[strongarm938]

I have made a cedar bench as a Christmas present, and as usual haven't thought it all the way through to completion. The good news is that I made it all the way to the finishing stage before getting befuddled.

So here goes.........The bench top is made of aromatic cedar and the base is made of hard maple (the mortises took forever to chop by hand). I have applied 4 coats of wipe on poly and it looks fantastic! However I am concerned about the weather resistance of the bench. Should I put on a finish coat of straight poly or will the wipe on poly be sufficient?

Any quick help would be appreciated since I only have a couple days left until our early Christmas party.

 

[Lilty]

Outdoor Cedar Bench

Probably to late for this but I read on another forum that some people are using Latex Tint Base for outdoor furniture. (It's clear )
They were saying it holds up better than Poly.

 

[Rob]

Haven't seen anything on the latex tint base but it sure is worth investigating. The only problem I see for using it now is that latex usually doesn't do too well over an oil-based (poly) finish.
Since you started with the wipe on poly, I would definitely give it a couple of coats...full strength. Jusy don't expect it to dry quite as fast.
Also, like anything kept outdoors, it's gonna need some scuffing and recoating every few years.

 

[WAGGS]

I wouldnt use poly on cedar, I have seen it flake right off after a year.:huh:

 

[Burlkraft]

Spar Urethane lasts a couple of years.....

 

[joasis]

Has anyone used spar varnish? I watched a guy years ago coat the wooden structure of an antique airplane with it....said it was good for a lot of years....and had a distinct smell also....

 

[Big Dave]

Has anyone used spar varnish? I watched a guy years ago coat the wooden structure of an antique airplane with it....said it was good for a lot of years....and had a distinct smell also....

I've used it but haven't been back to see how it is holding up. The exterior door that I did was pretty well protected so I think it will hold up for several years. It's supposed to be the best thing to use on exterior wood for water protection and sun protection.

 

[mike p]

aromatic cedar FINISH?

should have been new thread sorry

 

[woodworkslinda]

outdoor finish

There is a wonderful product I use for outdoor wood pieces. It's an Alphatic Urethane. This is not Poly Urethane. Its specd to withstand the wind, ran and sun of Texas for a 5 year gauantee. It can be purchased at touchupdepot.com out of Houston. Unfortunately I'm not sure if you can use it over a poly urethane. If you are starting with raw wood, you must use a vinyl sanding sealer under it instead of a nitrocellular based one.

Linda