exterior wood sealer

[Jim Colombo]

What is the best sealer for plywood that will be used outdoors?

Thanks,
Jim

[Jerry Miner]

Exterior paint.

What's the project?

[Mel Fulks]

See OUTDOOR ART thread in this same forum just a couple days ago

[Doug Hepler]

Jerry,

Jim Miner is right -- you asked for the best -- but here is a longer discussion, mainly for outdoor furniture. http://plaza.ufl.edu/chepler/Notes/Outdoor%20Wood.pdf

Doug

[Mel Fulks]

Ordinary construction plywood does not hold up well outside with just paint. Look at some house cornice end caps ; the
"football" patches easily seen from the ground does not mean their team won the super bowl

[Jerry Miner]

Ordinary construction plywood does not hold up well outside with just paint. Look at some house cornice end caps ; the
"football" patches easily seen from the ground does not mean their team won the super bowl

Mel--when you say "just paint" does not hold up, do you mean that something in addition to paint would be better? What?

[Mel Fulks]

Jerry ,thats why I refered to the Outdoor Art thread. It has a good method in it that has appeared here several times. Take a look and if you have any questions just ask. It is basically just a way of making your own MDO, a product that takes and holds paint well. The problem is that when there are few affordable choices the "norm" gets reccomended as something "good". Nothing " good " about painted plywood out in the weather (unless it's MARINE ) Don't confuse widely held truisms with proven methods.

[Jerry Miner]

See OUTDOOR ART thread in this same forum just a couple days ago

Mel--I looked. I searched. Cannot find an"outdoor art" thread.

[Mel Fulks]

Sorry. It's in General Woodworking And Power Tools and was started Dec. 11

[Jerry Miner]

OK. Found it. Thanks.

For anybody else looking, here's the link: Outdoor Art

[Stew Hagerty]

First, use "treated" exterior grade plywood. Then paint all surfaces. If you MUST not paint for some reason, then finish with a marine varnish.