Poplar Durability Outside

[cputnam]

What is the durability of 4/4 poplar when used outside.
If it is as poor as I suspect, are there preservatives (deck stain, etc.) other than paint that will help?
If whatever helps, any idea of how much?

[R Clark]

I don't know of anything that will help you get more than a few years of outdoor exposure on poplar.

I suppose you can try any of the water sealant products, but IMHO, poplar just isn't the right choice for outdoor projects.

[Phil S.]

It depends somewhat on what use you are going to put it to.  Something like a deck chair that can be painted and not be in direct contact with the ground, maybe moved out of the weather in the off season, etc. etc, you might get reasonable life out of it.  Otherwise you'd be lucky to get a couple of years.  Not sure why you'd want to choose poplar when there are other woods that will serve you better, other than maybe initial cost.

Phil

[wood2woodknot]

Side note.............I've never seen this before, but I made some poplar chairs for grandkids. No stain, just Watco oil finish. They went to Erie PA. After a summer outside, they had turned as green as a shamrock. There were no noticeable color veins in the wood when I made them. I first thought they had been painted until I checked for sure.

[DaveR1]

I assume you are referring to yellow poplar. According to FPL it isn't high on the durability list. It is nice to work and available in long, clear lengths. I used it for parts of the sailboat I built because it was what I could get. Those parts were either painted, glassed, or finished with spar varnish. It worked very well in the application but the boat lived on a trailer and was under cover when it wasn't being used.

[J-W-P]

There is pressure treated poplar available.
My neighbor uses it for fence boards for his pasture. He paints it white but that is to match the rest of his fencing.

[KC]

I made some adirondak chaird out of poplar, painted with regular old (cheap) paint.  They were on a covered deck, but the feet still rotted to some extent over a period of 10 or 11 years.

[jteneyck]

Really poor choice in a climate that's wet, like where I live in the NE, but it would likely last quite a long time where the climate is dry, like the SW.  But pine or douglas fir would be better choices, and cedar even better.  

John

[cputnam]

I was asking about poplar because that is what I physically have. The lumberyards around here do not carry cedar. We were finally able to score some cedar from Home Depot. It will be delivered on the 23 of April. We have had our trials & tribulations trying to order that stuff from HD but finally scored some.

Thank you all for confirming my suspicion that poplar was a poor choice for exterior use.

[Arlin Eastman]

I don't know of anything that will help you get more than a few years of outdoor exposure on poplar.

I suppose you can try any of the water sealant products, but IMHO, poplar just isn't the right choice for outdoor projects.

I do not think paint will do it even on the ends or oil soaked into the ends.  That stuff will rot in a blink of an eye.
I seen a few trees of it fall over and before it seasoned for a year on the ground it had a lot of rot in it more then even turning.