Material choices

[millwab]

This isn't a scrolling question, but it is a wood and materials question, so I decided to post it here ...

My niece has asked me to make a pair of Adirondack chairs for her. She wants them left natural (as opposed to painted), and I have two questions:

1. I was wondering what the best wood would be to use. I was thinking cypress, redwood, or cedar as the most likely. Oak would be a possibility, but some extra weight. Anything else that would have good natural weather resistance?

2. With the above choices, would I leave them unfinished, or is there something that I could use to protect them from the weather without giving them the plastic look from polyurethane? If I oiled them, would that end up on your clothing and skin after sitting in them?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[workin for wood]

1st three you listed are the best 3 choices as well as the easiest to work with and the least in heaviness, although redwood is pretty heavy. Lots of exotics, but they cost more and are tought on tools and very heavy. There is a finish that is pretty new to the market, only about 8 yrs old. It's called onetimewood. It is very different than other sealants, it is a liquid and it is a solid all in one jug. Seems impossible, but that's what it is. It will not look like there is a sealer or a finish on your wood at all when the finish cures. Yes, it does not dry, it cures by sunlight. So you need to put the chairs in the sun for a couple days to cure the finish. The onetime penetrates the wood, then the sun cures it, which locks the sealer into the grains. Other sealers use drying agents to dry, and they mostly sit on top of the wood like a coating. It is guaranteed for 7 yrs, but has survived 8 yrs on cedar and still going in tests. Not cheap, but worth the money from all the talk I keep hearing about it. Where you live, I think Do-it-Best hardware carries it.

http://www.onetimewood.com

[workin for wood]

Oh, just in case anyone is thinking, gee, that would be great on my deck. If there is a sealer already on your deck, the sealer needs to be stripped first. Onetime has to penetrate in order to work. Follow instructions, it only needs one coat. It will look like there is nothing there and you will be tempted by that reason to apply another coat, but the next coat won't penetrate and you'll be left with a sticky mess that takes a month to cure. I told my mother in law this, but she didn't listen. She said first time she put it on and it looked like it needed another coat...geeez, took a month to cure after that. Can't put it on a deck either unless you get the appropriate amount of sunlight. For chairs, they'll have to be flipped so the bottom can cure in the sun.

[Old Forester]

Jeff, does this sealer keep the wood from discoloring? Normally, western red cedar and redwood will both turn a silver-grey color in the sun.

[Jediscroller]

Bruce,
If you decide on oak, make sure you use white oak and not red. Red oak is very porous and not the best outdoor wood. My first choice would be redwood, but cedar and cypress are good too.

[Old Forester]

Bruce, I am partial to western red cedar for outdoor furniture. It is lightweight and easy to work, yet strong enough for most furniture use.

[TerryInMich]

Bruce - I made a set of adirondack chairs from western red cedar about 5 years ago and they've stood up to 5 Michigan winters so far. They are outside on a covered front porch so they don't get much direct rain or snow, so this may not be the ultimate test. Like Bob said it was easy to work with and pretty light as wood goes.
Terry

[workin for wood]

Far as I know, no clear sealer will keep out the grey for more than a few years, but it will certainly slow it down big time. A sealer with a pigment will stop the grey. The grey comes from the sun, not the rain. Rain doesn't do that much damage to wood, it's the sun that destroys it. And the onetime does come in colors like a cedar color too.

[Bill Wilson]

In another forum, I saw a suggestion about using an untinted, exterior, oil based trim & siding paint base on outdoor projects. The listed advantages were that better quality brands were relatively clear, contained UV inhibitors and a fungicide and was as long lasting as the equivalant quality tinted paint. It was also noted that the base used for darker colors was the best choice since it dried and stayed the clearest. Bases used for lighter colors would dry cloudy.

I have no personal experience with this method so I can't really comment on it, just passing it along. Maybe someone else on this forum has some experience with it.

[NMScroller]

Norm Abrams typically uses Cypress for all of his outdoor projects because it is very durable outdoors. The benefit of Redwood or Cedar is that is easier to find if you don't have a pretty good wood supplier in your area. I know where I live we have to search out Redwood, but Cedar is easy to find.

Brian