Refinishing Question

[Brent Romero]

Hello Gents,

I have a rolling outdoor kitchen cabinet built from some old pecky cypress and some new cypress as well. It is about 8-10yrs old and the original finish is beginning to need some attention. I originally stained it (golden oak I think) and put a topcoat of spar varnish. I sometimes regret not applying a tung oil finish instead. What are my options at this point? Sand below the varnish and restain a possibly darker color and varnish again? Could I sand below the surface and apply a tung oil and have decent results? The only problem is the insides of the drawers, etc. are pristine.

Thanks in advance.

[Steve Schoene]

I don't see any advantage of using actual tung oil as a finish. To provide even modest protection from the elements you would need roughly half a dozen coats applied several days or a week apart. Since the excess oil must be wiped off from each coat you shouldn't build any significant film on the surface. Consequently there is nothing to prevent UV light from damaging the wood despite the finish. I would recommend removing the remaining original finish using a chemical stripper. This lets you avoid really heavy sanding, so you only need light sanding to make sure stripper residue or other rough spots or greyed areas in the wood are eliminated. If your spar varnish lasted nearly 10 years, that says it is a pretty good protective finish for your location. I'd make sure I used a good marine grade spar varnish such as Epifanes, Pettit Captain's or Interlux Schooner. Products from the big box stores are not true marine spar despite any nautical sounding names. Follow directions, these will likely call for you to apply abouit 6 coats of the spar varnish. Then, be prepared for regular maintenance. Each spring, if you see the surface starting to dull, do a light sanding of the varnish and apply another maintenance coat. Since the cabinet rolls, the longevity of the finish depends heavily on whether you can move the cabinet into a shaded location for storage between uses. Sun is the enemy.

[Brent Romero]

Thanks, Steve. Much appreciated. Is there any harm in applying more stain once the varnish has been removed and then applying a marine varnish over the new coat of stain?

[Steve Schoene]

It won't really hurt, although dark colors do let the wood get hotter in the sun and that accelerates deterioration of the finish at least to some degree. Remember that in sun, dyes, such as included in many consumer stains will fade or change color significantly so an all pigment stain would be preferable. Be sure it has plenty of curing time before applying the varnish.

[Brent Romero]

Thank you sir!

[robert baccus]

My cypress gets weathered a nice shiney grey outside here.