Comments on: 46- Desert Outdoor Finish

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:42:33 +0000

Hey Jan. You’ll find that most of these outdoor finishes are glossy. The gloss reflects the light better and makes the finish a little more UV resistant. But you can usually still get these finishes in a different sheen. Epifanes sells a low gloss varnish that you can use instead of the high gloss: http://www.jamestowndistributo.....te+Varnish

So the matte version might be a good option for your Mexican pieces. I would still dilute it a little bit with mineral spirits so that it can soak into all those nooks and crannies. And 2-3 coats should offer you a vast improvement in protection, without giving too much of an artificial look.

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:56:19 +0000

Sorry, I have a question about your last response. I looked at the website and it appears that this varnish you are recommeding is very shiny and glossy. That would totally take away from the character of this old mexican piece of furniture. Plus, it is carved all around the edges, so I don’t want to sand it down before applying a coat of anything. Am I missing something? Thanks for your clarification.

By: cahudson42

cahudson42 — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:41:50 +0000

Marc,

I’ve just found the ‘woodwhisperer’ so I apologize if already covered.

I live in Florida in Winter – and Adirondacks in Summer.

Your AZ outdoor finishing approach is very close to what I have used for years both places. First off – here in FL and even in NY – I do not use any ‘raw oils’ – BLO or Tung – because of the moisture. You will get black – black mildew if you do.

I take a good ‘old fashioned’ phenolic-based (never urethane) marine varnish with UV inhibitors. (Ace Hardwae up here has one). I then dilute 50-50 with mineral spirits (I don’t feel I need to rush it with Naptha and prefer that it really soak in)

I wipe it – or spray it – on. Wipe down/push in immediately. Maybe 3 coats or so between very light sanding.. Not a film finish. Let it soak in.

Have had for years on Adk chairs etc. White pine and Western Red Cedar mostly.

Regards,
Chris

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:02:39 +0000

Hi Susan. You sure can use this formula. I actually opted for more varnish in my mix when I did our vigas. I really wont be able to recoat them every year so I wanted a little more protection, and went lighter on the oil.
You can add some stain to the finish, but I am not a big fan of doing that. Oil based finishes just aren’t a great medium for coloring. The results are usually not great. Now if you are just trying to darken things a bit, I suppose you could try it. But again, not my favorite way of applying color. If you can stain the bare wood, that would be the best way to go. If you do decide to add a little stain, you should try it on a hidden area of the pole just to see how it turns out and if it even makes any difference.

As for the cracks, well, I guess you could fill them, but that would be a heck of a job and it would probably look terrible. I have cracks in every one of my poles and I simply use a brush to get the varnish into the crack and seal the wood up from the inside. But the crack itself remains.

Hope that helps.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:14:31 +0000

Marc, You may be a godsend. We live in the Phoenix area and our house is two years old. I need to refinish the exterior vigas. Can I use your desert outdoor finish for them? They have been stained previously, but it is very worn. Could I add a little oil base wood stain to your finish? I don’t want them to look opaque, just darker like they were to begin with. Also, some of them have developed cracks. Is that a prpblem?

By: Steve Carter

Steve Carter — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:37:05 +0000

Several weeks ago I refinished an outdoor table using your Outdoor Finish. The table top is made from wood taken from a Canadian brewery floor. Over the years it had started to look pretty bad.

I started out by removing all the old finish and running the top through my drum sander. After several coats of the Outdoor Finish the table top looked fantastic – almost too nice for outdoor use. But I still didn’t know how it would hold up to out hot Texas summers.

Last night we had a heavy rain (7½ inches) which resulted in the top getting drenched with water. The first thing I noticed was how the rain had beaded up into HUGE globs of water. Wiping them off was really easy and the top still looked great.

This morning when I checked it again, I was thrilled with the results. The top still looked perfect. There aren’t any signs of water damage what-so-ever. And the best thing is that the tabletop feels even smoother than it did before the rain. It as a close to the wood feel that is unbelievable.

Needless to say we will have to wait a bit longer to see how well it will hold up over time, but so far it has exceeded my expectations. Thanks for sharing the formula with us!

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:34:46 +0000

Hey Karl. I don’t pick it up locally. I order mine from Jamestown Distributors:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com

By: Karl Smith

Karl Smith — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:42:27 +0000

Hey Marc,
Where did you pickup that Epifanes in Phoenix? The only place I’ve seen industrial finishes is at Spellman’s and Superior, and I don’t recall seeing any spar/marine varnishes.

I’m in the valley, and my project as soon as the heat breaks is to strip/stain/finish our front door. So I have a while to wait ;)

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:59:46 +0000

Hey John. The first thing to decide is what type of finish you want. You can have a light finish (an outdoor oil is good http://www.rockler.com/product.....sid=AFN86) that provides moderate protection and relies on teaks natural weather resistance, which also requires more frequent maintenance. Or you can apply a film finish, like Epifanes, that offers significantly more protection and less maintenance.

Option #2 sounds the best, but for some folks that film finish is a deal breaker. If you like the natural look, you are going to want option #1.

Now remember, I use this finish method on my doors here in Arizona, which represents and extreme of heat and sunlight. You didn’t mention your climate so your situation may be different than mine. Email me and we can go into some more detail.

By: John Cooper

John Cooper — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:05:49 +0000

Hey Marc,

Any experience using this method on an oily hardwood like teak?

We’re considering buying a teak table/chairs patio set, and wondering how best to preserve its beauty.

Thanks!
-John