Finish help

[kevin nee]

I am about to finish a maple bench as a gift for my neice's new patio.
I used maple because it is what I had available. It is rugged with 1.5 thick legs
and a 3 inch thick top. I was thinking about Boiled Linseed Oil or Poly.
It is assembled and sanding will be done today. It has to be ready for Friday.
All suggestion welcome and thanks in advance.

[Neil Bosdet]

Will be indoors or out?

[Harvey Pascoe]

Outdoors, oil will mildew and turn black. I'd go with urethane varnish or acrylic.

[kevin nee]

This will be used outdoors

[Bill Huber]

Now I don't know but what if you thinned some poly down like 70/30 and used that as the first coat and second. It would really soak in and then you could put on and a few more coats of ploy after that drys.

I use the 50/50 on cutting boards and that stuff really soaks in, in fact it will soak all the way though to the other side.

Again, I don't know but its a thought.

[kevin nee]

Thanks for the advise.

[Steve Schoene]

Whoa. Poly, at least the single part poly varnishes that are readily available, is a very bad choice for exterior use. The primary reason is that the poly is not very UV resistant and would fail much more quickly than non-poly varnishes, particularly marine spar varnishes. Water isn't the enemy so much as sunlight.

Maple is not a good outdoor wood so it will be a challenge keeping it in good condition. The first thing to deal with is the ground contact surfaces. You should coat the endgrain on the bottom of the legs with epoxy, applying all that it will absorb.

After that, I would strongly recommend using a high quality oil based enamel, preferably in a light color. The pigment in paint is by far and away the best UV protectant for wood. Any clear finish is going to require regularly recurring maintenance--adding a refresher coat every year if it sits in full sun, every 2-3 years if it is somewhat shaded. Then after a few rounds of refresher coats, the finish will start to fail from the bottom up, and it should be stripped and the process begun again. Not what I would give as a gift.

[Bill Huber]

Thanks Steve, that is really good to know, I had never thought about the sun and UV but it's sure something I should have.

[Scott Holmes]

Kevin,

If you are set on using a clear finish then go to a marina or boat supply and get the marine varnish from them. Epifanes is one of the best. It will be $50 + per quart and worth every penny.

recoating every year or two will go a long way to keep it nice. As stated exterior oil-based paint will be the best protection and maple is not a great outdoor wood..