I have a park bench I originally did up in Minwhacks Homelessman Spar
Crappythane. It's a cast iron and mystery oak-like Asian hardwood deal.
After a year, the poly started to split a bit, and some cracked areas
started to get black and cruddy looking. I sanded and re-coated.

A year after that, the finish started to go all to hell, and I decided to
just leave it. Now it's about four years later. 78% of the poly has
flaked off, and the wood underneath has weathered to a uniform splintery
gray.

Now that I have scrapers, I started scraping on it today, and I discovered I
can get the wood back to its former un-weathered look pretty easily if I
want to. I took the bench completely apart, and I'm trying to make up my
mind what to do from here.

I'm considering:

* wire brush the powder coated cast iron bits, then shoot with Rustoleum or
equivalent green spray paint; re-coat the wood bits with some quality
weather-resistant clear coat like a true boat varnish or epoxy or something

* wire brush the powder coated cast iron bits, then gob on some kind of old
fashioned toxic oil based green paint with a brush; paint the wood bits a
contrasting color, maybe cream/ecru/almond to preserve the contrast between
wood and metal, but provide a finish that wears better and is easier to
repair

* ask the Wreck for advice

I still haven't gotten it completely apart. I painted poly into the screw
holes, and I can't get two of the brass machine screws back out of it. The
back was pre-assembled with stainless steel screws, and half of them were
ruined by whatever shot them in there. I'm going to have to hacksaw two of
the machine screws, and maybe dremel some slots into these screws to get
them back out. Whee.

Getting back down to pretty looking wood and clear coating is tempting, but
only if I can actually come up with something sustainable to preserve the
color and woodliness of the thing. Otherwise opaque paint is sounding like
a plan.

This damn thing weighs 300 pounds, and even the disassembled pieces of it
are hard to carry around. I'd like to fix it once and come up with
something that's easy to keep up, so I can leave it where it sits until my
great grandchildren are out of college or so.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Oh please stop putting all this energy into this. The wood is probably
a very resilient timber e.g. teak.and will look blend in with your
garden much better with a weathered look. All the polyblip does is
pollute your garden and the environment. My customers buy the furniture
i build because it ages to its natural finish. Go and play with your
grandchildren. Do you want them to remember you as a frustrated bench
repairer.

"Silvan" wrote in message
...
I have a park bench I originally did up in Minwhacks Homelessman Spar
Crappythane. It's a cast iron and mystery oak-like Asian hardwood deal.
After a year, the poly started to split a bit, and some cracked areas
started to get black and cruddy looking. I sanded and re-coated.


Trying to keep the wood smooth and looking like new is going to be a
constant job if the bench is kept outside. 3 or 4 years ago I rebuilt 3 of
these type benches and used Ipe. With Ipe like any other wood it will fade
to a grey color but you will never have to deal with a rough finish or treat
it in any way. Outside life expentency untreated is about 50 years.

"Leon" wrote in
. com:


"Silvan" wrote in message
...
I have a park bench I originally did up in Minwhacks Homelessman Spar
Crappythane. It's a cast iron and mystery oak-like Asian hardwood
deal. After a year, the poly started to split a bit, and some cracked
areas started to get black and cruddy looking. I sanded and
re-coated.


Trying to keep the wood smooth and looking like new is going to be a
constant job if the bench is kept outside. 3 or 4 years ago I rebuilt
3 of these type benches and used Ipe. With Ipe like any other wood it
will fade to a grey color but you will never have to deal with a rough
finish or treat it in any way. Outside life expentency untreated is
about 50 years.


That may be the approach I'll need to take for mine. I redid it once, like
Silvan, and it lasted a year, and looked so crappy that my wife made me do
it again before one of our son's wedding two summers ago. I cheated and
used shellac, knowing it would last exactly long enough to get through the
wedding.

Ipe, or some other tropical, seems like a plan. I don't think I really
want to sand the mystery wood again.

Patriarch

Though not as rigid or unique as wood, a product like Trex decking will last
a long time without maintenance. It can be had in 5 colors or so and is
available in 3/4", 5/4, and 2x thickness and several widths. Trex will
need supported about every 16" or so to avoid a flimsy seat. --dave



"Silvan" wrote in message
...
I have a park bench I originally did up in Minwhacks Homelessman Spar
Crappythane. It's a cast iron and mystery oak-like Asian hardwood deal.
After a year, the poly started to split a bit, and some cracked areas
started to get black and cruddy looking. I sanded and re-coated.

A year after that, the finish started to go all to hell, and I decided to
just leave it. Now it's about four years later. 78% of the poly has
flaked off, and the wood underneath has weathered to a uniform splintery
gray.

Now that I have scrapers, I started scraping on it today, and I discovered
I
can get the wood back to its former un-weathered look pretty easily if I
want to. I took the bench completely apart, and I'm trying to make up my
mind what to do from here.

I'm considering:

* wire brush the powder coated cast iron bits, then shoot with Rustoleum
or
equivalent green spray paint; re-coat the wood bits with some quality
weather-resistant clear coat like a true boat varnish or epoxy or
something

* wire brush the powder coated cast iron bits, then gob on some kind of
old
fashioned toxic oil based green paint with a brush; paint the wood bits a
contrasting color, maybe cream/ecru/almond to preserve the contrast
between
wood and metal, but provide a finish that wears better and is easier to
repair

* ask the Wreck for advice

I still haven't gotten it completely apart. I painted poly into the screw
holes, and I can't get two of the brass machine screws back out of it.
The
back was pre-assembled with stainless steel screws, and half of them were
ruined by whatever shot them in there. I'm going to have to hacksaw two
of
the machine screws, and maybe dremel some slots into these screws to get
them back out. Whee.

Getting back down to pretty looking wood and clear coating is tempting,
but
only if I can actually come up with something sustainable to preserve the
color and woodliness of the thing. Otherwise opaque paint is sounding
like
a plan.

This damn thing weighs 300 pounds, and even the disassembled pieces of it
are hard to carry around. I'd like to fix it once and come up with
something that's easy to keep up, so I can leave it where it sits until my
great grandchildren are out of college or so.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

I like the Rustoleum on the metal. It is truly a good outdoor paint!
Paint on the wood is effective, provided you do all the prep work and
primer. I use CWF on my outdoor furniture and I sand/recoat every
other spring. You will have to do some maintenance whatever finish
you choose.

On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 02:13:33 -0500, Silvan
wrote:

I have a park bench I originally did up in Minwhacks Homelessman Spar
Crappythane. It's a cast iron and mystery oak-like Asian hardwood deal.
After a year, the poly started to split a bit, and some cracked areas
started to get black and cruddy looking. I sanded and re-coated.

A year after that, the finish started to go all to hell, and I decided to
just leave it. Now it's about four years later. 78% of the poly has
flaked off, and the wood underneath has weathered to a uniform splintery
gray.

Now that I have scrapers, I started scraping on it today, and I discovered I
can get the wood back to its former un-weathered look pretty easily if I
want to. I took the bench completely apart, and I'm trying to make up my
mind what to do from here.

I'm considering:

* wire brush the powder coated cast iron bits, then shoot with Rustoleum or
equivalent green spray paint; re-coat the wood bits with some quality
weather-resistant clear coat like a true boat varnish or epoxy or something

* wire brush the powder coated cast iron bits, then gob on some kind of old
fashioned toxic oil based green paint with a brush; paint the wood bits a
contrasting color, maybe cream/ecru/almond to preserve the contrast between
wood and metal, but provide a finish that wears better and is easier to
repair

* ask the Wreck for advice

I still haven't gotten it completely apart. I painted poly into the screw
holes, and I can't get two of the brass machine screws back out of it. The
back was pre-assembled with stainless steel screws, and half of them were
ruined by whatever shot them in there. I'm going to have to hacksaw two of
the machine screws, and maybe dremel some slots into these screws to get
them back out. Whee.

Getting back down to pretty looking wood and clear coating is tempting, but
only if I can actually come up with something sustainable to preserve the
color and woodliness of the thing. Otherwise opaque paint is sounding like
a plan.

This damn thing weighs 300 pounds, and even the disassembled pieces of it
are hard to carry around. I'd like to fix it once and come up with
something that's easy to keep up, so I can leave it where it sits until my
great grandchildren are out of college or so.