Finishes for Outdoor Furniture

Hi, I'm building a couple of Adirondack chairs from Macrocarpa. The client wants a natural finish & for the timber to 'silver off'. What finishes will allow this to happen while protecting the wood? Peter

I'd suggest an oil-based finish.

If 'twas made from Merbau or another wood commonly used for timber decking I'd suggest a suitably coloured decking oil, but for Macrocarpa I'm thinking plain ol' Boiled Linseed Oil would be the ticket.

As 'natural silvering' is actually the decay of the timber surface due to algae and other micro-organisms, you don't want a 'sealed' finish. Oils will penetrate and help protect the subsurface from degradation, while the evaporation of oils on the surface layer would promote silvering.

It doesn't hurt that BLO is cheap as chips, either. ;)

Whatever you use, if it's an oil-based finish, I recommend that you advise the client to recoat the surface every year with that product for maintenance purposes, in which case it helps if youo use a product that they can easily get their hands on.

Unless they really like the "rickety & falling apart silver" look, of course! :rolleyes:

Thanks for the tip Andy, I was concerned that BLO could stain clothing etc, but I'll do a test. Peter