FranMike Harley Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 Hi SSV.. Sorry if this has been asked here before.. Working on a "Welcome" sign for my Niece that she wants to put outside. The piece is going to be roughly 8" wide, 24" long, made from 1/2" red oak. I was thinking of finishing it with either Tung Oil or a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirit but read somewhere that boiled linseed oil is not water resistant at all. Then put final coats of poly on it.. Suggestions on how best to finish it while protecting it from the outside elements would be appreciated.. Thanks in advance !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrolling Steve Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 Mike, I use Spar Varnish and or Spar urethane or both.....Works for me. Lucky2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) I made some welcome plaques for my son and myself last year out of red oak and used teak oil for a finish and they seem to be holding up well so far. I have had bad experiences with most spray finishes used on outside wood projects. Edited March 24, 2016 by stoney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldhudson Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) IMHO The first step is to select wood that does well outside like cedar and cypress. I've used McClosky's Spar Varnish and General Finishes Outdoor Oil. But in my world, no clear outdoor finish really works, if you want an outdoor project to look good over the long haul you'll need to re-finish every few years. Here are a couple of pics of a bench I made four years ago in cedar. I used the GF product mentioned above. This has been outside since completion - one year on the south side in the middle of the yard and 3 years on the NW side, with no sun exposure and near the house for protection. One pic was taken when it was new and the other today. For me the real answer is paint. A coat of primer and two coats of a high quality oil based paint. The window boxes I made about 10 years ago still look great. Anyway that's my 2¢ One final thing, here's a link to a Woodsmith Shop video on this subject. I thought it might be of value. http://www.woodsmithshop.com/episodes/season7/709/?play=144 Edited March 24, 2016 by oldhudson Scrolling Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 The best clear finish to use is actually oil base ( latex will work as well but oil base is best ) outside house paint with no pigment added.. The store clerks will look at you in a very strange way when you ask for paint with no color added.. It will look milky / white.. but it will dry clear.. be sure to apply very lightly otherwise it will come out sort of milky haze clear. LOL .. Like others have said.. use a wood that will hold up well to outside elements will help tremendously.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 Be careful to only use SPAR Marine Varnish for outdoor work. The Sun will quickly destroy other varnishes and many paints, if not specifically designed to resist the Sun and extreme temperature and humidity changes of the outdoors. A good spar varnish resists cracking and stays slightly flexible. It also contains materials that are not affected by UV rays from the Sun. I haven't used their clear coating, yet, but from the success that I've had using some of their other products, I believe that their clear coat will make a great long lasting outdoor finish. https://www.kbs-coatings.com/. What I used was a gas tank interior coating kit from them that made a gas tank with 1/4" of rust inside better than new. That was 4 years ago and it's still just like it was when I first finished using their kit. Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 Hi SSV.. Sorry if this has been asked here before.. Working on a "Welcome" sign for my Niece that she wants to put outside. The piece is going to be roughly 8" wide, 24" long, made from 1/2" red oak. I was thinking of finishing it with either Tung Oil or a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirit but read somewhere that boiled linseed oil is not water resistant at all. Then put final coats of poly on it.. Suggestions on how best to finish it while protecting it from the outside elements would be appreciated.. Thanks in advance !! i have no experience with coatings ,although i have way more than enough to use.Posys like this help me decide what to use and when,thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky2 Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 All I've ever used to protect outdoor projects, is Spar Marine Varnish. It goes on easy, and it lasts for a very long time. I usually give the item three good thick coats of it, with sanding between the first two. There's projects that I made close to twenty years ago, and they still look good today. Len Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 I also use Spar Varnish for the same reason, UV protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted March 26, 2016 Report Share Posted March 26, 2016 I also usespar varnish. Our outdoor sign is over 10 years old and I haven't had to recoat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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