Outdoor Oil

[Bob McBreen]

General Finishes makes a product called Outdoor Oil. It looks, spreads and smells like many other oil-based finishes. Is there anything specific in it that makes it an outdoor product? Like many of us, I blend linseed oil, tung oil & varnish to make a finish for interior use. Can I do the same for exterior use?

Thanks - Bob

[John TenEyck]

I think GF claims they add UV protectors to their outdoor oil. Maybe a mildewcide, too, can't remember. FWIW, I've never found an outdoor oil product that lasts very long.

Your home brewed oil/varnish mix is not likely to fair well outside.

I would look at something like One Time. 100% solids, cures by sunlight exposure. It's the first stuff that I've put on my deck that has lasted more than a year and not been a feeding ground for black mold. Or there's always Epifanes Marine Varnish but it requires continual maintenance to work over the long term.

John

[Jeff Roltgen]

In this spirit, I've tried thinning Epifanes down to a wiping varnish consistency, as I do whimsical things like this occasionally. Only did a couple coats, and tested next to a super-cheap Flood brand outdoor oil from home center on a scrap of Ipe. In about 6 months of midwestern weather, including a bit of winter, there was no evidence of a finish application at all where the Epifanes had been applied. The Flood brand was only 50% deteriorated.

So, even when the proper resins are in the product, there's no way to get around it - a thick layering of heavy varnish is the only thing that has some longevity outdoors, albeit brief.

FWIW

jeff

[John Kananis]

I've found teak to be just about the only wood that holds oil or any finish for any decent amount of time (outdoors). Meaning, consider the substrate. Even when you use the right stuff, exposure to the elements will always work against you. Haven't tried the general product.

[Bob McBreen]

I should have been clear, I wasn't expecting to use the same homemade recipe outside. I was hoping that there was a different mix of ingredients to make finish for outside.

I think GF claims they add UV protectors to their outdoor oil. Maybe a mildewcide, too, can't remember. FWIW, I've never found an outdoor oil product that lasts very long.

Your home brewed oil/varnish mix is not likely to fair well outside.

I would look at something like One Time. 100% solids, cures by sunlight exposure. It's the first stuff that I've put on my deck that has lasted more than a year and not been a feeding ground for black mold. Or there's always Epifanes Marine Varnish but it requires continual maintenance to work over the long term.

John

[Bob McBreen]

My local hardware store had Watco Teak Oil for a reasonable price so I picked up some.

I live in coastal Maine, and I know the piece will live outside year round, so no expectations that it will last very long. It is a gift to a friend & I am certain that it will get zero maintenance.

[Scott Winners]

Not clear on what the item is. Up here I have a squarepoint shovel that I use year round, and a wheelbarrow I can't fit into my tool shed, so those three Ash handles are out in the weather 24/7/365. When I start with bare Ash wood and modern BLO with the heavy metal dryers in it my routine is twice daily for seven coats, then once every two weeks over my short precious summer, and then twice annually, right before the freeze and right after the thaw. In general I can expect Ash handles to outlast the metal shovel blade and wheelbarrow parts here.

For small pieces of red oak I have decent results immersing in 50-50 mix of modern BLO with paint thinner mineral spirits. Think knife handles in a mason jar. Fill the jar up to the rim with the wood pieces already in, apply the cap, leave the wood immersed x48 hours after it sinks. Those pieces are still in service after five years, but the surface is rough enough I wouldn't want to sit down on it.

I am looking for old school BLO without the dryers added, am finding a fair bit of "Can't be shipped to this zip code." My thinking is without the dryers I will get longer cure time, but should be able to benefit from better depth of penetration.

[Edwin Santos]

Not clear on what the item is. Up here I have a squarepoint shovel that I use year round, and a wheelbarrow I can't fit into my tool shed, so those three Ash handles are out in the weather 24/7/365. When I start with bare Ash wood and modern BLO with the heavy metal dryers in it my routine is twice daily for seven coats, then once every two weeks over my short precious summer, and then twice annually, right before the freeze and right after the thaw. In general I can expect Ash handles to outlast the metal shovel blade and wheelbarrow parts here.

For small pieces of red oak I have decent results immersing in 50-50 mix of modern BLO with paint thinner mineral spirits. Think knife handles in a mason jar. Fill the jar up to the rim with the wood pieces already in, apply the cap, leave the wood immersed x48 hours after it sinks. Those pieces are still in service after five years, but the surface is rough enough I wouldn't want to sit down on it.

I am looking for old school BLO without the dryers added, am finding a fair bit of "Can't be shipped to this zip code." My thinking is without the dryers I will get longer cure time, but should be able to benefit from better depth of penetration.

Lee Valley sells something called Polymerized Tung Oil in both a finish and sealer. The description says heat treatment polymerization is what encourages drying, so I assume they did this in lieu of the kinds of metal driers you're trying to avoid. Maybe this product would meet your needs? The Tried and True products come to mind also.

[Mark Rainey]

There are no finishes that protect outdoor wood furniture to our satisfaction. Some say don't bother, leave it weather to a silver grey. I use General Finishes on my heartwood cherry garden chairs. I applied the finish twice last season, and fight mold/mildew with a bleach spray on occasion. I am in summer #2. I will report again in summer #3.

[Mark Rainey]

I missed summer #3. Now reporting in summer #4. Heartwood cherry garden chairs with General Finishes outdoor oil, with northern exposure - sun perhaps 33% of day. They look pretty good, but a ton of work. Start of summer a new coat. After a few months mildew begins in the front slat of the seat where water collects. Time for vinegar, or scrubbing, or bleach or sanding. A lot of work. After a fresh coat of oil they look pretty good. Probably at least 2 repeats of this in the summer. In basement in winter. A lot of work. I report next summer, not sure how long I will keep it up.

chairs 2.jpgchair single 1.jpgchair single 2.jpg

[Tom M King]

For me at least, at some point it becomes not worth the effort required. I quit trying decades ago for anything that at least doesn't live under a roof with a large overhang.

[John TenEyck]

This is the point where it's time to point out that any finish, or no finish at all, will last nearly forever if you simply keep it covered when not using it and its feet dry. I started keeping a cover over a bench I built and finished with the required 7 coats of Epifanes needed maintenance every two years, then every year. After 5 or 6 years I wised up and bought a cover for it. 5 years later it hasn't changed a bit.

John

[Mark Rainey]

This is the point where it's time to point out that any finish, or no finish at all, will last nearly forever if you simply keep it covered when not using it and its feet dry. I started keeping a cover over a bench I built and finished with the required 7 coats of Epifanes needed maintenance every two years, then every year. After 5 or 6 years I wised up and bought a cover for it. 5 years later it hasn't changed a bit.

John

True John. I did get covers for my chairs on my back southern facing deck. After a couple of months the constant sun really weathered the oil finished uncovered chairs and the covers are great. My wife does not want covers on the front chairs because of appearance. We'll see how long I continue the effort.

[John TenEyck]

True John. I did get covers for my chairs on my back southern facing deck. After a couple of months the constant sun really weathered the oil finished uncovered chairs and the covers are great. My wife does not want covers on the front chairs because of appearance. We'll see how long I continue the effort.

Oh, I understand about not wanting to put covers on those beautiful chairs (Michael Fortune design?) on the front stoop, as my granddad called it. At some point, however, you are going to run out of motivation to maintain them. Then I guess you'll have to decide whether or not to move them somewhere else, or paint them? An alternative might be to disassemble them, if possible, strip them with chemical stripper, and try One-Time on them. It will last far longer than any oil product. The test patch on my Ipe' deck is now in its third year w/o mold growing on it. It needs to be cleaned from dirt and whatever the nasty stuff is that comes off a black walnut tree, but some deck and fence soap and a power wash makes it a fast job. It's fading slowly and, at some point, I'll need to refresh it. I'm guessing at around 5 years.

John

[Stan Calow]

My local hardware store had Watco Teak Oil for a reasonable price so I picked up some..

As far as I can tell, there is no "teakness" in Teak Oil. It's just another blend of varnish, BLO, tung oil, and solvents, like other danish oils. Look up the MSDS for it.

And there's no danish in danish oil. There have been many articles written over the years discussing how misleading finish marketing is.