Finishes that hold up to Sunlight

[Joe A Faulkner]

I have an ~80 year old farm house. I've replaced several windows with wood replacement double hungs (Marvin Tilt Pacs). In a few cases, I've refinished the sills. I finished with two coats of satin poly. After a few year's I've noticed deterioration of the finish, primarily on the sills.

Today, I was looking at a blanket chest, that I made 4 years ago, that sets beneath an east facing window. I noticed areas on the top that appear to be in the early stages of a thinning finish. Poly again. I am wondering if natural expansion and contraction of the wood combined with sun light is the root cause. Any suggestions? The window sills are longleaf pine (SYP). The blanket chest is red oak.

[Scott Holmes]

NOpe the expansion contraction is not the big issue.

The problem is that poly is HIGHLY susecptible to UV damage.

Strip the poly and use a varnish that is not highly susecptible to UV damage.

Waterlox Original is good for window sills (technically "stools") The new windows most likely have a Low E glass with UV filters in the glass.

For the blanket chest again strip the poly then Waterlox Original is a good choice.

This is why I always say that poly is for floors period!

[Neal Clayton]

i've been using waterlox from the get-go on all of the windows i've restored or rebuilt in my own house, for about the same length of time you have joe.

i use a dark shellac for color, then waterlox on top.

the first ones were probably done about 3.5 years ago, and look and work just as well as they did when they were first finished.

/agree with scott, skip the poly.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Thanks to you both for the suggestions. I've never used Waterlox before. I will give it a try. I prefer a low-gloss, satin finish.

From the looks of their web site, they recommend using the original product as sealer and the satin finish as a top coat. Do either of you have suggestions on this topic?

I've had a kitchen table in use (5 kids) for about six years that I finished with poly and it has held up extremely well considering the wear and tear. We love natural finished wood, so we don't use table cloths. Does waterlox hold up well for table surfaces?

I'm assuming so since their web site promotes using it for floors and counter tops.

[Neal Clayton]

there's really not much difference in the varieties other than the sheen you wind up with. so the satin is just the original + a flattener.

if you prefer satin, buy the satin.

if you just need an oil sealer, BLO is alot cheaper and can achieve the same result, i wouldn't use waterlox as a sealer unless i had a bunch of extra laying around.

yes it works fine for furniture and floors too, i've finished all my upstairs floors with it.

poly is resistant to abrasion but not particularly hard, for things like table tops, wooden windows where you have impact with the sill/jambs, and as you've seen, things that get sunlight through a window, poly isn't that great.

[Scott Holmes]

Neal,

BLO is not a good sealer. It's great for poppping the grain; but as a sealer oil is far from what a varnish like Waterlox will do to seal the wood.

Joe,

As Neal said Waterlox will outperform poly on a table; unless the table is used for dancing.

[Neal Clayton]

Neal,

BLO is not a good sealer. It's great for poppping the grain; but as a sealer oil is far from what a varnish like Waterlox will do to seal the wood.



that's news to people who have been using it as a concrete sealer for decades, and as a pre-coat for exterior wood surfaces for centuries.

[Scott Holmes]

Neal,

Please note the following words... but as a sealer, oil is far from what a varnish like Waterlox will do to seal the wood.

A sweating glass on a table finished with BLO only vs the same situation with a varished table will prove this point.