Finish for Outdoor Furniture

[jsqu...@webzone.net]

I am planning to make some Adirondack chairs out of either white oak
or cypress. I want to finish them so that they stay "natural" in
color, instead of a weathered gray color. I have used a poly film in
the past, but it doesn't seem to handle the expansion and contraction
of the wood, opening up cracks to the weather. I have wondered if an
oil type finish, such as a clear Watco Danish Oil, could be used in
this application. Any comments?

[jim mcnamara]

You can use exterior grade tung oil - for example Behr's exterior tung oil.
You can also use Watco's exterior Danish oil product.

In any event do not use interior Danish oil products for outside
applications. Or just straight drying oil. They will fail bigtime.

jim mcnamara
domingo rose

[Mike]

I don't have any experience with this, but it would seem to me like a
clear deck finish sealer would work.

[stkb...@my-deja.com]

Check out Penofin....It's an exterior oil type finish. Never used the
stuff but is gets rave reviews in the group.
Mark
http://www.sawdustsales.com Home of the monthly woodworking giveaway!!
http://www.tablesawguards.com

In article <38e814aa...@enews.newsguy.com>,

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Before you buy.

[wdy...@nospam.ix.netcom.com]

Just a guess, since I have no experience, but a marine grade spar
varnish is probably worth looking into.

[Paul T. Radovanic]

On Tue, 04 Apr 2000 , wdy...@nospam.ix.netcom.com wrote:

>Just a guess, since I have no experience, but a marine grade spar
>varnish is probably worth looking into.

Good guess. A good, phenolic resin marine spar varnish, with UV
blockers will do a fine job. Apply four coats, and be sure to cover
every square centimeter. You can set the feet in cans of varnish to
make sure the end-grain absorbs enough. For that matter, you can
paint the feet with epoxy, then varnish over it.

The spar varnish film will be flexible enough to move with the wood,
and the UV blockers will extend its life. The other benefit is that
it sort of wears down over the years, unlike poly which comes off in
sheets.

You'll need to sand and re-coat every two to four years, depending on
weather and usage.

I like Valspar's marine spar gloss varnish myself.

However, I just tried their satin flavor, and I didn't like it much --
but it may be my fault. I couldn't keep the flatting agents in
suspension. I've posted my questions on Jeff Jewitt's forum at
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/disc1_frm.htm, so we'll see what I
learn from him.

FWIW, he recommends two other spar varnishes; Oxford and McCloskey's.

Paul Rad

[Bob Nerup]

I have completed several adirondacks and Penofin has become my favorite.
Has uv blocker and can be renewed every year to keep the finish. I like the
natural over Cyprus.