Have any of you built outdoor furniture using pine? If so, what type of sealer, stain, or paint did you use that gave you the best results and protection against the elements?
I have a picnic table made of pine that I'm needing to prepare for the outdoors. From reading other forums on the internet Pine seems to be the worst choice of wood for outdoors.
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Wood Hacker
Tue, 04/16/2013 - 12:51
As you know pine isn't the
As you know pine isn't the best material for outdoor furniture but as you've already made it you may as well enjoy it.
I'm only a novice at this so this is just my opinion and don't blame me if it fails!
If I was in your situation I would make sure that any end grain that came into contact with the ground was thoroughly protected to try and prevent water getting in that way. Either add some small feet to lift it off the floor slightly or find something you can apply to the end grain to stop it absorbing any moisture from the ground. As for the rest of it, maybe an exterior marine varnish would be my choice and stainless screws positioned where they wont trap water, I.e. facing upwards and at an angle so any rainwater drips off.
Hope this helps.
Tsu Dho Nimh
Wed, 04/17/2013 - 01:56
Protecting pine
We have a pine picnic table - it had several coats of Thompson's water seal on it as an initial protection, and gets a fresh coat every couple of years. It is outside year round, but in the shade in AZ is very dry most of the time.
As Wood Hacker suggested, keep the pine off any surface where water can soak into it, and soak the sealant into the end grains and remember between boards. We sealed our table before the top was assembled, so between boards got a couple of coats.