How do you treat weathered wood.?

Question

I have 2 wooden outdoor chairs that seem dry. What product do you recommend to add some lustre?

Answer 1

Well you have a few options depending how important the look is to you and the time you are willing to spend on them.

You could use a couple of coats of outside spar varnish,brushed on(you could use a penetrating or wiping stain 1st to give them some color.Just let the stain dry a day b4 you apply the varnish)

You could wipe them down with some boiled linseed oil-that will soak in and protect them and look alright after.

Tongue oil wiped on will protect them and look good.

Semi-transparent or solid color wood stain brushed on will add color and protect them.

Thompson's water seal,or a like product will protect and rejuvenate them.

The recommendations are listed from the best to easiest,top to bottom,in my opinion.Put 2 coats on and repeat every couple of years to maintain finish.

Answer 2

I'll just add my two cents; beginning with a couple of questions.

What type of wood?
Has the wood "Silvered"
Did it ever have a finish on it? OR RAW?

Certainly Tung oil will help, but it should likely be applied in multiple coats. It's the type of oil that is designed to "soak" in; and multiple coats form a sort of buildup in the fibers that doesn't just settle on the surface much like a furniture polish does; to be wiped off.

Any Gloss/ over coat type finishes will be subject to the environment; and craze; or crack over time.

Any "vegetable" based product would probably degrade rapidly as well.

With all due respect; and not knowing at all where you're located; I wanna say...For wooden chairs; Outside; dry might be better than Wet.

"Luster" Hmmm? Again; perhaps knowing the Species of wood might help. Thompsons; while widely popular wouldn't strictly be my first choice; and I do a lot of "decking"...BUT with continued treatments it offers modest success; though not strictly a "sheen"

Steven Wolf

Answer 3

you might consider first taking them to the car wash and pressure washing them. I do this on my boat swim platform every year. It's the only thing I have found to get the porous teak clean.

I would not use the oil products if you intend to sit in the chair.

Stains, likely oil based would be good. They will fade and dry out over time, but could be reapplied, and unlike a varnish or polyurethane, they will not craze or peel or flake away from moisture getting under a hard finish.

There are stains in transparent colors, semi transparent and solid. These should not peel, but rather weather away over time, allowing recoating.

good luck.

Answer 4

Pressure treated wood is an excellent choice, it will last longer than redwood (contact with concrete is very tough on redwood as the concrete is a constant source of moisture for decay) with less upkeep. Pressure treated lumber is also cheaper. Furthermore, the chemicals in treated lumber (ground-contact) available for homeowners will not leach and are not dangerous as popular opinion (opinion not science!) would have you believe. Pressure treated wood is actually more environmentally friendly as it lasts longer than redwood in use! (carbon tied up in wood not being released through decay, more trees left in forest)

Answer 5

Teak oil works well. Linseed oil will work, but does not have the same weather resistance as teak.
(make sure it is 100% Teak oil as the ones with varnish added will not work as well)

Answer 6

Try TUNG OIL. Apply it generously, let it soak , and rub off the excess.