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

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

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" wrote in message
owerdatavision...
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

On Thu, 5 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?

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

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" wrote in message
news
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.

Subject

Two choices:

1) Natural

2) Be a slave and refinish every year.

Lew

Lew Hodgett wrote:
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, 05 Jun 2008 21:49:45 GMT, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

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

"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

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" 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

On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 16:32:06 -0500, "Leon"
wrote:


"Glen" wrote in message
news
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.

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