The Historic District

Years from now, anthropologists (and maybe paleontologists) will thank you!

surprising if it lasted. I've never seen an outdoor poly or a clearcoat that can take the sun.
My trailer is the back half of a ford courier with the cab cut off. it works great. we didn't even take the rear axle gears out so it still turns the U joint and rear axle.. in 20 years I havent' even checked the oil but it keeps working. I fitted LED lights and I found three quarts of what they called "tank blue" or flame blue.. it says Tank paint.. Ive never noticed a blue tank.. its a bright blue. I did a quick pressure wash and gave it a treatment of rust mort which turns the rust black and then sprayed the paint on.. They havent' sold paint in quarts here since around 1970 so it's earlier than that at least,, but it didn't rust , still looks good. Im sure it's leaded.. oh well Ive still got a couple quarts. I learned to drive on that truck when it was a truck. we ran it until the engine rattled and then kept driving it until it died. My brother and dad gave it a "farmer rebuild" new rings and bearings in the garage.. they had the engine propped up on a stump.. it fell over on the flywheel and bent the crank,, they took a heavy hammer and pounded it until the got the flywheel running pretty true and put it back together.. it worked and we drove it till it just wouldn't go anymore and then it became a trailer.. I even had a printing press sitting in it for about 5 years, an old heavy cast one like Johnboy walon had. the thing weighs a couple thousand pounds at least.. I even towed it with that thing in it.. Its been such a good trailer

When that finish fails I'll just soak it with used motor oil. That's my go-to finish for such things.

Ugh. That Aniela lady seems kinda mental and the video was just disappointing. Makes me sad that this is the only way she feels can get attention/ subscribers. I'd rather see a woman being competent without using her boobs as a prop. Things like this are really damaging and part of the reason why women have a hard time being seen as equals and taken seriously in a construction environment. Bummer...

Jeepnstein wrote:When that finish fails I'll just soak it with used motor oil. That's my go-to finish for such things.

That's good to know. I plan on building a structure out of bamboo sometime in the future, and I wondered if motor oil would be a good preservative.

I'm not so sure I'd go there with that. Used motor oil is also a significant source of ground water pollution. My trailer won't be in contact with the ground and is generally covered from exposure to the rain. It's does a good job but is only slightly less bad for things than a railroad tie soaked in creosote. It would also stink a wee bit.

There was a time when used motor oil was used to keep dust under control on gravel driveways and parking lots. I can tell you from personal experience that it can get expensive fast if you're caught disposing of it that way now.

I'd look at a preservative/water repellent that could be sprayed if I were doing what you're doing.

bamboo isn't wood. the cells are closed so it won't absorb stuff. I had some of those roll up blinds that had a black stain from mold. I tried bleach and it did nothing. I then tried wood bleach and it also did nothing. the endgrain mght ave some absorption. I think you could sand it and paint it.

I wouldn't use used oil for anything , just recycle it.. If you want to put oil on stuff that you dont' want to rust then maybe chain saw oil. It's more tacky.

I remember the government spreading used oil on roads with a truck with a mister attachment on the back.. in the watershed! it actually became lke pavement. If you wanted to walk in there you needed a permit even back then boy things have changed.

Alabama has some impressive stands of bamboo, and since the climate is so mild, there should be a good long season for sitting outside. The idea is still in its infancy. I like those structures the Cubans call bohíos - like a tropical gazebo with a palm-frond thatched roof. I don't want it to attract critters though - except for those who know how to mix a good martini.