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Thread: Picnic table finish

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
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    SE Mass.
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    229

    Picnic table finish

    I'm making a white pine picnic table. Around here, (unfinished) they seem to last ~10 years before they're too rotten to use. Is there something, hopefully inexpensive, that I can put n it to extend that by at least a few years? Would things like Thompson's Waterseal or linseed oil do anything? I think Cetol would help, but it is rather pricey, and it does turn thing orange. What about a dilute varnish? I'm hoping to hear of a traditional something used for extending lifetime of outdoor white pine. Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,688
    Best choice is likely exterior semi-opaque or opaque stain like you would put on a house or fence. It breaths, unlike a film finish, and isn't expensive if you're concerned about that. Any kind of film finish is going to require relatively frequent maintenance.

    One thing you can do to help keep it sound is to be sure that water can't stand on the top and that the bottoms of the legs are not directly on the ground. Find a way to raise them up a little. For equestrian jump standards (for horse jumping) I use some PVC material to not have any wood directly on the ground so it will not be constantly wicking up moisture into what is most often end-grain.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 03-26-2020 at 10:25 AM.
    --

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

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Coastal Southern Maine
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    350
    I always try to protect the end grain of the legs. I have little plastic discs that I put the legs in & fill with finish. The discs look like small Frisbees. It soaks into the wood and seems to help.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    southeast Michigan
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    About 60 years ago when I was a youngster my dad and a first cousin that lived across the street each bought the same standard picnic table kit. My uncle Walt just painted his and my dad only put Waterlox on his. My uncle's warped badly after 2-3 years and was pretty well rotted after 5-6. My dad did put a refresher coat of Waterlox on for the next 2 years only. And my dad's table was not warped or rotted 25 years later.

    Waterlox may have had a different formulation back then without all the restrictions now but I think their Marine version would be the next closest thing.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Even today, there are multiple different Waterlox products...it's a brand name. The one I used for a client project last year was the marine version which is what he handed me because it's all he could find at the time. And this was for an indoor project.
    --

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

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    SE Mass.
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    Thanks folks. Should I be looking at Waterlox marine finish or Waterlox marine sealer?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Josko Catipovic View Post
    Thanks folks. Should I be looking at Waterlox marine finish or Waterlox marine sealer?
    Around the farm I use boiled linseed oil. Soaks in a bit and protects, should be reapplied occasionally where directly exposed to rain. I use it on tool and wheelbarrow handles, trailer beds, and wooden barn/shed doors.

    JKJ

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