Outdoor furniture finish

lazyflee · April 25, 2020, 10:29:26 PM

What do you guys use for a durable finish on outdoor furniture (benches, tables) Harsh environment up here in the mountains. Looking for something that holds up well and can be refinished fairly easily without stripping too much(sand and recoat) Thanks for any advice

WmFritz · April 27, 2020, 10:36:29 PM

I need ideas too for a little table I want to place next to my grill. The only two options I can see are a spar varnish or epoxy covered with spar varnish.

scsmith42 · April 28, 2020, 06:33:05 AM

Epifanes is the go-to finish for a lot of folks for outdoor projects. It's been around for a long time (it's a marine finish), and it has a great reputation. It's usually applied with a brush.

For a modern, water based finish, General Finish GF450 works great and it sprays well.

kantuckid · April 30, 2020, 10:22:03 AM

Varnish I'd never use on outdoor furniture. You don't want anything that's hard to remove later if in the weather directly. Under roof changes the choices.
Now if I owned a yacht? with lots of fancy woods...

Might consider spraying with a Borate product solution? Then later something else.
The more pigment the more UV protection. Go to a Log Home Supply website to view some ideas of wood protection. Teak oil outdoor products. I like Cabots Australian Timber Oil.
Clear wood oil products, Avoid low VOC if at all possible as it lacks the goodies you desire!
Do not use old time linseed oil, boiled ot not, as it feeds the little buggers that grow on wood surfaces, esp where it's more humid than MT. IMO, it mostly depends on the "look" your after on something small like that?

reride82 · April 30, 2020, 02:38:59 PM

Quote from: lazyflee on April 25, 2020, 10:29:26 PM
What do you guys use for a durable finish on outdoor furniture (benches, tables) Harsh environment up here in the mountains. Looking for something that holds up well and can be refinished fairly easily without stripping too much(sand and recoat) Thanks for any advice

I have had good luck with Helmsman Spar Urethane. I started using it around 5 years ago and those benches/tables are still in like new condition in Western Montana.
Levi

cbla · May 06, 2020, 06:57:40 AM

I second the Spar Urethane. I have been using it for years and holds up well to our wet climate on the East Coast.

Crusarius · June 24, 2020, 11:28:45 AM

For those of you using the Helmsman spar urethane, are you using the oil base or the water base?

Does the oil base tend to yellow like normal polyurethane?

I want to finish some outdoor walnut benches. Really don't want something that will turn yellow over time.

Of course all the stuff available locally is oil base. I would have to order the water base. Really want to get these coated for the weekend. Probably not going to happen.

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 12:11:05 PM

Spar will amber a little more than regular poly by a fraction. I call that color change "warm" or worst case, amber. Yellow is kind of a harsh term compared to "warm". Everyone should do what suits them though.

I'm not ready to trust water-based spar varnish, if there is such a thing. Water based stuff tends to be more clear, but I'm notsure how thesun affects it.

Any film finish I've ever used outdoors needs to be sanded and top coated after a couple years. I'm still looking for the magic finish for outdoor that lasts forever and maintains the color you like. Clear, warm, or amber - take your pick. Maybe someone will divulge the secret here. Might involve chickens. :D

Crusarius · June 24, 2020, 12:30:00 PM

I use the water base polycrylic on alot of my indoor projects. I like it a ton better than the oil base.

Just not a fan of the "warming" of the color

with the oil base. But if the spar urethane warms less than it may still be ok. overall though I have had superior luck with water base finishes to the point I typically try to lean that way if I can.

alan gage · June 24, 2020, 12:42:26 PM

I used water based spar varnish (Varethane brand) on a canoe once. Even after it was cured it seemed to absorb moisture if water was allowed to sit on it and would take on that bluish tint water based finish has before it's cured. It seemed to make the finish a little softer in that state but it must not have all gotten scraped off because it kept turning that color until I sanded it down a couple years later and finished it with something else.

Alan

alan gage · June 24, 2020, 12:44:28 PM

Not knowing if oil based poly would stick to the water based spar I'd put on that canoe I decided to use System 3 WR-LPU to recoat it. I was very happy with the product.

https://www.systemthree.com/products/wr-lpu-polyurethane-topcoat

Alan

alan gage · June 24, 2020, 12:48:41 PM

I'd always been tempted to try something like Target coating's EM9300 on a canoe but I heard from another canoe builder that had tried it and he had similar results to what I had with the water based spar.

Not saying it can't work for some exterior applications but I'd be leery about putting it on a horizontal surface.

Alan

Crusarius · June 24, 2020, 02:34:37 PM

systemthree kinda pricey but I sure like the yellow

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 03:25:15 PM

Best way to know if a finish is what you're after is to try it something non-critical and see how it looks and performs. There are limits to that sometimes but worth expanding those limits sometimes. Plus you develop a large stock of barely used cans. Believe it or not, many of those w ill find uses down the road. Of course some become hardened mineral deposits surrounded by a can, but things can't all be 100% efficient.

Crusarius · June 24, 2020, 03:35:29 PM

that is my usual technique I use. you should see my stock

btulloh · June 24, 2020, 04:43:11 PM

:D :D

I reckon most of us do that. I'll be interested see what you decide.

Crusarius · June 24, 2020, 06:24:01 PM

Think I am going to try the oil base helmsman.

Nebraska · June 25, 2020, 10:38:41 AM

Currently testing spar urethane, elm benches. Magically left by the Easter bunny.

Crusarius · June 25, 2020, 10:42:45 AM

How long have you been testing them? guessing since april?

Walnut Beast · June 25, 2020, 11:14:51 AM

Quote from: Nebraska on June 25, 2020, 10:38:41 AM

Currently testing spar urethane, elm benches. Magically left by the Easter bunny.

Looks good. Remember that fire 🔥 you had awhile back. Be careful with that fire pit that's close to your metal building. Strange things can happen

Nebraska · June 25, 2020, 02:55:16 PM

@Walnut Beast ... I remember quite well, I sawed one of the little Sho Shi Ban Green Ash logs last night for 2 3/4" bench legs. Not my fire pit it's in town, just built them for close friends, unsolicited benches anonomyously deposited very early in the morning. I suppose the bunny may have committed criminal trespass and littering when leaving them off. The fire pit was a birthday suprise for the husband last year, done by his wife and kids. Figured they ought to have some benches, anyway, so I am testing spar urethane to be back on topic. ;)