Picnic Table Finishing/sealer? Tips? *Pics*

Erin Reichelt

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Hello All,

I'm new to the forum and of course new to finishing wood:confused:. I'm pretty handy with a drill or hammer but in the past if it needed sanding it wasn't getting done, period. I don't mind using a drill to build stuff but sanding by hand just bores the life out of me. But, Hubby just got me a random orbit sander! Why didn't we get one of these fascinating little workers sooner!

I need help with a picnic table I have been wanting to fix since we bought our house two years ago. The picnic table was left by the previous owners to my surprise and I would love to fix it up.

Here's the poor 1/2 dismantled table. The old, cracked, paint peeling, wood bench seats are still on it but I took the top boards off. I plan on cleaning up the frame, repainting it black and bringing it back to life. It's actually a very solid heavy table when it's put together, doesn't look like much here but I know with a little work I will love it.

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Ok, so we went to Lowe's and purchased:

The Table is only 70" long so these 8 foot boards will be cut down to size.
3- 2x10x8 Top Choice GDF (don't remember what kind of wood it was) for the top.
2- 2x12x8 Top Choice GDF for the bench seats.

Plus new bolts and nuts needed to fasten them down.

I really like the natural blond wood look so I'm wanting to seal it clear. The problem is, I have no idea what to use or how to prep the wood.

I've been sanding it with my awesome sander (I'm in love with this thing!) and rounding out the edges but what do I do next? Note: the board on there now I just started working on.

Please, help...what sealer would work best for outdoor use and would waterproof it against the misters on my patio? Any tips on applying the finish, do I need a wood filler or not?

I know it's a simple project but it's a first for me so any help or advice you have is appreciated. If this goes well and turns out nice I'm hoping to get more creative in the future with stains and router bits on other projects :)

Thankx,
Erin
 
Hi Erin and welcome to the Family. :wave:I take it since you mentioned misters you are somewhere in the southwest. Anything you use will require reapplication in time also with the brutal sun we have in the southwest it will be hard to keep the color. If it were me I'd just apply Thompsons water seal and let the color fad to a nice rustic grey. It won't require you to strip it down which just about anything else you woul use would.

I did this to a deck when I lived in Southern Cal and 15 years later it looked great.
 
Hello Don and thank you for the welcome :)

I think you have a good idea, I didn't really think about the sun or having to reapply the finish latter. I know with my rustic bench out front the wood slats are losing there finish and sun bleaching in spots. So, I'm guessing that's what my table would do if I didn't take the time to refinish it each year.

Your right, I live in Southern California. The heat, sun and dryness takes it's toll on wooden patio furniture. I think I might just take your advice and do the Thompson's water sealer, I don't mind it fading though I do really like the blond natural color, I just want to see the knots and have it look more natural, not painted over.

Thankx for your ideas. If I used the Thompson's what kind of prep work would I need to do and how easy is it to apply?
 
Just Sand it down good and then apply the water sealer like you would paint. It is very thin. Keep applying it until the wood quits soaking up the sealer. Next year repeat and you will get many years of service out of the table. After you are done sanding, then drill the holes you will need to assemble but don't bolt them down. Apply it to all of the board on all sides before you assembling the table. If you don't have a good drill then have you hubby get you one. It's always nice to get new tools..:D
 
Thankx for the tips:)

Hubby and I have different ideas of "cool tools". He can spend $200 on a torque wrench and think that's an awesome tool where as I don't understand spending that kind of money on a tool that doesn't even have a motor. :)

But, we have different hobbys, he fixes the cars and I fix just about everything else. I don't have the patience for fixing cars and he doesn't have the creativity or interest to build stuff. lol We stay out of each others hair and get along just great. hahaha

He did get me a 19.2v Craftsman drill 2 Christmas's ago, so I do have a nice drill I use all the time. Now I have this nifty little sander to get creative with. Next I think I want some decorative router bits for the Dremell :)
 
I keep my favorite outdoor wood tables under a little canopy so the direct sunlight doesnt fade them all that quickly. I also redo them when they take on any greyish tint. You have the sander, every few months throw a few drops of water on it, if it beads up, the thompsons sealent is working fine, just try to keep the sun off of it as much as possible, if possible.
I love outdoor wood furniture, I have a few chairs and tables myself.
 

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Erin, the light blonde color you're seeing now in the wood will eventually darken into more of an amber color, then eventually it'll go gray like most of the rest of us. ;) As Allen mentioned, keeping the wood out of direct sunlight will be a big help towards retaining the color.

And the Thompson's Water Seal is a good idea. :thumb: The spar varnish I mentioned earlier in my e-mail message would require periodic re-sanding and re-application. That's what's often used on boats and such, but it does need regular maintenance.

... I have a few chairs and tables myself.

That's like saying Los Angeles has a few cars and trucks. :rofl:
 
Thankx for the tips, Allen. I plan on putting this on my back patio and I'm hoping it won't fade out that fast, it will be under the patio. So, it will only get morning sun then be shaded for the rest of the day.

If it was on my front patio I would be in trouble, everything bakes in the sun out there from noon tell sunset. Lately we are having a cooling trend in the 90's but last week it was 105 most of the week. You could cook an egg on my front door step it gets so hot out there, we are eventually going to extend the patio to make a drive under car port and to keep the sun off the front patio. Until then I don't plan on putting anything that's nice wood out there.
 
Nah you need to get a proper router. Like this one.
http://familywoodworking.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=35509&stc=1&d=1249861567
Also a table saw, a band saw, planer, joiner, band saw and lathe. This is just the short list. Oh and don't forget a Lathe..;):thumb:

Your in for a whole new world of consumer spending.

ohhh, noooo:D I can't bring a list to Hubby like that! :rofl: One thing at a time and I have to show him I can finish a table before I want to convert the garage to a wood shop! :thumb:

Erin, the light blonde color you're seeing now in the wood will eventually darken into more of an amber color, then eventually it'll go gray like most of the rest of us. ;) As Allen mentioned, keeping the wood out of direct sunlight will be a big help towards retaining the color.

And the Thompson's Water Seal is a good idea. :thumb: The spar varnish I mentioned earlier in my e-mail message would require periodic re-sanding and re-application. That's what's often used on boats and such, but it does need regular maintenance.

Ohh, ok. So it will get a little darker first before starting to turn gray. I will just make sure I keep it under the patio and put a few good layers of the sealer on it. I'm sure it will turn out great, I would like the amber color too and I'm sure I would get used to the gray too as long as it was sealed and didn't look dry or splintery.
 
Erin, I believe GDF stand for green douglas fir, although if it has been sitting long down in SoCal, it should have dried out some. If it was just shipped down, then it is going to move a lot. Which means you may get a lot bowing, twist, cupping and crook after it acclimatizes to SoCal condition. Bottom line, plates will not sit too flat on the table top. If you have time, let the wood get use to the climate. Generally you can tell if the wood has a lot of moisture by the weight. When you were picking them out of the pile at the store, you should have picked the lightest straightest ones you could find.
 
Erin, I believe GDF stand for green douglas fir, although if it has been sitting long down in SoCal, it should have dried out some. If it was just shipped down, then it is going to move a lot. Which means you may get a lot bowing, twist, cupping and crook after it acclimatizes to SoCal condition. Bottom line, plates will not sit too flat on the table top. If you have time, let the wood get use to the climate. Generally you can tell if the wood has a lot of moisture by the weight. When you were picking them out of the pile at the store, you should have picked the lightest straightest ones you could find.

Thank you, Bill. Now that you mentioned it, I don't think the wood is that old or dried out. It was inside Lowe's and looks to be farily new boards to me. There heavy boards. When we were looking through the stack some looked really fresh with some green/brown mildew on them and some with tacky sap. We weeded threw and found the straightest/cleanest boards we could that looked nice and dry.

So, if I want to let them sit to dry out some more where do I put them? I can work on sanding them then store them for a while before I drill any holes or seal them. Should I store them laying flat in the garage? That would be in the shade so they don't sun bleach. How long should I let them sit to be safe? I think the ones we got are not as fresh as some of the others but it might do them some good to sit a while before I bolt them down and they end up shrinking on me. lol

Thanks for bringing that up, it might be a good idea to let them sit for a week or so. I'm sure I will be sanding them for a while and rounding all the edges so it might take me that long to get the prep work done in this heat anyways. lol

Oh Erin then I'll shorten the list for ya. Get a Lathe and a Band saw and you wount need anything else..:D:thumb::rofl:

Yeah, I remember the lathe in high school wood shop, that was a fun tool to work with but they didn't give us much of an option on what we could do on it, make a mini base ball bat and that was it. :(

I'm lucky because my neighbor has a few saws in his shop so he can cut down to size most things I need cut for now. Though it would be nice to have my own saws so I don't have to wait or ask him for help. Eventually, I'm sure we will have more wood working tools. :D
 
welcome erin but dont listen to don on the tool choice completly,,you should stay away from those lathes they are vewry bad for you..very costly and once afflicted you will never be the sane:rofl::D stay with flat stuff and you will life a long and eventful life:) simon says:D
 
Erin
In terms with drying them, I would stiker them that is lay a strip on something, at least a 1/4 in thick at a 90 degree angle to the board and lay them out, Layer them with stickers between each board for a few weeks. Pick them up from time to time an see how light they are when they stop getting lighter then they are dry. The idea is to let the air dry them eavenly.
I would do it before I did any sanding but I only buy dry hard wood so I don't usualy have to worry about this. Unless I am drying stuff to turn.
And speaking about turning did you ever consider getting a lathe I know that Larriey Marlou is leaning in that direction.
 
Thanks Don:) I will put them in the garage for a while and just work on sanding one at a time as they are drying out.

Yeah, Larry seems to be leaning towards getting a lathe, I can see that. The addiction has him in it's grips:) He knows he really wants a lathe but just can't admit it yet ;)

Is there Lathe Anonymous meetings in your town? Larry should really check into that, he is not wanting to admit he really wants to turn, that's the first sign he might have a problem and needs help. :rofl:

I wouldn't mind having a lathe but I'm guessing there not cheap to buy. Plus, I don't want to send Larry off the wagon when he's trying so hard to stay away from that addicting turning :D
 
I wouldn't mind having a lathe but I'm guessing there not cheap to buy. Plus, I don't want to send Larry off the wagon when he's trying so hard to stay away from that addicting turning :D

The cost of the lathe isn't realy that bad. I have a Rikon Mini that will turn up to 12" dia. I think I paid a little over $300. You can get a decent chuck for another $100. Then you can get a decent set of High speed steel tools for another $60 so you can get started for around $500.
Of course with time you'll want to upgrade to some better tools, like a bowl gouge or two, and then maybe a hollowing jig of some sort then you'll probubly want a bigger lathe. And of course you eventualy want a band saw so you can prepare your turning blanks but this will all take some time.;):thumb:
Just rmember that it is an abyss and once you start down the road there is no turning back. :rofl::rofl:
 
ohh, Yeah...I could see that hobby dipping in to the bank account if I really got into it. lol I think for now, I will stay away from the Lathe. Only because I have enough projects to budget for already that need to get done.

After this table is done, we are planing to build a 3 rail fence out front. I have a big grass area that I want fenced off for my horse to graze on during the day. Then, I want to build him a new feed box/trunk or two of them to store his feed for winter. He eats hay cubes so there easy to store, I would just need to build two trunks that could hold 700 lbs of cubes each and can handle being out in the rain.

Then there's painting his stone boat/sled because that never got done and it's been sitting out in the weather for a year. I need to sand it down and paint it or replace the boards....Lots of projects around here that I need to master before I can talk Hubby into getting a lathe, though I would like to make bowls or vases one day.
 
I think that most lumber sold at lowes or hd, especially the construction grade you bought is already kiln dried. Since its going to be on a picnic table outside I wouldnt be too worried about it warping. If you went out to buy a new picnic table it would be made out of the same material you bought. It will have a KD stamp somewhere on the board

The thompson waterseal would be an excellent choice

However, I wouldn't ever think about using lumber that wasn't properly dried, or acclimated to my shop for any type of fine furniture. I learned that lesson years ago.
 
Bob,
I think there is a KD stamp on the wood. I sanded the print off the first board I did but I can look at the others. I'm pretty sure they do have KD something stamped on them.

Well, that's good to know! KD= kiln dried :) So, I won't have to worry about letting them dry out more. Though I think it will take me about a week to get all the boards sanded and edges rounded before I start pre-drilling holes and finishing anyways. In this heat, if there not dried out they will be in a week. :)

Thanks for the information. That's good to know for future reference:)
 
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