Weatherproofing Wood

Living in the Northwest means that much of the year is spent with rain and a balcony that is typically wet and does not get used all that frequently until the sun comes out.  While we could make use of it more frequently if we obtained furniture for it that was made out of metal or plastic, you know, like pretty much everyone else around here has.  But no, we had to be different.  We went to Goodwill shortly after we moved last October and obtained a couple of nice wooden chairs and a little wooden table that would be perfect.  We also knew that we didn't have the space to store these items either inside or in the garage when the weather was wet.  So what have we done to prevent rot and water damage you may ask?

We decided to find a way to seal them.  Since the pieces were obtained from Goodwill we had no way of knowing if they had been pre-treated for all types of weather or were originally meant to be indoor furniture.  As I searched for a cost effective way to seal two chairs and a table I found a couple of great options. 

I learned that if we wanted to paint the furniture that would result in them being waterproof, at least until the paint wore off or we could choose a sealant that would leave the wood grain and color alone.  We chose the later.  Most sealants come in a liquid form which you then paint onto your furniture, let dry, and apply a second coat.  I found a cheaper solution, which while not necessarily as long lasting, is less time consuming and thus something I don't necessarily mind having to redo each year if that is what becomes necessary.  I present to you: sealant as spray paint!

I started off by dusting and cleaning every aspect of the furniture.  As they had already been outside for a long period of time I didn't want dust and dirt particles trapped beneath the sealant and preventing it from working correctly.

You can see the cardboard underneath the chairs here, I would highly recommend that you pay attention to which way the wind is blowing and where any excess spray may land.

The directions on the spray sealant were pretty self explanatory and it did require two coats, but each coat dried so fast I didn't need to worry about keeping the pieces out of the wind too much.  If you ever choose to seal some outdoor furniture I would suggest that you make sure you get every angle possible including underneath.  You never know where water may start building up and rot might begin.  

While this was an experiment as I had not heard about sealant in a spray form before starting this project, I am hopeful that it will last through the upcoming rainy season.  And if not, well, you know that you'll be hearing about it!

Thanks for reading and enjoy your last couple of weeks of summer.