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Thread: Best outdoor clear finnish?

  1. #1
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    Apr 2016
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    Best outdoor clear finnish?

    I made kiln dried wood shutters for the house. I wanted solid cedar, but what I ended up buying I think is simply white oak died red.
    3 years ago I put up shutters to just a large 4 section picture window in the dining room.
    Unsure what to use I gave them 4 coats of Formby,s tung oil finnish.
    Last year I added shutters to 2 more windows and an upstairs windowbox. I think I used clear poly on them.
    This year the ones with 4 coats are still fairly good, but I sanded them down to bare wood and applied one coat of Spar varnish to try to make them all look alike.
    The ones that have only been up for one year have faded far more and I am giving them one coat of the same.
    It looks to me like this is going to be a yearly process to keep them looking nice.
    Would I be better off with one coat to make it easier to sand down and refinnish, or would it be better to give them several coats, perhaps extending their look of bare wood for, hopefully a number of years, but also making them harder to strip?

  2. #2
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    Dec 2010
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    I've never heard of being able to buy lumber that's already been dyed. Dye only goes a few thou deep and the underlying wood color would come back if you sanded it very much, and certainly on the cross section where you cut it. If your wood is red inside it's not likely white oak. Red cedar and redwood would be the first things that comes to mind to me.

    Anyway, exterior wood finishes all require maintenance. Clear film finishes require more than most others. Automotive clear coats and similar 2K poly finishes will probably last the longest, followed by some marine varnishes like Epifanes. I have GF's Exterior 450 on an exterior door I made last Fall and so far, so good. Easy to apply with a brush or spray. I did another door a year ago that faces due West with no protection with Cetol Door and Window finish and it's still perfect. Goes on great with a brush. You have to use two color coats first, however, so it's not really a clear coat. I used two color coats and then the clear. But it would be a very good choice I think if one of the colors appeals to you because maintenance is about as easy as it gets for a film finish. The finish sort of chalks off over time and when you start to see that happening, you scuff sand it and apply a new coat. No sanding or stripping to bare wood required.

    The easiest finish to maintain is none at all. Second easiest is an exterior penetrating oil, a step up from the tung oil you used on some of them. Clean once a year, apply a new coat of oil.

    John

  3. #3
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    I've seen it mentioned a few times over the years, but exterior latex paint deep tint base may be clear and have the UV properties that would make it desirable. Otherwise, one of the marine focused finishes would likely be a good choice.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I've seen it mentioned a few times over the years, but exterior latex paint deep tint base may be clear and have the UV properties that would make it desirable. Otherwise, one of the marine focused finishes would likely be a good choice.
    Yes, SW's waterborne A-100 Deep Base #4 (I think) goes on white but dries clear and several have reported excellent durability with it. I have not yet tried it, however.

    John

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
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    North Virginia
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    I'm a big fan of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES) followed by top coats of spar varnish (get one that is formulated for UV protection). I'm partial to the Jamestown/Total Boat brands.

    TedP

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