I have an unfinished oak porch swing that I'd like to finish.

It will be hanging in a porch that only gets late afternoon sun.

I don't think I really need to stain it. I'm just looking for
something to protect the wood and keep it looking good. Minimal work
applying the finish would be a major plus.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

D.D.

With a spar urethane, you would have cracking and flaking of the finish in a
year or two requiring sanding and refinishing. I would use a premium deck
finish that is also for outdoor furniture. It too will require an
occasional reapplication, but there is no sanding and the application is
easier than urethane.

Check out
http://www.nam.sikkens.com/product.c..._category=deck
In an independent laboratory test of deck finishes, Sikkens came out at the
top.

Preston

"Daryl Drome" wrote in message
om...
I have an unfinished oak porch swing that I'd like to finish.

It will be hanging in a porch that only gets late afternoon sun.

I don't think I really need to stain it. I'm just looking for
something to protect the wood and keep it looking good. Minimal work
applying the finish would be a major plus.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

D.D.

"Ron Magen" wrote in message
...
DO NOT use 'Spar' Varnish.

If it is indeed a 'SPAR Varnish' it will NEVER get 'hard'; it isn't
supposed
to. On a beautiful, warm Summer day, you could literally 'glue your ass'
onto the seat.


Thanks for the note but... I have used a Spar varnish for an out door bench
swing that set out in direct sunlight in Houston TX... So it did get quite
hot but not sticky. On a side note though, I did put on thin coats and
oddly the flying wasps ate the finish off the wood.... Go figure. I then
painted the darn thing.

Preston Andreas wrote:

With a spar urethane, you would have cracking and flaking of the finish in
a
year or two requiring sanding and refinishing. I would use a premium deck

Bigtime. I used that minwhacks spar urethane stuff on a mystery wood park
bench. Looked really beautiful. For about two years...

I sanded it out, but did not completely strip it. I roughed up the finish a
bit with various grades of steel wool and built up a new finish one thin
coat at a time over a couple of weeks until I had poly'ed the hell out of
it.

Looked really beautiful. For about two years...

Now it looks like utter hell. Cracking, flaking, and lots of discoloration.

I think I'm going to sand it and paint it, or else strip it entirely and
throw some Thompson's on it periodically.

After what I've been through trying to keep this bench looking like new, I
think if I had an oak swing I'd be tempted to do absolutely nothing to it
at all. I have a glider with oak slats that's starting to get quite a lot
of lichen building up on it, but it still holds weight after 15 years of
raw exposure to the elements. I expect I'll have to rebuild it soon, but
15 years is not unreasonable. Dead trees outside are meant to rot after
all. That's where dirt comes from.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 17229 Approximate word count: 516870
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/

Note he did say "if indeed a spar varnish". Spar varnish was devoloped for
spars and masts. Since they bend and flex a lot, spar varnish is quite
flexible. Sice not a lot of people have wooden sailing ships these days,
most manufacturers have changed the formulation so what is said to be spar
varnish is actually regular varnish.
"Leon" wrote in message
...

"Ron Magen" wrote in message
...
DO NOT use 'Spar' Varnish.

If it is indeed a 'SPAR Varnish' it will NEVER get 'hard'; it isn't
supposed
to. On a beautiful, warm Summer day, you could literally 'glue your ass'
onto the seat.


Thanks for the note but... I have used a Spar varnish for an out door
bench
swing that set out in direct sunlight in Houston TX... So it did get quite
hot but not sticky. On a side note though, I did put on thin coats and
oddly the flying wasps ate the finish off the wood.... Go figure. I
then
painted the darn thing.

Silvan,

Two points - from your OWN words,
1} "spar urethane"
2} "really looked beautiful . . . for about two years"
2a} "poly'ed the hell out of it"

A good quality Varnish is NOT a urethane. While it may be a polymer of
'modern' materials rather than the 'traditional' resins, it is STILL a
VARNISH. Typically, they come it two 'styles' - WITH UV additives for
outdoor use, and WITHOUT for indoor applications. The 'traditional' SPAR
varnish had natural UV protection.

Any varnish used in an outdoor application needs to be 'freshened'
periodically. When wooden boats were in their heyday, the 'workboat' was
almost always painted, while the 'yachtsman' had a crew to not only work the
boat, but maintain it. Varnishing the 'brightwork' was probably an almost
continuous 'cycle'

Today's boat owner, wooden or fiberglass with a lot of 'fancy trim', may
typically look at this as a 'Rite of Spring'; something to be done prior to
the seasonal launching. {there are a lot of other tricks, covers, etc. that
he may go through . . . have about 3 hours to discuss it ??}. This chore may
be annual, or something done less frequently, depending on the 'sun load'
from the location.

Bear in mind, a top quality 'varnish job' has a MINIMUM of 6 coats. It is
unconsciously 'inspected' by eye {and by touch} almost every time you go
aboard. Some high-end, custom-built yachts may have 12 coats. Other than the
obvious 'depth' to the finish, this also makes 'freshening' prep much
easier. Rather than a complete stripping down to bare wood, a light sanding
with 220 paper followed by a wipe down with mineral spirits is all that is
needed. A thin coat of slightly thinned varnish completes the job. Another
technique is to LIGHTLY draw a scraper over the surface. A long curl of old
varnish *should* peel right off.

The real key to all this is to do the job BEFORE the surface reaches the, ".
.. . cracked, yellowed-lined, completely deteriorated . . ." stage.

Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop

"Silvan" wrote in message
...
Preston Andreas wrote:

With a spar urethane, you would have cracking and flaking of the finish
in
a
year or two requiring sanding and refinishing. I would use a premium
deck

Bigtime. I used that minwhacks spar urethane stuff on a mystery wood park
bench. Looked really beautiful. For about two years...

I sanded it out, but did not completely strip it. I roughed up the finish
a
bit with various grades of steel wool and built up a new finish one thin
coat at a time over a couple of weeks until I had poly'ed the hell out of
it.

Looked really beautiful. For about two years...

Now it looks like utter hell. Cracking, flaking, and lots of
discoloration.

I think I'm going to sand it and paint it, or else strip it entirely and
throw some Thompson's on it periodically.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone.

Right now the porch swing is hanging unfinished. In the future I'll
consider painting it or trying the deck finish.

D.D.