Exterior Oak - Treat or Not?

[JAW911]

I refurbished an old cast-iron ended bench four years ago (photos attached). I replaced the wooden slats with oak which I treated with Osmo WR Base Coat followed by Osmo UV Protection Oil. I was hoping that the coats would stand the test of time and weather but it turned out they meant it when they said the oil was only for vertical surfaces! I have now sanded the slats down again removing all the flaky coating but I have not managed to get all of the grey out. Should I persevere and remove it all and what would you suggest I treat it with instead or should I leave it bare and just let it weather down?

 

[Fitzroy]

Lovely bench. I have several exterior things made out of oak. I want my gate to look like oak so I’m having to maintain it every few years. The oak table is impossible to keep in good condition due to the horizontal surface, I’ve gave in and let it silver after a few years fighting Mother Nature and loosing.

Table under the new chair

Gate two years old now


The new garden chairs I’m going to leave to silver when built. I’m not even going to give them an initial coat as it looks great for 9 months , then terrible for 12months, before then starting to look nicely weathered.

Fitz

 

[yetloh]

In an outdoor context wanting it to look like oak should mean wanting it to be silver. Anything else is futile without a lot of regular work and silver oak is beautiful.

Jim

 

[Doug71]

And it's a no from me.

 

[dgbasevi]

What would happen if you gave it a couple of coats of clear wood preservative.

 

[johnnyb]

I use pine tar linseed and real turps( or white spirit 1/3 each. you can get light and dark pine tar. it makes oak brown and smells rustic. but it's not light fast and fades slowly does offer some protection and looks a bit churchy. it won't give the effect of untreated horizontal oak as that's a holy grail though. on stuff like the gate shown it would be lovely.

 

[JAW911]

Thanks for the replies. I have had the ends powder-coated in anthracite which will go nicely with the greyed oak.

 

[Derekspr]

I refurbished an old cast-iron ended bench four years ago (photos attached). I replaced the wooden slats with oak which I treated with Osmo WR Base Coat followed by Osmo UV Protection Oil. I was hoping that the coats would stand the test of time and weather but it turned out they meant it when they said the oil was only for vertical surfaces! I have now sanded the slats down again removing all the flaky coating but I have not managed to get all of the grey out. Should I persevere and remove it all and what would you suggest I treat it with instead or should I leave it bare and just let it weather down?

hi I have tried over the years to get exterior timber coated with various products. Currently I have used Sadolin classic followed by sadolin extra. These are microporous products and need several coats. Over the last 10 years the side iroko benches in the memorial garden this has worked well only with sufficient coats. The old fades and the next treatment is effective but needs work every few years. Gates and seats next to stone are sadolin teak finish.

To try out an alternative a teak bench was almost completely ruined with fungus and muck under overhanging sycamores. I sanded and used a cabinet scrapper to clean off. Treated with Ronseal decking oil. 1st coat disappeared and after heavy rain and a further good day I managed to get another 4 coats on before rain was repelled. I’ve had great success with decking oils on timber decks and only needing another coat every 3 years. I’ll see how the teak bench gets on.
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[johnnyb]

this is my summerhouse last treated three years ago with my mix. the next photo is the same oak untreated. I've got a sign at my unit treated last spring.il photo that tomorrow.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I made some raised oak flower beds which I left to go grey.

I had order too much wood so used the excess to make a garden bench which I finished in oil. Big mistake - after 9 months it looks horrible. Next spring most of the finish will have gone or can be scraped off. Will leave it to assume a natural weathered look.

 

[Cabinetman]

Hi and welcome Derek, Ian
View attachment 119045View attachment 119046View attachment 119047

 

[johnnyb]

here's my sign treated with pine tar mix in spring

 

[eribaMotters]

I refurbished an old teak garden bench that had lived outside untreated for 30 years. For the front stretcher I did not have a piece of Teak or Iroko long enough and used Oak instead and left it to the elements untreated. It lasted another 30 years before moisture got into the joints at the ends, causing some rot and subsequent replacement. The rest of the stretcher was fine and got cut into smaller pieces for running repairs on old garden side tables.

Colin

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Not (!!)

Oak will do fine untreated (and will save you a lot of time and money) as long as its not touching/near the ground (it appears not in this case) and water can drain freely (and air can circulate freely) around all parts e.g. no 'traps' like upward-facing mortices where water can get trapped and sit.

 

[JAW911]

Thank you for all the replies.