big fir table

[Laird Ongman]

I'm a rookie and am building a large fir table for the back yard, my wife wants it stained darker and I want it to withstand the elements as best as possible.  Can you advise what type of finish will be best. Understanding it will require maintenance.  the eventual plan is for it to be under a covered structure.

Also would you recommend finishing parts before assembly?  pics attached.

[drzaius]

For finishing, there are a couple of directions you can go. One is to use an exterior oil based stain, like you'd use on a deck or a fence. But don't try to go very dark or it won't look very good. This kind of finish will need to be reapplied every couple of years or so, but that's easy to do & doesn't require that you strip off the old finish first.

A longer lasting and more protective finish would be clear penetrating epoxy sealer (CPES) followed by top coats of exterior Spar varnish. The varnish is needed to protect the epoxy from UV, which will rapidly degrade it.

Put something like large nylon furniture glides on the bottoms of the legs to keep water from wicking up into the wood.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[..Kev]

Yep..  Your choices are, easy to repair and refinish every year or 2 OR a longer lasting finish that takes more time when you have to refinish every 3 or 4 years..  There really is no such thing as a "great" outdoor finish!

[lewisc]

Haven't tried it but this video seemed to cover what you might need.

 

[Coop]

Laird, I take it from your last name that you’re probably not from Texas, just a guess. Others certainly qualify better than me on finishes. So, I’ll just say that you’ve made great progress and welcome to the forum. Do us a favor and keep us updated on your table.