Bathroom Humidity

[angelosart]

I am making a piece of carved wall art that my customer wants to hang it in their master bathroom.  My concern is with the changes from high to low humidity and back (i.e. hot showers).  Is their a finish that can minimize any warping or cupping to the piece due to the humidity changes.  The piece measure 6"x12"x 3/8"thick.

Thanks.

[jteneyck]

I am making a piece of carved wall art that my customer wants to hang it in their master bathroom.  My concern is with the changes from high to low humidity and back (i.e. hot showers).  Is their a finish that can minimize any warping or cupping to the piece due to the humidity changes.  The piece measure 6"x12"x 3/8"thick.

Thanks.

Doesn't everyone have a vent fan in their bathrooms these days?  Seriously, I think the fear of high humidity in modern house bathrooms is overblown.  Even a long shower with no fan is still not that long.  As long as the door is open afterwards the humidity will quickly return to whatever the rest of the house is.  Long way around to say I think it will be fine as long as you finish it equally on all sides.  Use whatever finish you like, just do all sides.  FWIW, 3/8" isn't very thick.  I could imagine it warping regardless of where it's hung or how it's finished.  I'd be far less concerned if it were closer to 3/4".  

John

[JosephP]

Can you glue a thin piece of plywood without ruining the artwork?  That would certainly help stabilize it.

Will this be painted or clear finish?  All one piece or a glue-up?  What species of wood?

If you really want to reduce (or eliminate) wood shrinkage, you replace the water in the cells with something that won't evaporate and cause the cells to change size.  Enter PEG wood stabilizer.  Not cheap...but for commissioned art pieces, probably a good investment?

[angelosart]

Joseph

Do you know if you can apply a wood finish or acrylic paint after soaking the wood in PEG?

[Cooler]

I probably would go with any marine finish.  It has to be moisture resistant and have some "flex" or the finish will crack due to expansion/contraction.

Coat all surfaces.

If you only coat the exposed surfaces the humidity will come in from the hidden surfaces.

Find a way for the art to stand slightly away from the wall so that air can get behind it and dry it out.  Also, an art light aimed at it will generate enough heat to dry it out after a shower.  Have it on the same circuit as the main light.

[JosephP]

Joseph

Do you know if you can apply a wood finish or acrylic paint after soaking the wood in PEG?

The instructions talk about poly and Danish oil.  I'm not sure about acrylic.  There are other brands as well...that was just the first that came up, so perhaps another will have better instructions about top coating?

[jteneyck]

Can you glue a thin piece of plywood without ruining the artwork?  That would certainly help stabilize it.

Will this be painted or clear finish?  All one piece or a glue-up?  What species of wood?

If you really want to reduce (or eliminate) wood shrinkage, you replace the water in the cells with something that won't evaporate and cause the cells to change size.  Enter PEG wood stabilizer.  Not cheap...but for commissioned art pieces, probably a good investment?

Gluing 3/8" thick solid wood to plywood would not be good, especially in an unbalanced manner.  

John

[fredhargis]

I think a piece that small size won't be a problem. Agreeing with John on the humidity changes in the bath being less of a problem than many think. Also, it would be a bad idea to glue it to plywood. It will move slightly, and the plywood won't. I would just cover both sides with whatever finish you use and call it good.

[Cooler]

As a former picture framer, I found that framed pictures were generally fine in a bathroom, but I did not use very wide moldings as the seasonal movement on wide moldings can be a problem..

Art lights serve two functions.   They highlight the art bring your eyes to the artwork, and the heat from the bulb dries things out.  But that may not be relevant anymore as most picture lights are now LED and they don't generate much light.

[JosephP]

Curious about not gluing to a stable back. I agree that is a bad idea with larger pieces...but 6"x12"should be easy to keep that from moving without bad side effects???

I'm also curious about assumptions of low humidity in bath. We have a fan that is technically oversize for the room and still have a little moisture on the walls. 2 showers in the morning and our son in the evening puts a lot of humidity. That certainly dissipates quickly once the door is open.... I'm gonna put a piece of wood in there sometime and track moisture for the fun of it.