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How to protect wood garden furniture?

HeyHo!HeyHo! Posts: 113
edited September 2020 in Problem solving
How to protect pressure treated wood bench and arbour against all weathers?  I dont want to paint it a colour and just want to protect it from rotting and the elements.  Not sure where to start?
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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Teak oil - clean the surfaces of all dust and mossy bits then brush on the oil when dry and when no rain is forecast for a few hours so it has time to be absorbed.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited September 2020
    You can use an exterior clear wood preservative, such as this one Mr Google found:
    PS: Just brush on and let dry.  Won't affect the appearance at all.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ColinAColinA Posts: 392
    I personally use yacht varnish after carefully sanding and giving at least four coats  as i find it lasts a lot longer, my patio table and chairs are also stored in a shed for extra protection
  • HeyHo!HeyHo! Posts: 113
    Obelixx said:
    Teak oil - clean the surfaces of all dust and mossy bits then brush on the oil when dry and when no rain is forecast for a few hours so it has time to be absorbed.

    Thank you. I thought teak oil was for teak furniture and not pine?

  • HeyHo!HeyHo! Posts: 113
    BobTheGardener said:
    You can use an exterior clear wood preservative, such as this one Mr Google found:
    PS: Just brush on and let dry.  Won't affect the appearance at all.

    Thank you, just checked and apparently it needs a sealant on top as well :neutral:
  • HeyHo!HeyHo! Posts: 113
    ColinA said:
    I personally use yacht varnish after carefully sanding and giving at least four coats  as i find it lasts a lot longer, my patio table and chairs are also stored in a shed for extra protection
      There is a lot of wood to sand - the arbour is huge and two large benches -  they are clean - is it really necessary to sand it before applying varnish?

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I find varnish eventually wears off here. The stains, rather than paints, are very good, and you can get 'clear' ones. A few coats makes them really long lasting, and waterproof. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • HeyHo!HeyHo! Posts: 113
    Part of the abour has trellis on both sides which would make sanding it very difficult.  I didn't realise varnish wears off, especially yacht varnish I am sure yacht varnish will last a bit longer, but don't like the idea of re-sanding + varnish :s .I will check out the clear stains as well and see how durable and protective they are
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I gave up trying to varnish things;  It wears, it flakes, it peels and is a nightmare to clean up for a new coat or other finish.   I use teak oil now on my teak table but also on 2 bare wood doors on our sheds and now also on a pine shed that is becoming a hen house.  The wood sucks up the oil and then sheds rain but you do need to wave an electric sander (if you have one) at it to clean impurities off the surface then brush that clean to remove dust for a better absorption.

    Can't always get teak oil here for some reason so I have also been known to use cheaper olive oil - the one for cooking, not extra virgin.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    I definitely wouldn't use varnish unless you really, really, really like sanding and varnishing....

    Either a clear stain or oil will do the trick or you could be like me (lazy!) and do neither.

    My teak table and bench get a quick scrub with detergent and a drop of bleach every spring and that's it. They come up a treat. I don't even bother to do that with the pressure treated softwood bench - maybe a scrub every 4 or 5 years if it gets really mucky.

    The softwood bench is now showing slight signs of rotting at the base of 2 legs (where it's in contact with the ground) and the teak stuff is just weathered (not rotting). The softwood bench is 25 years old and the teak furniture is 22 years old.

    Personally, I'd not bother treating the bench (it has some protection if it's pressure treated) and just accept I might need to change it in 25 - 30 years time. 

    I'd probably use a stain (clear or coloured) on the arbour.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
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