Outdoor Finishing

A guide to three kinds of finish that shield wood from the weather.

- Rob Petrie

1 Paint, film-forming finishes, and penetrating oils will all protect your pieces from water and weathering, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.

When I was a kid, my dad made a pair of Adirondack chairs that sat out front of the old farmhouse I grew up in. Looking back, they added a quaintness to the house. They were attractive pieces, but in time the finish started to peel off. As other projects came up, refinishing the chairs was put on the backburner. Years went on and they slowly became gray and cracked. Those chairs still sit there, just outside the door, battered, beaten, and colorless.

Naturally, I’ve been haunted by those chairs since. I dread watching a piece of furniture that I put so much time and effort into making drain of color and waste away. Lucky for me, there’s a few options when it comes to finishing for the outdoors, all of which are capable of keeping my pieces safe and my mind free from worry.

First of all, what separates an outdoor finish from a standard indoor finish? The main difference is the additives that, while unnecessary for an indoor piece, will save the life of your outdoor furniture. As you’ve probably seen before (and I in my youthful horror witnessed) raw wood left out unprotected will become a rough, gray mess from the elements. The big three forces that take a toll on outdoor furniture are fungi, moisture, and ultra-violet (UV) light damage. While we can’t completely avoid all of these things, we can give ourselves a fighting chance with some careful planning.