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Treatment of wood exposed to sun and rain?

I desparately need advice on how to treat a sun deck and my wooden garage doors and patio furniture which is exposed to the elements. The front door was merely varnished when it was installed and now, 5 months later, the varnish has become brittle and is flaking. It has also faded and has 'burnt' to an opaque white colour. Obviously, this has to be removed thoroughly. I was told to put 4 coats of varnish thinned with turps at the ratio of 75:25%. This should dry thoroughly between coats. Only thereafter do I apply two coats of varnish. This was not done initially. I am not certain whether this really works and obviously I don't want to spend more time and money on this task if it is not the correct treatment.

PLEASE, is there some kind person who can tell me what the real proper treatment is. I know there must be a way. After all, how do people protect their yachts and sundecks at the sea?

Thank you in advance for everybody's input, it is going to be much appreciated.

13 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I suggest this website as a reference often because they are trustworthy and easy step by step illistrated instructions on how to remove paints and varnish.

    It's a trusted website and it will surely help you out.

    Hartnagel Building Supply

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    If it's for indoor use, pressure treated is a waste of money. Any lumber will do for indoor use. Around here, the basic building lumber is fir/hemlock and that would be the cheapest. I think I would stay away from all but the best pine. If it's kiln dried and they store it inside the store, it's as dry as anything you're going to be able to buy except maybe stuff intended for trim or cabinetwork and that will be very expensive. All building lumber is not usually perfectly dry when you buy it, and it could take a year or more to completely dry even if it's in a heated house.There is no particular reason that kiln dried wood should warp very much, though any wood can do so. Check the pieces before you buy to get the straightest ones you can find. View it from one end along the length of the piece to the other end, on all sides. If you see any irregularity, choose another piece. Generally speaking, if the piece is relatively straight when you build with it, it will stay pretty straight after it's been fastened.

  • DA
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    I was just reading an article about this yesterday in The Family Handyman. Here are the steps:

    1. Scrub off the old stain using a stiff brush and deck finish remover. Give the remover 15 to 30 minutes to soften the stain before you scrub.

    2. Sand off tough spots or small areas with a coarse stripping pad on a grinder or drill.

    3. Brush on a brightener/conditioner diluted in water. Scrub the decking and rinse thoroughly to restore the original wood color.

    4. After the wood dries, restain or apply a clear penetrating finish. Clear finishes show the wood's original color, but must be reapplied every year. Solid stains protect the wood longer but can be a pain to scrape off. Penetrating stains also need to be reapplied more frequently, but unlike solid stains, they don't need to be stripped off.

    The decks on yachts aren't the same as the decks on houses. Yacht decks are typically made of teak, which is very expensive. You can't treat a lesser wood in the same way you would an exotic wood.

    I hope that this helps.

    Source(s): The Family Handyman magazine. October 2007 pp.10-11
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Strip the wood door, restain and use SPAR varnish It is the varnish used on boats. McKluskeys makes one of the best ones. I'll bet the garage door is redwood and should be "stained" only with boiled linseed oil and then varnished about a week or two later.

    The furniture and deck should be allowed to weather gray. Just use Thompson's Water Seal once a year on them. Most likely they are made from treated lumber, cedar or teak which are naturally rot resistant.

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  • len b
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    If you don't need a stain, for you door or such you should use a "spar" varnish. It is used for rugged and sun exposed areas like boats. I used this on my cedar soffits and I am the only home in the area that has 25 year old soffits that still look great.

  • 5 years ago

    If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Go here https://tr.im/N9D43

    Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

  • Anonymous
    6 years ago

    Want you like to get instant access to over 16,000 woodworking plans?

    Check it out https://tr.im/09ba3

    Along with stone, mud and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working these materials.

  • DIYpro
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    For your door, use polyurethane, not varnish. Or if you insist on varnish, use a spar varnish. For the deck, power wash it first and then use a good deck seal. Your hardware store should have a good variety; you can get one with a stain built-in if you prefer a certain shade.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    1

    Source(s): Woodworking Projects http://woodworkingprojects.enle.info/?VP2D
  • 1 decade ago

    in this case i have had best results using marine varnish, or 'Spar' varnish. It has a higher solids content and will withstand the elements better than polyurethanes or standard finish products.

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