Finish Options & Furniture Care

Your Forever Redwood Furniture will last for decades in year-round weather without maintenance.

Forever Redwood is guaranteed for up to thirty (30) years against decay. Depending on the wood grade you choose, under harsh year-round outdoor conditions, you can expect your furniture to last from ten to forty years without maintenance of any kind.

Although our furniture is maintenance-free, it doesn't complain if you clean it…

Take a couple minutes to spruce up your set a few times a year. We clean our display items once a month by hosing them down and taking a minute to brush away accumulated debris. No soap or chemicals are ever needed.

Being outside year round is rough on the wood's finish. The wood's surface slowly oxidizes and absorbs UV rays, pollution and moisture resulting in the surface color changing towards a silver patina over a couple years. The silver patina is surface deep only (less than 1/100") and is not indicative of decay. Your set will last for decades and is not compromised in any way by the natural surface color change. We keep some of our display items year after year without refinishing them to show off the finish's natural aging (we like the silvering effect!).

You can restore the original tones of your furniture in 15 minutes with a power washer.

When power washing, be careful not to spray too close to the surface or you may cut into the grain of the wood. The power washer will quickly clean up all the accumulated grim and UV surface burning, but it will also create a few rough spots that you can easily smooth out by hand in just a few seconds.

Once your set is cleaned up and has dried from the power-washing, you can touch up the surface by hand with 2 sheets of sandpaper. Purchase one sheet of 80 grit and another of 150 grit. You can find these at any hardware store for about $2 total. Go over the rough spots first with 80 grit sandpaper. Sand in the direction of the grain for ten strokes or so and dust off. The 80 grit will sand down the rough spots quickly, but with a slightly coarse finish. Next, go over the same spots with the finer 150 grit in the direction of the grain to remove any sanding lines left over from the 80 grit. Then dust off again to leave ready for sealing.

The direction of the grain is the same direction of the growth lines in the wood. For example, on a picnic tabletop, sand the spots in the lengthwise direction of the boards. After sanding, just choose any stain/sealant you like. Redwood takes well to most.

Our furniture is available in many finish options:

• Our premium sealant is Sikkens Cetol SRD 250 Translucent stain. It is Alkyd oil based and we found the best results are achieved by applying 2 coats about 4 hours apart for a thicker, more water-repellent finish. It's the best sealant we have used. In year-round weather, the Sikkens finish will hold the surface color for an average of 4 years. The SRD 250 product we use is available only in California. A nearly identical product outside California is the Sikkens Cetol SRD (the 250 refers to a lower vapor emissions). Use in a well-ventilated space. To learn more about Sikkens finishes, go to: www.nam.sikkens.com/index-english.cfm. Or scroll down for more details....

• You can also order your furniture unfinished if you prefer the surface color to change to a silvered finish in a few months or if you plan to stain it yourself.
• If you are planning to paint your set a specific color, we offer a two-coat oil-based primer finish option in either off-white (for light color paints) or a gray (for richer or darker colors). With the primer finish option, your set arrives with two coats of primer fully absorbed into the furniture. This makes painting a one-coat process. Our customers report the best results with a mini roller and two thin coats applied one day apart.
• If you plan to use your furniture indoors, you may want to consider our wax finish option. The Wax Finish is a carnauba and beeswax blend with orange oil (yes, it smells like squeezed orange peels for a few days after applying). The product we use is called "Howard's Feed 'N Wax." If you choose the wax finish, we'll add a generous coating to all surfaces of your finely sanded furniture and buff it out. No other finish will be added to the wood. The wax finish can be renewed by simply dusting the furniture with the same rag every couple weeks. Once in a while add a bit of wax to the same rag and go over the furniture. Let it dry a few minutes and then lightly buff to bring back the lustre in seconds. Some of our customers have used the "Howard's Feed 'N Wax" on their indoor Redwood furniture for decades without ever using anything else. They assure us the furniture looks better each year! We've experimented with the same wax finish for covered patios and outdoors—it doesn't work as well. You have to apply it a lot more than the occasional indoor application. It really works best indoors only. For best results, don't mix with other waxes or finishes. You can purchase a pint of "Howard's Feed 'N Wax" in the paint department of any Home Depot store in the U.S. for less than $10 or online from Amazon.com starting at under $6 or from hundreds of other online resellers.

What's your favorite color?

Our 5 grades of Wood offer you a variety of grain and color tone variations to choose from. If you do not like the natural tones of any of the 5 grades offered, we can stain any grade a darker color for you. At check out, you can choose the coffee color staining option.

If you would like to match the color of your furniture to other pieces or decor in your home, then the staining is best done on your end to make sure you get the finish you like. Most hardware stores can match a stain color for you. Just take a sample of what you are trying to match up and they can mix it in a few minutes. We offer the option to order any piece unfinished, so you can easily have it finished on your end to match your home perfectly.

More about our Premium Sealant

If you'd like your set finished with Sikkens, just choose the premium finish at checkout. Sikkens has several products and stain tones available. We use two semi-transparent stains, the Sikkens Cetol SRD 089 Redwood (for the Old-Growth Redwood orders) and the Sikkens Cetol SRD 085 Teak (for the Redwood and Mature Redwood orders and for the Douglas-fir). The 085 stain has more brown in it and gives the younger wood grades a richer color. Both the SRD 085 and SRD 089 have a deep lustrous matte finish.

If you'd like to purchase Sikkens, a reliable online supplier is Twin Creeks Home Supply.

The Sikkens finish really will last at least 4 years and in some cases longer even in the most hostile climates. We were turned on to the Sikkens Cetol SRD finish by customers in hostile weather areas like upstate New York and Quebec. They used it on wood siding, exterior doors, decks, and patio furniture. One trick that was passed on to us is worth mentioning:

Although the Sikkens finish will hold up for 4 years or more, it will begin to fade after a couple years. Slowly, the surface color will lose the gorgeous rich tones. If you want to keep your Forever Redwood furniture looking like it just came out of the box, don't wait until it has faded completely in 4 or 5 years. Every 2 or 3 years, on a sunny, dry day, take a few minutes and scratch up the surface with 2 sheets of sandpaper (80 and 150 grit—see "You can restore the orginal tones..." above for more details). Scratch lightly in the direction of the grain. No heavy muscle work necessary. For example, on an 8 ft picnic table with benches, just spend 5 minutes on the tabletop and bench tops. Then spend a minute on the legs (they won't fade as much or at all because they get less direct sunlight). Dust off and apply one coat of the Sikkens finish. Wipe off the excess within 10 minutes or it will gum up. Voila! Brand new again.

If you're going to do this every 2 or 3 years, the finish will accumulate after 8 or 10 years to the point where it will no longer penetrate the wood. So, at that point, power wash the set to remove the accumulated finishes and start over. When power washing and working with the Sikkens from scratch, it's best to add 3 coats spaced a day apart for the ultimate protection and appearance results. Although the Sikkens instructions themselves say only one coat is necessary, you'll get the best results if you do it again on day 2 and day 3. If you don't have the time to do the 3 day finish, a close second in appearance and longevity is to wait a few hours and apply a second coat on the first day.

Small checks and cracks: Ignore, fix, or replace…

Redwood is ideal for outdoor furniture and structures. It will sit out in the year round weather for decades and remain structurally sound. But, like the old picnic tables in parks, wood furniture in year-round unprotected weather may eventually develop a surface and/or end check from the expansion and contraction caused by changes of temperature and moisture. Over the many years, if your redwood furniture develops a check or crack, it does not compromise the integrity or longevity of the furniture. If your set develops a crack or dent that has a rough edge, lightly sand the spot by hand for a few seconds to smooth out the rough edge. Use 80 grit sandpaper for a few strokes to remove any rough edges and then finish with a fine 150 grit sandpaper to match the smooth surface finish (redwood sands easily). After many years out in the weather, if your set develops a significant check, you can do one of 4 things:

1. In most cases, it requires no attention at all for longevity's sake. For example, we have over 2 dozen display items that have been out in the weather for many years. Some since 1995. In that time, one item had one board that developed a 4" long crack— so, it's a rare occurrence. It happens because every once in a long while a board is used to build an item that has built-in stress due to the way the tree grew (the tree could have had a bit of a lean for example). These relatively rare stresses are invisible when the set is built and occasionally appear many years later in the form of a crack. We recommend ignoring it in most cases. Consider it a sign of "character"…
2. But, if your crack has a rough edge, take a few minutes to sand it smooth as mentioned above. After sanding, if you want the sanded area to match the rest of the furniture, power wash the set (see "You can restore the original tones of your furniture in 15 minutes" above) and then reseal.
3. If the crack is significant or is just unattractive, you can send us a photo so we can make a replacement piece for you at minimal cost. Or,
4. If you're a handy person and want to dabble in making the crack "disappear", you can either talk with your local hardware person for a product recommendation specific to your climate, or you can use a two-part epoxy (or five minute or high strength epoxy) available at most hardware stores. You'll need some masking tape and acetone (or nail polish remover that contains acetone). Clean around the crack and mask off the wood out two inches around the crack. Make sure the masking tape is right up on the edges of the crack. Place masking tape underneath the crack to keep the epoxy from falling out the bottom or back side. Mix the epoxy and fill the crack, rubbing it in with your fingers diagonally. BEFORE it has completely cured, remove the masking tape. Remove excess with acetone before it cures. Clean the epoxy off your fingers before it cures. Epoxy dries transparent and will last for many years.