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Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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Posted by
marita40 (
My Page) on
Mon, May 23, 05 at 8:25
| I'm staining and sealing a new unfinished oak exterior door. It is south facing in a brutal climate (Minnesota) although it will be protected by a good screen door. I received advice on this forum to use a UV protected marine spar urethane and I was going to buy the Minwax Helmsman. I just noticed, however, that Minwax also has what looks to be an even more durable exterior-type protective coat called Clear Shield. Clear Shield, it says, "is a great choice for wood finishing projects that need a clear finish that stands up to nature's elements." Any advice on which finish would be best? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Generally, clear finishes have little or no UV protective properties. Look on the can to see it the Clear Shield has any. |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Clear Shield does say it has UV protectors. What I can't figure out is how it actually differs from Helmsman. The (untrained) clerk at Menards said "it is the same thing only stronger." HandyMac, what exactly is a "clear finish" (versus a varnish or poly?) |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| For the longest lasting protection, use an exterior oil based trim and siding paint without color mixed in. This is generally referred to as a neutral base #4 (#5 with Olympic). The oil based products dry clear and will amber like spar varnish does. They last a lot longer than varnishes due to the addition of mildew and fungi killers and UV inhibitors. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Wood door finishing
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| In the link jrdwyer provided is a really good article on the tint base idea. I had never heard of using a tint base---but---paint is a better protectant than clear or opaque finishes. The tint bases recommended are simply clear paint. I've learned something here too! Besides, the article was posted by Howard Acheson, who is very knowledgeable about finishing. I know Howie from another forum where he is one of the 'finishing guru's'. |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| This is a very interesting topic. I'm new to woodworking, drawn here as my new wood door is being installed and learning from my GC that a nonpainted door will not hold up for long if it gets any sun exposure. Who knew? Guess this isn't something I've paid any attention to in the past, but am learning way too much as we build our house. Anyway, I figured I could learn alot from you guys over here in WW and I sure did! Thanks for the info. My GC went to the paint store yesterday, with the above linked article in hand (which I printed and gave to him), and I'm sure you'll be surprised to know received some resistance but willingness on the part of the clerk and a few customer painters in the store to do the paint stick experiment. He let them all read the article too, I guess while the stick dried. Success ~ it worked and caused quite a bit of painter excitement for our little town. My GC left the store with #4 in hand to experiment with at home. I'm half expecting to be interviewed by our local paper if this gets out. :o) Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Thanks for your replies and the interesting information about the clear paint finish idea. I also decided to try it! Went down to my local paint store (they also sell lots of woodworking stuff) and also met with considerable skepticism on the part of the clerk. I insisted, he gave me the "well I'll just humor the little lady" look, and I left $26.00 dollars poorer with a quart of Benjamin Moore exterior oil tint base #4. It looks anything but clear in the can--a murky greenish gunk. I tried it on a sample piece of oak, stained with a Minwax stain. To my surprise it went on clear--no waiting for it to dry to become clear. I'm testing it next to a sample coated with Helmsman. We'll see how the samples look after sitting out in the hot sun for a few weeks, but right now they look exactly the same. |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Is there any more feedback out there? How are your doors looking now? I'm a desperate man about to pull the trigger. Can I pull the trigger on my one-quart siphon gun, or should it be brushed? |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Here is an updated link, perhaps similar to the one referenced above. Read deeply and you will see the expected half life of Helmsman is a matter of weeks. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Oil based deep base as a clear exterior finish
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| I tried two samples of oil paint deep base. Benj Moore left a green cast on fairly light colored wood and Porters deep base was tan. I think that either may work with thin coats on a dark wood. Both took more than a day to dry. That will be a real problem on a front door. I guess we will cover it with plastic and leave it part open. If you close it too soon you'll have to start over. When the weather warms, I plan to strip the door, stain and do the Porters. |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Stevega- I think the Neutral tint base is the clear one. You say you used the deep tint base. Try the Porters neutral base and see if it dries clear. |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| I am amazed by this advice. Unfortunately the article links are now dead ends. I've had a fiberglass faced front door, southern exposure/no storm door, that I've had to varnish about every six months using Minwax's Clearshield varnish. It chips away in spots over time, although the last treatment done in October 2010 seems to be holding up well. Could I switch over to oil based trim paint now, as suggested above, without removing the multiple coats of varnish? |
RE: Exterior oak door: Minwax Helmsman or Clear Shield?
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| Below is a link to an active version of the same information I posted above. In general, if a finish is flaking or peeling, you can't successfully just put a new finish over the top. Weakest link, etc. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Using paint as a finish.
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