Outdoor oak furniture

[sustad]

Silver seems to be the new black. Are people using clear wood preservative on untreated oak garden furniture? Just thinking it would slow the endgrain from soaking up water. Thanks

 

[Michael Kellough]

I’d start with white oak, then use that thin epoxy stuff Cheese used on his teak furniture, to further fill the end grain.

The splintery fuzzies will have to be knocked down every year before the sitting season begins, unless the furniture is just used for it’s rustic ornamental effect.

 

[Birdhunter]

I’ve used diluted TiteBond III to seal end grain on outdoor furniture. Several applications seems to work, but I am not an expert.

 

[Bob D.]

Filling or otherwise protecting the end grain is good, but the first few times that piece of furniture is drug across a deck or patio of pavers or concrete that protection will be gone.

I have been using old cutting boards that the wife has discarded from the kitchen. I cut it into pads that fit the feet on the leg and secure them with one or two brass or SS screws depending on their size. It's easy to cut and I put a round over on the edge.

Then when someone drags the piece it slides easily (less work for them) and there is little chance of damage to the leg which keeps the piece looking good longer. Plus when it rains the leg is not sitting on the ground so I think it reduces the chance of water wicking into the end grain.

 

[Cheese]

I learned the hardway...you need to seal the endgrain AND install glides on the bottom of each leg. Just sealing the endgrain will not prevent damage to the leg bottoms if they are dragged across a patio surface. They will catch on the stone edges and crack, chip and worse. [sad]

This is a teak chair leg that was used on a bluestone patio for several years with nothing on the bottom. When I finally saw the cracking and chipping damage that was done I added a plastic glide several years ago which helped a lot, but it didn't prevent the wood from continuing to split more because of wicking up water.

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I've been refinishing/rebuilding all of the teak patio furniture this summer and this example may give you some ideas for your oak.

This chair leg is cracked through and will likely fail completely if left alone. After some light sanding the damage is even more obvious.

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I decided to use Smith's Clear Epoxy Penetrating Sealer to seal the endgrain and to reinforce/stabilize the chair leg, it's popular in the  marine industry. The whole process goes pretty fast because as you apply the epoxy it wicks quickly into the endgrain. I'll apply the epoxy to 6-8 chairs and by the time I've done the 8th chair, the 1st chair will need another coat. Just keep applying and mixing more epoxy until there's a nice smooth continuous surface on the chair leg. This photo is after 6 coats of epoxy.

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At this point there are 20+ coats of epoxy applied and water will never be sucked up in the endgrain again.

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You can see how the epoxy wicks into whatever voids there are which also stabilizes the wood.

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After sanding and 2 coats of teak sealer along with a white plastic glide added to the leg, this chair is back in service.

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[sustad]

Great post. Thanks for taking the time to show us what you've done.

 

[Cheese]

Here's a link to finishing outdoor teak furniture. This is the post that Michael was referring to in his reply to your question.

It may be of some use to you.  [smile]
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/...g-teak-outdoor-furniture/msg649134/#msg649134

 

[Bob D.]

Nice Cheese, I cut my pads to cover the whole bottom of the leg.

I don't have a photo with a close up of the foot but you can see the white pads on the feet of these two pieces.