I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts. I
just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
TIA
Glen
--
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's
just that they know so much that isn't so."
- Ronald Reagan
"mac davis" wrote:
> Doesn't have to be slave work, Lew..
> In our case, not what I'd call refinishing, either.. lol
>
> We had a huge deck around an above ground pool and 130 feet of
> redwood fence..
> Half a day, once a year with a Hudson sprayer and big roller and
> it's done..
> (I'd roll and the wife would follow with the sprayer to get anything
> the roller
> didn't)
Understand.
Personally, would rather be sailing with a little greenie in one hand,
and something enjoyable in the other, as opposed to finishing wood
work.
Lew
Rick,
Thank you. It is good to check with the experts.
BTW, you have a very impressive web site.
Glen
--
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's
just that they know so much that isn't so."
- Ronald Reagan
"Rick Stein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Glen wrote:
>> I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts.
>> I just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
>> redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
>> good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
>> exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
>>
>> TIA
>> Glen
>>
> I wouldn't recommend varnish unless you are prepared to reapply it every
> season. I've made both cypress and redwood outdoor furniture. At first I
> varnished it, but quickly realized that it looked terrible within a year.
> There are better sealers than Thompsons (Cetol comes to mind), but perhaps
> no finish at all is really the best . . .
>
> Rick
> http://www.thunderworksinc.com
Glen wrote:
> I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts. I
> just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
> redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
> good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
> exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
>
> TIA
> Glen
>
I wouldn't recommend varnish unless you are prepared to reapply it every
season. I've made both cypress and redwood outdoor furniture. At first I
varnished it, but quickly realized that it looked terrible within a
year. There are better sealers than Thompsons (Cetol comes to mind), but
perhaps no finish at all is really the best . . .
Rick
http://www.thunderworksinc.com
Lew Hodgett wrote:
> RE: Subject
>
> Two choices:
>
> 1) Natural
>
> 2) Be a slave and refinish every year.
>
> Lew
Or from another perspective:
1) Build replacements sooner
2) Do a little preventative maintenance occasionally.
Personally, I'd rather build new ones occasionally. It's more fun than
reapplying finish.
On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 05:54:30 -0700, "Glen" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts. I
>just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
>redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
>good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
>exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
>
>TIA
>Glen
I've found that with things that get used, (sitting, eating, spilling drinks), I
like a staining oil... You get some penetration and then some sealing..
I was always taught that you didn't really want to "seal" outdoor stuff, it
should still be able to "breathe"..
Lots of folks here that are way more knowledgeable than I am there.. lol
I used it for years on a redwood deck.. There's better stuff out there, but I
used the brand from good ol' Home Depot.. came in "Natural Redwood", which was
pretty much an oil/sealer with a very slight tint..
We used it every few years, whether it needed it or not, and since it was a deck
around a pool, did the steps and "water splashed" every spring, just to keep it
looking good.. YMMV
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
Rick Stein wrote:
> Glen wrote:
>> I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the
>> experts. I just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches).
>> Everything is redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all
>> suggest? Would a good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or
>> should I go with an exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is
>> there a better finish?
>>
>> TIA
>> Glen
>>
> I wouldn't recommend varnish unless you are prepared to reapply it every
> season. I've made both cypress and redwood outdoor furniture. At first I
> varnished it, but quickly realized that it looked terrible within a
> year. There are better sealers than Thompsons (Cetol comes to mind), but
> perhaps no finish at all is really the best . . .
>
> Rick
> http://www.thunderworksinc.com
I'm with Rick. I'm about to build some Adirondack chairs out of WRC, and
I have no plans to finish them at all. However, that all boils down to
personal preference. Finishing with spar will require re-finishing. If
that's not an issue for you, it may be your best bet.
Tanus
On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:49:45 GMT, "Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote:
>RE: Subject
>
>Two choices:
>
>1) Natural
>
>2) Be a slave and refinish every year.
>
>Lew
>
Doesn't have to be slave work, Lew..
In our case, not what I'd call refinishing, either.. lol
We had a huge deck around an above ground pool and 130 feet of redwood fence..
Half a day, once a year with a Hudson sprayer and big roller and it's done..
(I'd roll and the wife would follow with the sprayer to get anything the roller
didn't)
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 16:32:06 -0500, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Glen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts.
>>I just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
>>redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
>>good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
>>exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
>>
>> TIA
>> Glen
>>
>> --
>> "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's
>> just that they know so much that isn't so."
>
>Regardless of which finish you use you will have to reapply it every couple
>of years if it is exposed to sun light. Pick the one that is the easiest
>and quickest to reapply every couple of years.
>
I have two redwood chairs, over 12 years old and still in very good
shape. Every 3 years I will lightly sand and apply a UV protection
oil. What is really making them last is that I bring them indoors for
the (wet) winters.
On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:54:30 -0700, Glen wrote:
> I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts. I
> just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
> redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
> good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
> exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
>
Whatever you put on outdoors is going to require frequent maintenance. I'd
go with something that made that maintenance easier. Both Watco and
General make an outdoor oil finish with UV protection. I'm sure there are
others. Or you could just leave it unfinished. I don't have that option
- my wife really detests the gray of weathered wood :-).
"Glen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I generally make indoor stuff, so I thought I would defer to the experts.
>I just finished a patio set (picnic table and benches). Everything is
>redwood. Now the question. What finish would you all suggest? Would a
>good water sealer (eg. Thompsons) be sufficient, or should I go with an
>exterior varnish? Would both be overkill? Is there a better finish?
>
> TIA
> Glen
>
> --
> "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's
> just that they know so much that isn't so."
Regardless of which finish you use you will have to reapply it every couple
of years if it is exposed to sun light. Pick the one that is the easiest
and quickest to reapply every couple of years.
Thank you all for your input. I appreciate all of your suggestions.
Glen
--
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's
just that they know so much that isn't so."
- Ronald Reagan
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:2H%1k.11848$%Z1.1596@trnddc05...
>
> "mac davis" wrote:
>
>> Doesn't have to be slave work, Lew..
>> In our case, not what I'd call refinishing, either.. lol
>>
>> We had a huge deck around an above ground pool and 130 feet of redwood
>> fence..
>> Half a day, once a year with a Hudson sprayer and big roller and it's
>> done..
>> (I'd roll and the wife would follow with the sprayer to get anything the
>> roller
>> didn't)
>
>
> Understand.
>
> Personally, would rather be sailing with a little greenie in one hand, and
> something enjoyable in the other, as opposed to finishing wood work.
>
> Lew
>
>