I’m about to refinish a pair of beautiful mahogany outdoor armchairs that I found for a song (less than $50 Canadian ea!). They have a varnish-type finish that is cloudy and in some places complete off. Pen-o-fin is recommended, that much is obvious. Cabot’s Australian wood finish is available at the top of the street; can’t find Penofin brand as readily as that – Penofin.com implies I can get it at in across town, but I’m sure I could find it by calling around a lot.
Is the Cabot’s a good choice? Should I scout for something more highly recommended? Tips for application?
I did some searches here and knots and didn’t find exactly the threads I recall (single words get too many hits; combinations too few). I’ll thank everyone in advance as I’m always impressed with the advice and time people take to offer it here.
Replies
Pennofin is a linseed-oil based product, which also has UV inhibitors. It is (IMO) the best in its class.
But there are others in the class. If there is a Lowes nearby, go get some Flood's CWF-UV deck treatment. It is also a linseed oil product, with UV protection.
And don't forget that ANY outdoor wood needs to be re-treated. For items with an oil finish, you should plan on yearly re-coats. Since it's just a couple of chairs, that will be no big deal. And the look of an oil finish is unique.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Since I'm already basically sold on oil finishes (and raw-knuckled from taking off a varnish finish which had failed on these chairs) I'll get hunting for the Penofin. Where the varnish was still intact and glossy, it sure was pretty!
I do understand they'll have to be refinished annally. I already recoat a full kwila dining set with the same product already used by the manufacturer (Australian Jarrah Colorguard Plus). The first year the drips and laps were very obvious and the red colour faded away quickly - and it soaked up a huge volume of the stuff. Each year the finish fades less and the red colour is richer and more consistent. This (the fourth) year, it took barely a light wipe and used little more than a few ounces of finish. I'd be curious if anyone know much about that Jarrah product or alternatives should my supply run out. It describes itself as a water-based oil finish for furniture previously treated with this product or Behr Tung Oil.
The can of Penofin I was using yesterday said Rosewood oil - not linseed
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Sorry to not get back to all and say thanks for input. finished up the pair of mahog chairs a couple of weekends ago. Couldn't readily find rec'd Penofin brand. After the two longest standing, best known local paint & finish stores recommended Cabots, I went with that. Lovely to use. Chairs look great. Getting tons of compliments. People who saw them before (with the original varnish looking cloudy) think they look completely different. One specific comment was: from dated to classy.
Chalk another one up to generous folk at BT.
Consider Sikkens Cetol 1 for sealing and Cetol 23 for final finish. I used these on cypress chairs, and they look great, repel water, etc.
If I were doing these, and they were going to spend each summer outside, I would use a waterborne satin spar varnish on them, and McCloskey's make an excellent product.
The modern waterborne exterior products are all loaded up with UV protectors, and outperform solvent-based oils by a large margin.
Couple coats of this, and you should have a smooth and hard coating that will wipe clean with a damp rag, so you can get the dust and birdy poop off and your guests can sit down with their spiffy new pants on.