In the search for the holly grail of natural looking exterior wood finish.
First, many will tell you that selecting ‘exterior’ wood and applying no finish at all is the way to go, it is the easiest way to go for sure. I’ve tried it with and without a finish; I enjoy the look, smell, and feel of wood as it comes off the plainer so I don’t mind a little work to keep that way.
I tried 9 recipes:
#1 – 1/3 turpentine - 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) – 1/3 Oil Varnish
#2 - 1/3 turpentine - 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) – 1/3 Oil Varnish – Japan Drier (JD)
#3 – 2/3 Spar Urethane – 1/3 BLO
#4 – 2/3 Spar Urethane – 1/3 BLO - JD
#5 – 1/3 Spar Urethane – 1/3 Mineral Spirits – 1/3 BLO
#6 – 2/3 Oil Varnish – 1/3 BLO – JD
#7 – Minwax Wood finish Puritan Pine
#8 – Minwax Polyshade Honey Pine
#9 – Weston Teak Finish
The JD was added at a rate of two caps per gal.
The test wood was 4/4 Mahogany planed one side with a clean end grain cut. I evaluated each test piece for depth of penetration in the end grain, ease of applications, shine, odor, and post drying finishing. All test pieces had four applications of finish, allowed to dry for 30 minutes at which time all excess was wiped off and then allowed to dry for 24 hours.
Results:
#1 – penetrated 1 inch, easy to apply, lots of smell, very dull, smooth surface feels oily
#2 – penetrated 3/4 inch, easy to apply, virtually no smell, very dull, smooth surface feels oily
#3 – penetrated 1/2 inch, easy to apply, no smell, satin luster, very smooth surface
#4 – penetrated 1/2 inch, easy to apply, no smell, satin luster, very smooth surface
#5 – penetrated 1/8 inch, easy to apply, little smell, dull, smooth surface
#6 – penetrated 1/16 inch, easy to apply, little smell, dried so fast that wipe off made finish very dull, surface swirls
#7 – penetrated 1/4 inch, easy to apply, little smell, dull, smooth surface
#8 – no visible penetration, easy to apply, little smell, High Gloss, rough surface
FYIs: All the finishes had the same look, very little color difference, even the ones with stain. Adding JD seems to quickly release the agents of odor. #6, #8, and #9 would require post drying work to remove particles on the surface.
I was looking for a finish that has a satin luster (a tiny bit of shine).
My conclusions: for an oil finish I’d pick #2, for a little bit of sheen #4. Best overall #4
First, many will tell you that selecting ‘exterior’ wood and applying no finish at all is the way to go, it is the easiest way to go for sure. I’ve tried it with and without a finish; I enjoy the look, smell, and feel of wood as it comes off the plainer so I don’t mind a little work to keep that way.
I tried 9 recipes:
#1 – 1/3 turpentine - 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) – 1/3 Oil Varnish
#2 - 1/3 turpentine - 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) – 1/3 Oil Varnish – Japan Drier (JD)
#3 – 2/3 Spar Urethane – 1/3 BLO
#4 – 2/3 Spar Urethane – 1/3 BLO - JD
#5 – 1/3 Spar Urethane – 1/3 Mineral Spirits – 1/3 BLO
#6 – 2/3 Oil Varnish – 1/3 BLO – JD
#7 – Minwax Wood finish Puritan Pine
#8 – Minwax Polyshade Honey Pine
#9 – Weston Teak Finish
The JD was added at a rate of two caps per gal.
The test wood was 4/4 Mahogany planed one side with a clean end grain cut. I evaluated each test piece for depth of penetration in the end grain, ease of applications, shine, odor, and post drying finishing. All test pieces had four applications of finish, allowed to dry for 30 minutes at which time all excess was wiped off and then allowed to dry for 24 hours.
Results:
#1 – penetrated 1 inch, easy to apply, lots of smell, very dull, smooth surface feels oily
#2 – penetrated 3/4 inch, easy to apply, virtually no smell, very dull, smooth surface feels oily
#3 – penetrated 1/2 inch, easy to apply, no smell, satin luster, very smooth surface
#4 – penetrated 1/2 inch, easy to apply, no smell, satin luster, very smooth surface
#5 – penetrated 1/8 inch, easy to apply, little smell, dull, smooth surface
#6 – penetrated 1/16 inch, easy to apply, little smell, dried so fast that wipe off made finish very dull, surface swirls
#7 – penetrated 1/4 inch, easy to apply, little smell, dull, smooth surface
#8 – no visible penetration, easy to apply, little smell, High Gloss, rough surface
FYIs: All the finishes had the same look, very little color difference, even the ones with stain. Adding JD seems to quickly release the agents of odor. #6, #8, and #9 would require post drying work to remove particles on the surface.
I was looking for a finish that has a satin luster (a tiny bit of shine).
My conclusions: for an oil finish I’d pick #2, for a little bit of sheen #4. Best overall #4