Protect teak outdoor furniture

[stephen wood]

My wife bought some nice teak outdoor furniture. I offered to make it but she declined (something about not living that long)...

We'd like to keep the new teak look, rather than letting it weather to gray. The salesperson said we should only use the 'special' preservative provided by the manufacturer. Also she said don't cover it as it will retain moisture under the cover.

1- What do folks recommend as a finish preservative for teak?
2- What about the covers? These guys say it's okay to cover with what they have (tyvek).
http://www.koverroos.com/index.php

Thanks!

[Tony Bilello]

Use a good marine grade varnish from a marine store. Dont be fooled by Minwax and their scam product Helmsman Spar Varnish.
Wipe the furniture down with either lacquer thinner or acetone just prior to coating. This will remove any surface oils. Put on the recommended 6 coats. If the furniture is in direct sunlight in the southern US, you will have to light sand and recoat every year. Dont wait for the finish to deteriorate.

[Dave Lehnert]

Use a good marine grade varnish from a marine store. Dont be fooled by Minwax and their scam product Helmsman Spar Varnish.
Wipe the furniture down with either lacquer thinner or acetone just prior to coating. This will remove any surface oils. Put on the recommended 6 coats. If the furniture is in direct sunlight in the southern US, you will have to light sand and recoat every year. Dont wait for the finish to deteriorate.

Tell me more about Helmsman Spar Varnish scam?

[steven sherman]

I have had good luck with sikkens cetol 1 23. It is much easier to maintain than spar varnish.


steve

[Tony Bilello]

The Spar Varnish Scam is that it is a really crappy product. It takes for ever to dry and don't last long in direct sunlight.

As for Cetol, to me it looks more like something between a varnish and a paint. It lasts longer because of the heavy pigment - just like paint would. Some people like the look. It's a matter of prefernce.

When it comes to wood in direct summer sun, The more effort a finish requires to apply and the higher the cost, the longer it will last. Mother nature does not understand short-cuts.

[Joe Angrisani]

.....you will have to light sand and recoat every year. Dont wait for the finish to deteriorate.

ABSOLUTELY. The effort quadruples (or maybe more) if you let the varnish fail.

If you aren't going to stay on top of the finish religiously (with yearly maintenance as Tony said), strongly consider the natural weathered grey look.

[Larry Edgerton]

I've used Sikkens with good results, but as Tony says it does have its own character. Personally I like it. I put it on the swim platform on my boat about every two years.

Pure natural Teak oil is another option. Basically it is no finish at all, but just replacing the natural depletion of oils in the wood.

I like gray, I've found it is the easiest finish to maintain. Grays a color too you know........

Larry

[Bob Direso]

General Finishes has a product called Outdoor Oil that I put on three tables I made for outdoor use. The tables are made with redwood live edge tops and red cedar legs. The nice thing about an oil finish is it is very easy to restore and application couldn't be easier. Bob.

[Randy Alkins]

Look at all the battle wagons in the marinas they use Amazon Teak oil, clean it with soapy ammonia brushing cross grain and rinse with water.

[Brian Penning]

The Spar Varnish Scam is that it is a really crappy product. It takes for ever to dry and don't last long in direct sunlight.


Have you actually used the stuff yourself?
I personally like the stuff quite a bit -doesn't take long to dry at all, although I thin it somewhat to make it a wipeon.

[Tony Bilello]

Have you actually used the stuff yourself?
.......

Yes I have. I thought it is a crappy product. Good chemicals cost money. Helmsman is 1/2 the price of any good marine varnish and yet can not be found in any good marine supply store like West Marine.
I have seen others use it on their boats and they think it's great. It's just not for me.

[Steve Schoene]

Varnish works best--but as was said, the high end marine varnishes from boat supply stores. But it is a lot of continuing hard work. If you have a bad summer for some reason and have to neglect the maintenance, it can become a horror show of yellow lifted varnish and peeling places that have turned grey,

You can cover it. Use Sunbrella acyrlic fabric which works quite well in the sun. It breathes and so shouldn't mildew if aired from time to time.

Letting it turn grey is a wonderful option. Teak weathers well and it is an attractive silvery grey without splinters. Wash it down once a season and you are good to go. Oh, one more point. However you finish it, saturate all ground contact surfaces with epoxy.

One more note: it is usually MUCH cheaper to buy teak furniture than to make it. There is export duty on teak in lumber form that makes it a $20 per board foot product. But for teak made into furniture there isn't such a duty, hence you buy the pre-made for less.

[Tony Bilello]

....... it is usually MUCH cheaper to buy teak furniture than to make it. There is export duty on teak in lumber form that makes it a $20 per board foot product. But for teak made into furniture there isn't such a duty, hence you buy the pre-made for less.

Thanks for sharing this with us. I always wondered about that.

[Howard Acheson]

Let me support Steve. We boaters deal with outdoor conditions with high UV saturation all the time. THERE IS NO long term, trouble free clear finish for exterior conditions. If it were me, I would use a teak oil you can get at a marine store and then spend my money of Sunbrella covers. Sunbrella is a exterior fabric designed for use on boats and other outdoor areas. It will keep out UV, rain and dirt and dust but not allow moisture to build up underneath. I would not use Tyvek. It is breathable but I don't believe it is intended for direct exposure to sunlight and UV.

[James Patrick]

Varnish works best--but as was said, the high end marine varnishes from boat supply stores. But it is a lot of continuing hard work. If you have a bad summer for some reason and have to neglect the maintenance, it can become a horror show of yellow lifted varnish and peeling places that have turned grey,

You can cover it. Use Sunbrella acyrlic fabric which works quite well in the sun. It breathes and so shouldn't mildew if aired from time to time.



I stumbled across this thread looking for advice on how to protect my outdoor patio furniture (http://www.familyleisure.com/Casual-Patio-Furniture). Is there any disadvantage to covering rather than varnish? I'm not against putting the work into it, but I don't know of a good boat supply store nearby me. I would rather just find a good cover, so I don't have to spend the time finding somewhere to buy varnish.

[John TenEyck]

As Howard said, no varnish is maintenance free, but Epifanes is the best marine varnish I've found. It's a long process to apply all 7 coats as they recommend, but it is very beautiful and very durable. You can buy it at about any West Marine store, or on-line, for about $50/quart (it's not cheap.). I did an ourdoor bench which sat out on the south side of my house all year long and it was 3 years before I had any noticeable deterioration. Some light sanding and another two coats and it looks beautiful again.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> and don't last long in direct sunlight.

Urethanes are rapidly deteriorated when exposed to the UV from sunlight. A poly varnish will not last long in exterior applications.

[Chris Weishaar]

Stephen,

I took a different route with my teak furniture and I have been pleased. I knew that any type of varnish was going to be iffy at best and I didn't want the go natural grey. My local cedar supplier had recommended a product called penofin for a cedar picnic table that I built a few years ago and it worked great. I have been dealing with them alot the past couple of years getting cedar for the fence and as the back yard patios and landscaping were wrapping up I knew we were getting new teak furniture. I asked the supplier what they had and they recommended a penofin product for hardwoods such as teak and mahogany. It is made with brazilian rosewood oil

I don't think I will get much of an arguement here about how great an oil finish makes wood look. Last year we were in a rush to use the new furniture and patio and we just put one quick coat on and got everything out into use. I should have put another coat on after a month or two but I didn't get the time. By the fall the horizontal surfaces had worn and a bit of mildew was present. The penofin is mildew restistant but where it had worn off it obviously didn't resist! This spring I cleaned it with a bleach based deck wash and it cleaned everything up but left the wood pretty light. I was nervous but as you can see by the photo with a couple of coats of oil back on it it looks great. This year I put a couple of coats on and let the oil soak in a good 1/2 hour before wiping. It should hold better this year as I did a much better job putting the Penofin on this time.

I will probably have to put another coat on every spring but I would have to do that with varnish. With the oil I just need to wash and apply more. There is no peeling or flaking. It really brings out the color and pops the grain, something that varnish won't do as well. The only downside is that it smells for the first week or so. I just got everything outside today and by next weekends parties it will be ready to go!

195462

[Mickey Gobes]

Thanks for sharing the useful information. It worked great for me. :)

pine furniture (http://www.lowennaspinefurniture.co.uk/)

[Dave Shute]

I use Waterlox marine for outdoor furniture. It is a tung oil varnish when applied over Waterlox original sealer or marine sealer provides a flexible finish that starts from the inside of the wood fiber and films at the surface. Not a top coat like poly, won't fracture, crack and peel like poly. The product has been around for years and is one of the best.