FlyinFish Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Last summer I built a screen door out of CVG fir. I decided to use GF's Outdoor Oil because I liked the idea of using an oil and figured I wouldn't mind re-applying annually. It also had rave reviews from many people. I think I applied 3 good coats. And of course this was in the summer time and I allowed for plenty of dry time in between coats. I did use some super fine steel wool in between coats. The door sits a bit protected as it's under a small porch, but the bottom half still gets wet from wind driven rain. Well, at the end of just a very short fall season (I'm in Seattle so from Sept to Nov we did get significant rain), there was a bit of "pitting." I'm not sure what to call it, but basically small black spots, mostly small dots, but a few of the lower inside corners had a decent amount of blackening. Kind of looks like how mold builds up. I removed the door sometime in November and have sanded the finish off. I didn't get any pictures of the damage spots, sorry, but they sanded out fairly easily. They were by no means deep, but did go a bit beyond the surface layer. My plan is to re-do it with the outdoor oil and put more coats, maybe 4 or 5. Any thoughts on what could have caused the damage? Did I not apply the finish well? Too light on each coat? Not enough coats? Sanded too much in between coats? Any tips on what to do differently? Is 4 or 5 coats overkill? It is an oil, so it's not like I'm building a film (though it does seem like there is a slight film). Does applying more coats get more oil into the wood and more protection? Thanks for any help. I'm quite surprised at the performance since the outdoor oil has such great reviews. I don't want to sand it down every year, but I have no problem simply reapplying every year. I also plan to remove it for the wet seasons, but sometimes you have mixed weather up here in Sept/Oct and June/July where you have rain one day and need a breeze in the house the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 See Not an oil finish, but it will last. And yes, the black dots would be mildew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 The most efficacious outdoor oil that I've used are the Waterlox marine oil products: https://www.waterlox.com/products-item/waterlox-original-UV-protection-marine-wood-sealer https://www.waterlox.com/products-item/waterlox-original-UV-protection-marine-finish ==>Is 4 or 5 coats overkill? Can't reverse-engineer what went wrong... You've got to start from a newly-prepped surface and follow the directions on the can... If you have questions, call the technical assistance line... You can't just wing-it... ==>basically small black spots mildew... You'll have to kill the mildew... There are lot's of products that'll help with that... Then sand-back all the crud, dirt, etc... Good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFish Posted January 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Mike, plenty of clearance for drainage, except in the bottom inside corners. Not much I can do there. But the spots were even on the flat surfaces. Thanks for the links on the other options. I want to give the GFs another try, but will save those others for future projects. I got the stuff off just fine with some quick sanding, so it's all gone now. The directions are pretty simple and I followed what they said. I guess I also wonder what caused the mold/mildew. Wet and shade makes sense, but our front door is an old wood door that basically has no finish left on it and it has no problems. I figured this would have done a little better. And it was only a couple months, not even a full year/season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Some species of wood ate more prone to mildew than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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