keezer build; collar staining question

So I have my black chest freezer and I have just finished building the collar with some nice looking oak. I cannot decide if i want to stain it or just keep the natural beauty of the oak. What do y'all think? Also, I am so excited to get this running that I wonder if I can go ahead and attach the collar and get running and then just stain and seal later when I make up my mind--is this a viable option or it will be too much of a pain in the ass?

I would worry about not finishing it all and being issues with water damage. I recently did an oak tap handle and just used some tung oil varnish and it was more golden oak than I wanted. It was a red oak log, but in retrospect I would've liked to have stained it. Maybe use a lighter brown stain like English chestnut and it will still preserve the nice grain. But it's all preference. I would recommend using some sort of finish to protect the wood long term.

gstrawn said:

I would worry about not finishing it all and being issues with water damage.

Click to expand...

I concur. Even if you don't stain it, you'll want to seal it. It will be much easier to do it now than it will be after it's mounted and the hardware is in place.

When I make mine, thinking about using particle board and then covering the surfaces with formica.

Hopefully my pic worked. I definitely liked the way the stain came out.



If you don't stain, I agree that you needed to seal the wood. Actually you need to seal either way...

thanks. I am going to go with the Minwax Polyshades Bombay Mahogany stain and poly in one. I looked at a bunch of images of it on oak and I think it looks pretty great, especially against the black keezer. Plus looks like you can still see the grain. and I will stain before gluing.

bwarbiany said:

Hopefully my pic worked. I definitely liked the way the stain came out.

View attachment 135411

If you don't stain, I agree that you needed to seal the wood. Actually you need to seal either way...

Click to expand...

nice build. I have a few questions: 1) are those drip trays just sheetrock mud trays? 2) how did you attach the driptrays? 3) is that just an already built moving dolly that you placed it on, or did you build that thing and fasten it to the freezer?

nolabrew85 said:

thanks. I am going to go with the Minwax Polyshades Bombay Mahogany stain and poly in one. I looked at a bunch of images of it on oak and I think it looks pretty great, especially against the black keezer. Plus looks like you can still see the grain. and I will stain before gluing.

Click to expand...

That's one of my favorite stains. It's great for small projects, not good at all for large projects (like floors). I made that mistake.

nolabrew85 said:

nice build. I have a few questions: 1) are those drip trays just sheetrock mud trays? 2) how did you attach the driptrays? 3) is that just an already built moving dolly that you placed it on, or did you build that thing and fasten it to the freezer?

Click to expand...

1) Yes...

2) Attached using HDD magnets. They hold pretty securely, but are still removable enough to pull them off and clean them out on a regular basis.

3) Built from scratch. I didn't actually fasten it to the freezer. The weight of everything is MORE than sufficient to hold it in place via just friction when I move it out to the backyard for parties. That said, one thing I'd like to do is to add a stained red oak skirt at the bottom to hide the pine, that will match the upper collar but likely be a 4" or 6" width piece instead of the ~10" piece on the upper collar.

Try to get outdoor use polyurethane. It stands up better to the colder, wet environment. Also, I was advised to put at least 5 coats. It took some time to finish but came out nice.

I second the opinion on the water damage. You need to definitely seal the inside of the collar using poly or something similar. One note about poly, multiple coats can build up to kind of look like plastic-y so you might want to watch how many coats you use on the outside. If you are considering other finishes, stay away from shellac, it is soluble in alcohol.

Also, any drips or spills on the unfinished wood might stain it to the point that the stain wouldn't cover it -- particularly with a natural or light color. That said, the inside of the collar is a great place to try out your finishing process to get a color you like. Or use any cut offs you might have left as sample boards.

Brews said:

Try to get outdoor use polyurethane. It stands up better to the colder, wet environment. Also, I was advised to put at least 5 coats. It took some time to finish but came out nice.

Click to expand...

I already have bought and tested the minwax polyshades Bombay mahogany poly n stain in one. Can I just do that, and then on the inside just add a few extra coats of poly?

I used the Minwax antique maple on some new woodwork I did on the old house before selling it. I used the poly stain to get the color I wanted first. then clear poly to seal it up. It can take a few coats to build up a smooth surface,depending on the pores in the wood.

nolabrew85 said:

I already have bought and tested the minwax polyshades Bombay mahogany poly n stain in one. Can I just do that, and then on the inside just add a few extra coats of poly?

Click to expand...

That will work fine.

nolabrew85 said:

and I will stain before gluing.

Click to expand...

just don't stain the area's you are going to glue. Tape them off with blue tape before you glue them up, and you won't get any glue on your stained areas.

2 coats of the polyshades Bombay mahogany and 1 coat of polyurethane later. Do I really need to do another poly coat on the inside for moisture protection?

the camera on my phone sucks...

I lined the insides of my collar with insulation then used foil tape to protect the insulation. If you do that, then there's no need to worry about moisture-proofing the wood. If you have significant moisture issues inside your keezer, then you need to get one of those mini dehumidifiers anyway.

And you really should insulate the collar. Wood is a very poor insulator.

I was thinking foam boards for insulation. Any suggestions on particular type/brand?

When I get started on my fermentation chamber next month,I'm going to insulate it with 1/2" cellotex & duct tape or aluminum tape. But shellac is best used to seal up the wood before using poly if you're going with natural wood. Otherwise,it'll take many coats of poly to do the same job.

nolabrew85 said:

I was thinking foam boards for insulation. Any suggestions on particular type/brand?

Click to expand...

The rigid pink stuff works well. Easy to drill holes through for the faucet shanks. Brand doesn't matter. The higher the R-value the better.

I got the half inch pink board with 3.0 R rating for collar insulation. Yall think one layer is good enough or do I need to double up?

I think that should be good enough.

thanks for all the help. Here is a picture of the finished product.

Looks good! Hopefully it will last you many years. Cheers.