Pine Grill Cart

[Cannon51]

My son bought a Large Green Egg. He said he was going to keep it in his garage and would I make him a cart with casters.  I started the cart and have the carcass made but now he's decided to put it on his uncovered deck. The carcass is made of Southern yellow pine with walnut plugs in the screw holes. I was originally going to apply a few coats of Boiled Linseed Oil but since it's going outside I am wondering if I should switch to some kind of Spar Varnish.
Cannon

[jteneyck]

For maximum durability with minimum maintenance it's hard to beat paint, white being the best.  Easiest, however, would be to use deck stain.  You'd have to reapply every year or two, buts it's easy and won't ever peel.  What looks the best, but requires the most maintenance is varnish.  Of those, I would only use Epifanes Marine Varnish.  You'll get about 3 years w/o any maintenance, depending upon where you live, and then you have to apply a new coat or two every one to two years or face a much more difficult task if the varnish cracks and water gets behind it.  Another choice would be SW's A-100 deep base paint, which dries clear if no color is added.  It is arguably as good as Epifanes.

In the end, any exterior wood requires routine maintenance if you put finish on it.  

John

[Cannon51]

I don't know where the image went.
Cannon