Which varnish to use

awec

We have this wooden outdoor porch type thing that's looking worse for wear. Builder did a terrible job on it when they built and it's really showing now.

You can see in the pics below there are areas that look good and areas that look crap. I want the end result to be like a spruced up version of the good bits.

I bought clear varnish and tried it on a small area but it's not what I want.

Is there a different product I should try? Is it a stain?

Lumen

How sheltered is it? Are you after matt, satin or gloss finish?

awec

Lumen wrote: »

How sheltered is it? Are you after matt, satin or gloss finish?

It's not sheltered at all, fully exposed to the elements and takes the brunt of the wind / rain.

I don't want it really glossy but not really dull either. Satin I guess?

Johnthemanager

awec wrote: »

It's not sheltered at all, fully exposed to the elements and takes the brunt of the wind / rain.

I don't want it really glossy but not really dull either. Satin I guess?

Do not use clear varnish outside, it will go white from the sun.

The stain in the likes of Bondex is to break down the UV rays as well as give it a colour.

Give it a good sand, let the timber dry out and get some sadolins or Bondex and give it 3 coats

awec

Bondex seems to come in different varieties, oak, ebony, redwood etc. How do I know which one to use?

Johnthemanager

awec wrote: »

Bondex seems to come in different varieties, oak, ebony, redwood etc. How do I know which one to use?

If you sand the existing stain off and back to bare timber, you can choose which ever shade you like.

Either that or you could prime it and paint it with an exterior satinwood.

Johnthemanager

awec wrote: »

Bondex seems to come in different varieties, oak, ebony, redwood etc. How do I know which one to use?

They are all the same, they are just the different colour of stain you get in them.

awec

Johnthemanager wrote: »

If you sand the existing stain off and back to bare timber, you can choose which ever shade you like.

Either that or you could prime it and paint it with an exterior satinwood.

This answers one of my original questions, the stuff in the picture is a stain right? It's not just regular old varnish?

AckwelFoley

Use a light oak stain on a dark wood.

CarrickMcJoe

Oak or teak, don’t use redwood, looks terrible .

awec

Bondex have an Oak one, I think I'll go for that.

I wasn't sure between Oak or Redwood. Pine is too light and Ebony way too dark.

Mucky_Tackies

While on the topic, I've a kitchen table.also bleached by sunshine. Sanding it back and going to varnish. Someone told.me use Danish oil on it. Used on violins or something and supposed to be nice finish?

Anyone know anything about it before I go blitzkrieg on the family dinner table?!

AckwelFoley

awec wrote: »

Bondex have an Oak one, I think I'll go for that.

I wasn't sure between Oak or Redwood. Pine is too light and Ebony way too dark.

You don't want to usually darken the wood. Hence the light oak. Light oak bring out the richness of the dark wood.

Teak might darken it too much..unless that's what you want.

Light oak was always used on new teak doors outside...think it was Sadolin number 2 yellow tin. Green tin was for rough timber

Granted its 20 years since I last worked in that world

awec

Mucky_Tackies wrote: »

While on the topic, I've a kitchen table.also bleached by sunshine. Sanding it back and going to varnish. Someone told.me use Danish oil on it. Used on violins or something and supposed to be nice finish?

Anyone know anything about it before I go blitzkrieg on the family dinner table?!

Very lightly sand it, clean it, let it dry then pour the Danish oil on, spread it over and let it dry. You can rub away any excess if there is any.

Very popular finish for things like kitchen tables.

awec

A silly question I forgot to ask, do I need to sand the "good" bits off so the whole piece is free of previous stain? Or just a quick sand to give the stain something to stick to?

CJhaughey

I have heard very good things about Le Tonkinois, its certified by the French Navy.

Like a lot of Marine finishes its a niche product but if you consider the conditions boats have to endure it has to be good for exterior wood.

Johnthemanager

awec wrote: »

A silly question I forgot to ask, do I need to sand the "good" bits off so the whole piece is free of previous stain? Or just a quick sand to give the stain something to stick to?

Ya, sand the whole lot back to bare timber. Or the previous stain will "flash" through in patches and you'll have an uneven sheen.

Juliet799

My favorite varnish is TotalBoat. I have been looking for the varnish that has a perfect balance between tint and gloss, and I finally found it in this product.

cheif kaiser

Personally and after years of bad experiences with all types of outdoor varnish, I would never use varnish again. It will at some stage start to chip and flake and give you nothing but heartache.

I have switched over to using Sikkens Cetol HLS as a base coat and Sikkens Cetol Filter 7 as a topcoat. My Pergola was done about 6 years ago and still looks great with no peeling or cracking. I have since done a back door, a smaller pergola, decking rails and multiple trellis. All still look as good as the day I did them.