from home depot on the huge-ass fatutu in my backyard. i used a whole gallon on him, but it looks like it'll be a few years before i need to re-varnish him.

You can use Any kind of varnish, it really makes no difference. The MAIN thing is to give the tiki 3 or 4 coats every year. Just dumping a gob of finish is not the same as multiple coats. If you do it when it doesn't seem to Need it then you are Ahead of the game. Sand the tiki with 220 grit paper and brush or spray a thin coat. let it dry and re coat sanding between coats. Be Sure to read the directions because every maker has different drying times for between coats.
In My experience, This is the Best way to preserve your tikis.

i did give him 2 coats and i will follow your instuctions. mahalo ben!

spar is by far my favorite too, but I've lately tried to stop using oil based paint and such and have found that minwax water based polyurethane does a good job. Because it's water based, (and depending on the amount of direct weather and sunlight the tikis are exposed to) it will need to be recoated more often (like possibly once or twice every year, or almost never if it's protected). HOwever, tiki placement also plays an important role as well (if you have that option). the more out of the weather a tiki is, the less it will weather. Minwax is inexpensive, available at HO depot and needs at least 3 coats to be effective for a period of time.

Sounds like you've got some beauties! (I saw the tIki tOny one you have at an art show and love it!)

edited 'cause I make a boo-boo!

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2007-09-04 18:00 ]

Pabby, I used Minwax Satin Poly on the one you bought from me. About 4 coats.

This fall I'm trying something different for the ones I made in the yard... they are not getting any poly at all. Just stain. Gonna see how they weather.

Your tiki was a good chunk of pine, might have even been ash. You'll find woods like that will weather your conditions better than palm tikis.

Any varnish that's rated for outdoors should work fine. I'd be hesitant about varnishes that are indoor only, I have some tables that I did with indoor polyurethane and they're cracking now.

There's a really good book called understanding wood finishing by Bob Flexner that I highly recommend if you want to learn more about finishing.

It's just wood, so any place that deals with outdoor wood furniture should have stuff that will work for you.

I know nothing about wooden tikis - but wouldn't a good soaking in a penetrating oil do the trick? We used a watered down vaseline (petroleum jelly) on our windowsills. Or maybe some form of wax?

There is a marine varnish which soaks well into the wood - but it smells oil based, and seals the wood so it no longer 'feels' alive. We used it on the boat - great for that application.

My 2 cents.

KS

pablus
Keep them inside. They will last alot longer.
Will

INSIDE?
That's gotta be that Jersey humor coming through.
Bring me up one of them concrete children you're spawning, brother.
You can hang here for a while and paint some of these for me. :wink:

Thanks for the input folks. Knowing how I am and mainly how I'm not, I'll elect the easiest method to preserve them for as long as possible and just hope for the best. I already lost one last year but it was probably 6 years old and I found it under a trailer.

You wouldn't believe how excited that tiki was when he found out his permanent home was at the Rusty Key.
Any life he has there is better than the snow and cold he would have encountered up here.

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2007-09-05 13:17 ]

Wonderful back yard!

What about Thompson's Water Seal (or equivalent) for decks. You know the cheap stuff for less than $20/gallon. A gallon goes a long way! This soaks in to wood very well and water just sheds off it. It is easy to spray on using an ordinary garden sprayer, so you can soak a tiki within a couple of minutes so even applying a couple/few times a year doesn't take a lot of time like poly does. It also goes on clear allowing the natural wood color to show through.

I've used this for years.

you only need to sand inbetween coats if the previous coat is dry....otherwise, you can apply another coat while the first coat is still tacky. The coats will bond together better forming one solid shell of protection as opposed to the "rings of a tree" application by allowing it to dry between coats. Both ways will work and get you where you need to be....the process of sanding each coat is only to provide a "tooth" for the next coat to grip, but if the first coat is tacky, the sanding is unnecessary as both coats will meld together to form one solid coat. ..also, if you allow it to dry between coats and don't sand in all the nooks and crannys, the next coat will hold weakly in those areas and you will see them bubble over time cause the second coat had nothing to grip to....

I used thompsons water seal because I didnt want that built up slick look of varnish...

the best part was the soaking in...

I didnt even use a paint brush... I just poured enough over an area to not drip off and when it soaked... I poured on some more..

its an unfinished palm log tiki (very porous) and it seems to work really well without changing the color of the wood.

Olive Oil works for me!

OK I finally got around to taking care of this.
Or at least beginning to.

There's a giant hole forming in the head of the Fatutu. It's a foot around and about 8 inches deep. I have to put some sort of insect kill on it first.

Then I need, I think, to fill it with something. I've heard "concrete patch" but I'm unsure of that.

I've got water seal for the top and the rough parts after it has been filled up top and then some urethane for the smoother parts on the front.

My question is - what do I fill it with that will last a while and won't expand and tear it apart?

[ Edited by: 2008-05-24 10:27 ]

Pablus,
Like Ben said, you just have to stay ahead of the program in FL. Its so burtal with the sun. If you have the tiki in the yard, make sure it's on a paver stone and not the raw ground. That will help it drain water when it gets wet and not soak up ground water. Its a no win in the sunshine state mang. I'm to the point that I will coat my guys a few times a year,and I'm still loosing a few.

clean out all the loose material. turn it upside down. go to the marine store get something called GIT-ROT. it is for dry rot in boats . basicly it is fiberglass resin but it sets up alot slower,giving it time to penitrate into the wood. READ the instructions.aftreward when the first app. is dry, mix up abatch of the same stuff with sawdust making a filler. trowel it into the hole, let it all set up and harden.do this whith all of the soft spots. when you are done ,if you MUST have your carved wood outside, THOMPSONS!!!!or another brand of ....wait for it ...PENNETRATING WOOD PROTECTOR. do not try to seal the wood with poly or shelac. WATER ALWAYS FINDS A WAY.and if you seal the wood you will just seal the water in that found a way.keep the water out by already having something in there....Thompsons. it's water 101-'you can not beat water ,only control it'

"just my opinion,i could be wrong"

[ Edited by: TIKI DAVID 2008-05-25 09:32 ]

i just noticed that this is a plam log, good it;s like a sponge apply the thompsons while it is sitting in a big dish so the thompsons 'can wick up '