Clear Finish for Outdoor Cypress Table

[David G]

Years ago, I built an outdoor table from cypress and finished it with BLO. The Houston heat and humidity created ideal conditions for bacteria attack. Lightly power washed and sanded, the table still has early/late wood erosion like old barn siding. I would like to apply a film finish that would somewhat build and cover the gaps. The table will sit under a patio away from direct sunlight and rain. Any suggestions?

[Restorer]

get a deep tint oil based exterior paint and don't add any tint. It will dry clear and give the protection of paint. Sherwin Williams doesn't even get shocked when I buy it any more. Mac did a test with the acrylic based sw and showed good results but I think it has only been about a yr. on that test. I know the oil based works. BLO is not a finish. little info here http://askhlm.com/Articles/ArticleViewPa...inish.aspx

[Doug_H]

David

Three preliminary points: (1) only a good exterior opaque paint will stand up to direct sunlight for many years. (2) for a clear finish, I recommend many coats of good spar varnish with UV filters to keep the wood from changing chemically (3) it will take many coats to fill surface irregularities such as you describe. A coat of varnish is only 1-2 thousandths of an inch thick. Also, the mold may continue to work under the finish. I strongly recommend sanding the table top as smooth as you want the finished job to be.

Some time ago FWW did a comparison of outdoor clear finishes. Epifanes came out best, but as I recall it had a few more coats than the runner up, McCloskey's Man-o-War Spar varnish. Based on this, I gave some cypress Adirondack chairs about four coats of McCloskeys. They are in their fourth (maybe fifth) year in Florida and still look great. They have been in partial shade.

I made a outside redwood table this year and applied 8 coats of Epifanes, so at least I follow the advice I am giving.. Looks great. Too early to tell how it will stand up to the Denver sun.

Doug

[David G]

Thanks, folks. I will try the SW deep tint base paint thinned and sprayed. This is "quick hit" type project of maximum results for minimal effort. Another round of table top sanding and we will see how it goes.

[JR1]

The SW A100 is very nice but it is slightly opaque. GF450 is more money but completely clear. They are both waterborne and so very easy to use.

As for spar varnish unless you use a really good one like Epifanes (a relative PITA to apply) you would waste your money and time.