Finishing Outdoor Adirondack Chair
 

Hi! I'm trying to decide how best to finish an Adirondack chair I just made. It will be outside all summer in a partly shady area, and I would like it to be fairly cleanable, which is why I'm leaning towards paint. I also want as little maintenance as possible. Thoughts?

One last thing: suggestions on how to treat the ground-touching feet so they don't rot out?

Thanks!

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Wood species?
 

What type of wood did you make it out of?

My friend addressed the ground contact issue on his picnic table by setting the bottom of the legs in pans full of Thompson’s Water Seal. They soaked up quite a bit. This may affect how the rest of the chair can be finished. Perhaps there’s a compatible solid coor stain?

Pine 2x and 1x.

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after finishing, I would coat with a couple coats of spar urithane

Spar
 

I agree with AC above...Spar Urethane is tough as nails!

Dan

Even if I finish with paint? I've had Sherwin Williams on my garage doors for a decade with no discernable change, so I'm leaning that way.

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There must be some kind of plastic, hard rubber, or metal shoe that you can buy or make to go on bottom of the legs, kind of like shoeing a horse. You need to keep the wood from coming directly in contact with the ground.
Even if you weather proof the legs once the bottom wears it will soak up the water.
You could probably cut up and old tire tread and make shoes out of that and they would be slip proof. You can get one of those for free as we have to pay to dispose of old tires now.

yes it is a top coat, it does have a yellow hue to it so take that into consideration, but it what the marine industry uses to seal wood and anything that stays outside in the elements
280 or 300 grit light sanding inbetween coats.

The paint is a good paint but with the wear and tear of sitting on it and it baking in the sun and sweat, and sun screen and all that, it is a strong thick outer layer that you will not have to worry about for years

I was thinking that rubberized coating stuff like truck beds--don't they sell that in spray cans now?

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I'm not sure painting the legs in black would look very attractive. I was mainly concerned about the bottom of the legs that wear and soak up moisture.

if it's a typical design the end grain on the bottom of the legs will sink into any soft ground and no amount of paint will stop rot over a pretty short time.

What I have done is make feet with aluminum angle iron. Or add a second "leg" screwed to the side of each main leg that extends past a little and acts as the sacrificial leg and can be replaced as needed.

I have a set my dad made out of white pine about 15 years ago and they are just finally ready to be replaced. I'm sure they have increased in weight over the years from paint.

... hard vinyl adirondack chairs
 

You know, for $13.99, Rand's Hardware on Main St in Plymouth already has their large, hard vinyl, all weather, adirondack style recliner chairs set up on the sidewalk, in front of the store.

Can be left outside, all year around, in the rain, snow, sleet, and sun, and they last for like five years or so.

Can be stacked one on top of another. Is better quality and a little different than the similar adirondack chairs sold at Walmart ...... so's stop in at Rt 93-Exit 25, and go spend 13.99 at Rand's Hardware, and you will be very glad you did!

Comes in black, white, brite red, dark red, brite blue, turquoise, grey, green, yellow, and orange. Holds up to 250-lbs. Is light weight so is great for ice fishing, drinking beer and falling asleep.

And how does this helps the OP with his question? :rolleye1:

We actually had four like these, but ALL of them eventually cracked right at the front, putting crotches of all ages and size at risk! We like the trex-like ones sold by the roadside on 104, but I can make 4 for the price of 1. This one, combined with a rocker I'll make next, will cost less than $100.

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Azek
 

I would go to HD and get a piece of 3/4" Azek trim board which will never rot, and cut pieces to create a 3/4" cap for the bottom of each leg, attached with a good quality 2 part Epoxy glue. Alternatively, you could make the whole leg out of Azek.

Before painting, a good coat of high quality oil-based primer, such as Zinnser, will greatly enhance the longevity.

good luck and post photos.

'Rustoleum liquid repelling treatment' is a $9.99 two step product, comes in three colors ..... google that?

Also, placing one or more casters on the bottom of each leg to make it more resistant for ground moisture to spread into wood chair legs should help.

By the way, the $13.99 adirondack chairs, in ten colors, at Rand's Hardware in Plymouth, seem like a very comfy, long lasting, large size, and attractive design. Seems like good quality, and a good price, in ten colors!

Ok, so I'm going to use a Sherwin Williams porch enamel and will add a "sacrificial" or rot-free (vinyl) bottom to the legs. The other option I found (and I think mentioned above) is to soak the legs in epoxy, but I think getting the wood off the ground will be a better solution. And it'll raise the chair a bit to help my suburban-dad-self get up!

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Benjamin Moore Arborcoat will last for years.

A good coat of paint is fine for the bulk of the chair but the end grain of the legs are vulnerable where they touch the ground.
Here's an article from Rockler about coating the ends of the legs with epoxy.
http://www.rockler.com/how-to/achill...ture-projects/

Something to think about - if you coat the ends of the legs with something that is waterproof that may prevent water from getting into the wood from the bottom of the legs, BUT water can also penetrate from the top down and once that wood on the bottom is wet and now behind a vapor barrier I'd think over time it would rot as it cannot fully dry out.

Finishing Outdoor Adirondack Chair
 

Do it like to sail boat guys do it, start with a coat of clear penetrating epoxy, West Systems makes a great one. It should give a bit of fiber crushing resistance to your soft pine) then use a good spar varnish. The CPE should help seal the end grain on the feet as well.


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Just an update, as I found this thread looking for advice on my pine wall (that I just posted about):

I ended up using Sherwin Williams porch enamel that, after 4 years of 100% outside use, still looks new. I never ended up putting "sacrificial" legs on because I realized that the chair would last far longer than my attention span...and I was right–I use my swing almost exclusively!

I'm guessing this finish will last another 5+ years without an issue, which is pretty awesome.

That's good to know. Do you also recommend this for actual porches? Getting tired of repainting my porch. Last time I used Behr, which I "thought" was a decent paint, but it started peeling within the first year.

I definitely think it would be a good option. My only concern, though, is that it's a paint that, when it eventually does start to deteriorate, would need work before refinishing. I think?

I'm moving everything I have to vinyl/synthetic products because wood blows to maintain.

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seal before paint on outdoor wood
 

From my experience, it's mostly about moisture control. Paint and other deck/dock outdoor finishes will peel off unless the wood is first sealed against moisture movement in-out of the wood on all sides. For years, when doing new construction for docks/decks, I seal all cut parts with cheap polyurethane cut ~25% with paint thinner so it can soak in and penetrate the wood surface, not just sit on top of it. After a week or so (yes, it adds time to the project) I will paint with an oil-based deck paint on top, or in the case of porch rails and such that are not traffic surfaces, exterior latex works fine also.

For post or leg ends in contact with the ground in in the lake, I mix up a bucket of the sealer and let the ends soak in 3-4" for a few hours so it really penetrates the end grain. Needs at least a week for the ends to dry since it soaks up so much.

In the first couple of years, the paint may not adhere in a few small spots, so touch-up annually. But I've found that the paint never peels off wholesale because the moisture in the wood is stable, internal moisture is not forcing up below the paint sitting on top of the wood, rotting the thin surface layer, and causing the paint to lose adhesion. The paint protects the poly sealer from sun/UV so the poly will not deteriorate as it would with a 100% clear poly finish.

For existing structures exposed to the weather, sealing all sides of the wood when dry may hard to do, too much power washing off dirt, waiting to dry that, then crawling under and still unable to get the sealer into any joints.

For pressure-treated wood, it is always important to let it dry out completely in a covered location for a couple of weeks or even months before putting any coating or sealer on it. It almost always comes wet from the lumberyard. If you seal in the moisture, coatings will peel forever.

In theory, a good oil-based deck paint should penetrate and seal the wood surface the same way, but most seem too thick to really penetrate as well as the thinned poly does, and you cannot thin a deck paint. I have not seen any water-based products lasts long on deck or dock surfaces.

I think that's my problem.