Furniture Care & Color Options
Your Forever Redwood Furniture will last for decades in year-round weather without maintenance.
It 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. Being outside year round is rough on any wood’s finish... The surface absorbs UV rays, pollution, constant variations in moisture and temperature and it also oxidizes. This is why most wood just doesn’t hold up and the surface color slowly changes towards a silver patina over the years. But, with Forever Redwood, you don’t have to worry. The silver patina is surface deep only (less than 1/64") and is not indicative of decay. Your set will last decades and is not compromised in any way by the surface color change. For example, we keep our display items as is without refinishing to show off this natural aging (we like the patina!).
Although Forever Redwood is maintenance-free, we recommended you take a few minutes as needed to clean by either hosing down and/or brushing/dusting away accumulated debris (no soap or chemicals needed).
Keep the colors looking vibrant for decades…
A quick power washing every 5 to 10 years clears away the accumulated grim, UV surface burning and the old sealant in a few minutes. When power washing…
…be careful not to spray close to the surface or you may cut into the grain of the wood. Once dry, go over any rough spots to smooth out and ready for sealing. You’ll need $2 and 10 minutes to do it. Pick up 2 sheets of sandpaper (one 100 grit and one 220 grit). Go over the spots with 100 grit for ten strokes or so and dust off. Then do the same with the fine 220 grit. Redwood sands easily. Dust off and you’re ready for sealing.
For best results, sand in the direction of the grain (same direction of the growth lines in the wood). For example, on a picnic tabletop, sand in the lengthwise direction of the boards. After sanding, choose any stain/sealant you like. Redwood takes well to most.
Finish options to match your needs:
Our 5 wood grades offers you a range of natural wood tones to choose from. If the natural tones don’t have the color you’d like, we have many stain and color finishes to create the perfect match for your project:
Unfinished
Order your furniture unfinished if you prefer the surface color to change to a silvered finish in a few months or if you need an exact stain match. It will ship with the natural wood polished to a 220 grit finish. Images of our wood swatches are not exact color representations. If you need an exact stain match, it is best done on your end to avoid miscues. Most hardware stores can create custom stains. Just take a sample of what you’d like and they can mix a custom stain for you quickly.- We use Sikkens Cetol SRD 250. It is the finest finish we have found and what we recommend for most outdoor applications. It holds the surface colors for years and never peels or causes staining. It dries fast and penetrates the wood. The finished wood looks like nothing was applied other than a slight darkening. We apply 2 coats about 4 hours apart for a thick water-repellent finish. SRD 250 is available in California. A nearly identical version outside California is Sikkens Cetol SRD (250 refers to low emissions). For more about Sikkens finishes, visit their website.
Stained Premium Sealant
Stained versions of our Transparent Premium sealant are available if you prefer another wood tone but want to keep the natural wood grain showing by not painting. We have four options:
CEDAR STAIN |
TEAK STAIN |
COFFEE STAIN |
CHERRY STAIN |
Painted
Want a painted finish? We will finish your set in any color and product offered by Benjamin Moore.
In the special instructions box write in the name of the paint and the type of paint you’d prefer. Most Benjamin Moore website paints are included in the finish pricing. If you select a premium high cost paint, we will let you know what the extra charge will be to confirm your OK before continuing.
Note: Painting is tricky. We’ve done it over the years and have learned it is important to include a disclaimer. We are excellent carpenters, but not professional painters. We also do not have a paint booth. We’ll do a careful thorough job and we’ll ship the excess paint for you to do touch-up. But, we do not accept complaints or returns because the paint isn't perfect, or suffered minor shipping damage or doesn’t meet your expectations in any way. It is difficult to match colors long distance or to ship freshly painted wood products. The best we can do is add 2 coats of the paint and product you select from Benjamin Moore. Most customers understand this and are happy with our work. But, if you must have a perfect job or the color must match, we recommend the primer finish so you can get the exact finish and color done at your end. Painting covers the natural wood tones and most of the grain patterns of the wood and it requires some periodic maintenance.Primer Finish
We can ship it prepped for painting with our two-coat oil primer finish in either:
- Off-White (for light colors)
- Gray (for darker colors)
With the primer finish, your set arrives with two coats 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.Wax Finish
For Indoor Furniture, we recommend our wax finish. It is a carnauba/beeswax blend with orange oil called "Howard’s Feed ’N Wax." It has a fresh orange/lemon smell for a few days after applying… We add a generous coating to all surfaces with no other finish. It is easy to keep the finish looking perfect by dusting with the same rag as needed and renew by adding a bit of wax to the same rag once every month or two. One old customer showed us the result of using "Howard's Feed ’N Wax" indoors for 25 years on a side table. The piece looked flawless. We’ve experimented with the same wax finish for covered patios and outdoors—it doesn’t work as well because it needs to be reapplied too often outdoors. For best results, don’t mix with other waxes or finishes. A pint of "Howard’s Feed ’N Wax" is available online or at the paint department of Home Depot for under $8.
More about our Transparent Premium Sealant & Where to Buy it Online
Sikkens has several products and stain tones available. We use two semi-transparent stains…
We use 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 can last 4 years or longer even in 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 last for years, 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 (100 and 220 grit—see "Keep the Colors Looking Vibrant…" 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 do this refinishing every 2 or 3 years, the finish will accumulate after 3 applications 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 (see Keep the Colors Looking Vibrant… section above for more details).
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 100 grit sandpaper for a few strokes to remove any rough edges and then finish with a fine 220 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:
- 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"…
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
Click on the thumbnails below to see larger image:
Old-Growth Redwood
Mature Redwood
Redwood
Mosaic Eco-Wood
Douglas-fir
