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How to treat softwood garden furniture

susananwmssusananwms Posts: 213
in Tools and techniques
I bought a handmade light coloured softwood table and 2 benches.  It was quite expensive but I liked the design and the chunkiness of it.  My problem now is what is best and lasts the longest wood preservative or paint? I painted it last year with Ronseal one coat fence life but did not really like it as it hid the grain and was noticeably faded and marked this year.  I have had it sanded down but the wood has retained a little of the dark pigment of the paint and is dirty looking now so a clear treatment is out of the question.  I thought of using Ducksback which I have used on my fence and looks really good letting the grain show through but do not want to be repainting the furniture every year (Ducksback does not last 5 years as advertised) Can anyone recommend a good product with a subtle colour that would last about 2 or 3 years between treatments.  I do not fully understand the difference between all the oils, stains and paints for wooden furniture

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I don't think any of the wood treatments last as long as they say.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Johnny CrosbyJohnny Crosby Posts: 54
    I have used Cuprinol clear wood preservative as a base before successfully applying other colour coats.  For my softwood table and chairs, I also cut four plastic cola bottles to give me four 2 inch deep containers, and then stood the furniture legs in them, filled with Cuprinol, and left them 48 hours. The solution was sucked up to about 4 inches, and the legs which often stand in puddles of water, are still sound after six years, as is the rest of the furniture. No matter what you use, I think it is good practice to recoat the top stain every spring, and cover the table and chairs with plastic over winter.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    As far I know, the thing not to do is mix your treatments - either choose an oil, a stain, a paint or whatever and stick to that method. I use two coats of a basic wood preserver and goes on like water - very quick, very easy and a little goes a long way. I do it once a year and it seems to work well. Wood absorbs and saturates the different products (oil, water etc) in different ways.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    This is useful: https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/outdoor-finishes

    I quite like tinted varnishes.  Our DIY store adds the tint and mixes it for you, like they do with house paint.  The blue varnish we put on some interior furniture looks great.. blue wood with the grain showing through.  :) 
    Utah, USA.
  • susananwmssusananwms Posts: 213
    Thanks for all your replies.  Have thought now of going with cuprinol garden shades which would enable me to choose colour but was wondering if I treated with this every year would i eventually lose the grain of wood showing through?  Other option is Barrettine oil/ solvent based wood preservative which supposedly has deep penetration and also repels water but I would have to hope that the light brown was really light brown and not gold or orange.  Has anyone used these products and had good results.  All I want is a good protection and the wood grain to show through.
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    I've never used Garden Shades @susananwms but you can buy tester pots for £2. You could try one out on a piece of scrap wood similar in colour to your furniture to see how it looks, or even on the underside of a chair out of sight for a truer view of how it would turn out.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    A basic Cuprinol clear wood preservative should be fine. It goes on like water - has no viscosity at all. All you get is the wood.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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  • susananwmssusananwms Posts: 213
    Thanks everyone, Kitty have already decided on colour of cuprinol shades but concerned that if I retreated every year I would lose the wood grain showing through, have emailed cuprinol but had no reply.  Fire am really happy to go with a wood preservative but cannot go with clear finish as the natural pale wood is stained in places with the previous application of dark wood paint. Ian yacht varnish sounds ideal but then again is it a clear finish?  I need something with a little colour.  Ideally a preservative with a light brown colour (not red or gold) or a paint that is going to let the grain show through
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