We North Americans love our decks and patios. This is especially true here in the North, where after a long, cold winter, we can’t wait to get outside and enjoy the warm, summer sun. During the summer months, decks and patios become a valuable extra room—the perfect place to entertain or simply relax in a favorite wooden chair. Whether your choice of chair is an Adirondack, or a rocker glider, you’ll want to be sure that the wood is protected from the elements for the outdoor season. But which finish should you choose?
While there are plenty of options out there for finishing your wood chair parts, the most important thing to take into consideration for outdoor furniture is durability. Tung oil finishes, wax pastes and shellac will all beautify the wood, but they aren’t particularly durable, meaning regular reapplication will be required.
Penetrating resin can be very durable. The resin works by penetrating into the wood and protecting the individual fibers. But watch out! Close-grained wood such as maple, alder and walnut will resist the penetrating action. To take full advantage of the durability of penetrating resin, be sure to apply it to only open-grained wood such as oak and ash.
Varnish is probably the best overall choice for finishing outdoor wood furniture. Available in just about every look you can imagine, from high gloss to flat, varnish is durable and extremely water and heat resistant. Varnish doesn’t soak into wood, so damage to the finish will not extend to the wood itself—providing of course damaged areas of finish are repaired. Varnish is available as an oil-based application, or a water-based application that is less toxic and easier to clean up. Waterproof
Since 1963, Newport Furniture parts have been designing and producing indoor and outdoor wood components for companies and entrepreneurs in the furniture industry. During the last five years, we have expanded our wood furniture finishing capabilities to offer complete finishing services to our component customers. Whether you are looking at staining, varnishing or painting, we have the equipment and staff to finish your chairs or furniture parts with unmatched quality. Our goal is to offer our customers a complete manufacturing resource. Our guarantee is that you will be completely satisfied with your finished wood furniture.
