My father build me a porch swing out of Oak. She originally finished it with polyurethane which did not last. I sanded all of that off and tried tung oil but that only lasted a season. I saw in a Woodworking magazine someone used deck stain which makes some sense. Is there any other recommendation for a durable finish that can take the elements for more than a season?
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Outdoor finish for oak
- Thread starter DiscoDan
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Dan , up in the mountains they use their old motor oil on outdoor wood buildings . Not that I would recommend it , but that's what they use . The wood soaks up the oils and what remains is a dark waterproof stain .
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I hope somebody knows a good answer...I have to give the deck and garage doors a new coat of preservative every year. At least I don’t have to sand off the poly.
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- Nov 9, 2015
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Agree with Daffy. We use marine spar varnish on the exterior of our mahogany garage doors. But while it's the best I have found for this application, those doors need to be re-finished every three years.
Direct sunlight is the killer. The portion of the doors that don't get direct sunlight, but get the wind and rain hold up closer to six years before needing a refinish. But of course all surfaces are vertical.
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Since already had a finish, Danish oil out, we let it soak up by keeping wet until it no longer shows adsorption.
Marine rated is the best option, spare varnish minimum.
Look for marine forum and see what is used in real application.
Likely those folks can advise of all the wrong ways to do it.
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Marine rated is the best option, spare varnish minimum.
Look for marine forum and see what is used in real application.
Likely those folks can advise of all the wrong ways to do it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
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- Oct 31, 2016
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While by no means a pro on marine varnish some of my best friends were pros with many years of experience doing paint and varnish on boats. They used Pettit Flagship varnish. It's what I use on my sailboat. About $50 per quart last time I bought some. It has the best UV protection. Don't forget the brushing thinner. About a cap full per cup of varnish. It keeps the varnish from drying too quickly so it can flow out. Gets rid of the brush marks. The trick to keeping varnish nice is to touch up any nicks and scratches as soon as you notice them. You are trying to keep moisture from getting under the varnish. Think 7 to 8 thin coats to start with followed by 2, maybe 3 coats every year. The varnish will last 3 maybe 4 years if you do this. Most people don't put on enough coats of varnish to start with.
Some people use Cetol (sp?) instead of varnish on their woodwork. It is like a semitransparent paint. It lets some of the wood grain show. 2 to 3 coats to start with followed by a fresh up coat once a year. It goes on like paint. Way easier to apply than varnish but it doesn't look like varnish.
Or you could paint the doors. Even that requires periodic touch up and repainting every so often.
Some people use Cetol (sp?) instead of varnish on their woodwork. It is like a semitransparent paint. It lets some of the wood grain show. 2 to 3 coats to start with followed by a fresh up coat once a year. It goes on like paint. Way easier to apply than varnish but it doesn't look like varnish.
Or you could paint the doors. Even that requires periodic touch up and repainting every so often.
I was a power boat owner for many years so had far less wood than a blow/snail boat owner to maintain but what wood I had to maintain I enjoyed. March meant water was still cold but the sun was warm, so I made a lake day out of it. I cleaned and varnished both pieces of teak wood and drank beer.