Expert: Eileen Cronk - 3/8/2008

Question
Good afternoon Eileen.....

My home is in Baltimore, Maryland.  I have three pieces of furniture that sit out side on our balcony year round, under a roof but open on two sides.  Needless to say they are totally exposed to temperature variations and when it rains or snows, moisture can get on them.  They have sat there for three years.  One is a wooden rocker with a cane seat and back (commonly refereed to as a Kennedy rocker), one is a ratan chair, and the third piece is a wooden teak frame with a round marble top (it is a Singapore coffee house table).  When I first put these three pieces outside I lightly sanded the two wooden pieces and throughly washed the ratan chair.  I then put a coating of Coronado Clear Gloss Marine Spar Varnish on them.  That procedure seemed to work well for three years.  It is obviously time to coat these pieces again, and I could follow the same procedure as I had originally done.  There is one reason I hesitate to do so.  After three years of facing the afternoon sun, the exposed side of the two wooden pieces and the rattan chairs front show signs of fading.  I thought that maybe the answer might be to use an exterior varnish with a light touch of wood stain in it.  My question: Does what I am suggesting sound logical.  Do you have another approach that I might consider.  Could I just add a small amount of a light wood stain with a mineral spirts base to the Coronado Marine Spar Varnish that I have left from the first application (I have about three quarters of a quart left).  Your advice is appreciated.

Answer
Hi Stanley
Nice to hear from you.
I think 3 years is a pretty good span for spar varnish in these conditions.
What you suggest about using a colored exterior varnish sounds reasonable to me.
You could also stain the pieces with Minwax stain and apply the spar varnish you have on hand over the stain. I feel that it would be a more durable color than simply applied in the varnish.
It would be easy to brush the stain on and wipe back the drips with a rag.
I would not mix anything in the spar varnish, but thats just me as I have never attempted this, but you could try a small sample mix of this. Not sure how it will work out but no harm done trying a few teaspoons as a sample.
Good Luck and great question
Regards
Eileen