Outdoor Furniture

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

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 as the finish fades.

But, with Forever Redwood, you don’t have to worry about replacing your set. Redwood is very decay resistant and we use the best sealant on the market to keep the gorgeous natural wood tones from fading for several years.

If you do allow your set's finish to eventually fade, the silver patina is only surface deep (less than 1/64") and your wood will not decay. Your set will last decades and is not compromised in any way by surface color changes. For example, we do not refinish our display items to show off this natural aging (we like the patina!).

Although Forever Redwood is maintenance-free, there are a steps you can take to keep your set looking its best for decades. Occasional cleaning will always spruce things up a bit. Hose down and/or brush away accumulated debris. No soap or chemicals are needed. You can also...

Keep your set looking perfect for decades: If you let your finish fade, you can refinish it back to brand new again anytime. The best way is to lightly sand to get your furniture ready for re-sealing. Sanding removes the accumulated pollution, UV surface burning and old sealant . You don't have to sand every nook and cranny to get great results. Just do the most visible surfaces. Use an 80 grit paper to roughly go over the areas quickly. Then, go over the sanded areas a second time with 150 or 220 grit paper to remove the sanding lines and leave the surface finely sanded.  A typical bench takes 30 minutes to sand the most visible areas by hand. If you are a perfectionist and want to do every area thoroughly, figure 90 minutes. You can sand by hand or with an orbital or vibrating sander. Redwood sands easily. Once finished, dust off and add sealant. 3 coats is what we apply. We do it on warm dry days only and allow 6 hours minimum between coats. Sealing adds some oils back into the wood and leaves your set looking spectacular again. If you don't have time to do 3 coats, one coat followed by some touch up a few hours later yields a good result. We prefer to add the sealant with a rag for best results. A 3 coat finish should keep the surface color looking great for 2 to 5 years (depending on local conditions). A 1 1/2 coat finish will last about half that time.

5 Wood Grades to Choose from:

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 stain and color finishes to create the perfect match for your project:

Click on the thumbnails below to see larger image:
Old-Growth Redwood Select-Heart Grade (or better) Tight-Grain 30-Yr Warranty	Mature Redwood Select-Heart Grade (or better) Open-Grain 20-Yr Warranty	Redwood Con-Common Grade (or better) Open-Grain 15-Yr Warranty	Mosaic Eco-Wood Combination of the Other 4 Grades of Wood 10-Yr Warranty	Douglas-fir #1 Structural Select Grade (or better) Mostly Open Grain 10-Yr Warranty

Finish Options:

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 very fine to the touch 220 grit finish. Images of our wood swatches shown above are close approximations of how they look with the Transparent Premium Sealant applied. But, they are not exact color representations. Unfinished, the wood tends to be a bit lighter in color. 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.  When you order, just ask us to send a couple samples and we'll get them right out to you.

Transparent Premium Sealant - Our recommended finish for most outdoor applications. We use Sikkens brand finishes because we believe it is the best in terms of appearance, wood protection and longevity. We use three semi-transparent stains depending on wood grade.  We apply 3 coats one day apart for the best seal possible in a short application time frame. Sikkens finishes hold the surface colors for up to 3 years and never peel or causes staining. It dries fast and penetrates the wood. The finished wood looks natural with a deep satin finish. It is not a urethane or spar varnish type of finish. The wood is left exposed so you can touch the finely sanded wood. It is as natural a finish as possible while adding the surface protection needed to stay looking beautiful in outdoor weather as long as possible.

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

Primer Finish - We can ship your order prepped for painting with our two-coat oil primer finish in either an Off-White (for light colors) or a Gray (for darker colors).

With the primer finish, your set arrives with two coats of oil-base primer fully absorbed into the furniture. This makes painting a one-coat process. Customers report the best results with a mini roller and two thin coats applied one day apart.  

Wax Finish - For Indoor Furniture, we recommend a wax finish in most cases. We prefer a a carnauba/bees wax 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 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.

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.