How are you guys sealing your collar? I just finished staining my pine and am planning on using 2 to 3 coats of polyurethane but some people suggested that I seal the wood first with 1 part mineral spirits, 2 parts poly before I apply 100% poly. After that, I plan on using exterior mounting tape to attach the collar to the base freezer and apply 100 % silicone to the gaps. I'm leaving the weatherstrip on the lid and not altering anything on the top. Any advice is appreciated!
i painted my collar, but I wouldn't be too worried about sealing the wood. stain and poly is going to be more than enough protection. we don't need to weather proof the thing. and the additional poly/mineral spirits coat is not going to do anything to limit moisture transmission, even if that were a concern. it's not. I used silicon caulk as well, and it works. construction adhesive will hold it on to the freezer and keep it from moving. you just want to make it secure enough so that the collar doesn't slide off. it's not used to pick up the keezer. double sided foam tape would probably work well too. sounds like a plan. Cheers.
Thanks man, I figured I was on the right track and just needed a sense check. The mineral spirits and poly step seemed like overkill. What are your thoughts on insulating the wood? I know pine has a pretty low R value but after a few coats of poly, I'm not sure insulation is necessary.
my opinion, insulating the wood isn't going to hurt anything. probably not going to make a difference though. the chest freezer design is very efficient. the cold air sits in the tub. the top is almost not needed. not unlike the open top ice cream freezers at the grocery store. of course any energy loss is a loss. can't say for sure if it matters really. perhaps some of the foil double sided bubble wrap used for insulating water heaters etc can be stapled. it would look good too. one thing you don't want to do is insulate your beverage lines. they need to always be in contact with the cold air. Cheers.
Probably overkill, but when I did my bar top, I did three coats of Spar Urethane cut 1:1 with mineral spirits, then seven coats of straight Spar Urethane, sanding with 220 grit between coats. Damn, is it purty! But that's a bar top. For the collar, I simply applied two coats of poly that I had on hand, sanding the first coat before applying the second. I used cedar, so I didn't stain it. It's not going to win any wood finishing contests, but it wasn't meant to.
