Stain, Primers & Paints
FINISH AND WHERE TO GET SEALANT ONLINE:
All our structures and outdoor furniture ships finely sanded to 220 grit for a smooth to the touch finish.
Our most popular finish is Transparent Premium Sealant: It leaves your furniture looking natural and helps keep the beautiful wood surface colors from fading for several years. We use Sikkens brand for finishing because they are the best on the market. For more information about how to keep your furniture looking great year after year, please go to Care & Finish. All our stain finish options let the grain of the wood visible, instead of covering it completely.
The main difference between paint and stain is that paint sits on top of the surface rather than seeping into the surface. Paint also needs to be applied to surfaces that have been primed first, while stain does not require a primer. Forever Redwood offers two primer finish options, but we don’t do the final painting (please see below for more information).
Transparent Premium Sealant - Recommended for Outdoors: Visit our Wood Grade page to see more detailed pictures of each wood grade finished with our recommended and most popular option. The photo below shows all our 7 wood grades with transparent premium sealant
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We also offer Transparent Premium Sealant with the following stains: There is an additional fee for choosing a stain because it doubles the coats we apply (the stain is applied first and then it is sealed).
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Black Stain |
White Stain |
Cherry Stain |
Coffee Stain |
Transparent |
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The photo below shows samples of all our 7 wood grades with Cherry Stain Premium Sealant.
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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The photo below shows samples of all our 7 wood grades with Coffee-Stain Premium Sealant.
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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The photo below shows samples of all our 7 wood grades with White Stain.
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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The photo below shows samples of all our 7 wood grades with White Wash Finish (the wood is still more visible with the white wash finish than with the white stain finish).
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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The photo below shows samples of all our 7 wood grades with Black Stain.
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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The photo below shows samples of all our 7 wood grades with Urethane (recommended for indoor use).
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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Unfinished (fine sanding only): Choose this option if you are applying your own stain or want the surface color to fade to a "weathered look" in a few months.
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Mosaic Douglas, Douglas-fir, Mosaic Redwood, California Redwood, Mosaic Mature Redwood, Mature Redwood, and Old-Growth Redwood |
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We do not recommend you leave your furniture unfinished outdoors for any extended period regardless of wood quality. Outdoor weather changes constantly and it is best to at least seal the wood to protect it from consistently absorbing and losing moisture.
Tiger Stripe Effect: Douglas-Fir when stained dark creates a "tiger stripe" effect as shown in this photo. It is beautiful and most customers love it. If you are looking for a dark consistent stain and do not want to see a “tiger stripe effect,” please go with any of the Redwood grades for a more consistent stain finish.
PRIMERS: We recommend sealing or staining your furniture, and we do not recommend painting it. Painting outdoor wood actually lowers its longevity. Eventually, the paint seal breaks, and the wood gets overly moist from rain. It stays moist because of the paint and multiplies microbial action. Outdoor wood is best sealed and not painted when considering longevity as the most important factor.
Off-White Oil-Based Primer: Choose this option if you are going to paint a light color. We apply two coats of primer so that it is ready for one final coat of paint.
Gray Oil-Based Primer: Choose this option if you are painting adarker color. We apply two coats of primer so that it is ready for the final coat of paint.
We don't apply finish paint because we honestly are not great painters. If painting, we recommend our extensive 2-coat primer work option. The 2-coat primer will saturate all surfaces so that the final paint goes on with just one coat to save you time and money. If you are painting a light color, choose the off-white primer option. If you are going with a darker final color, choose the gray primer. We recommend hiring a local paint contractor to apply the final coat of your preferred paint. It’s best to paint each piece separately before assembling the structure. This way, all connections will be thoroughly protected with paint instead of applying it after the structure is fully assembled. During the design phase of your order, you can inform your assigned designer of the paint you plan to use and select the appropriate primer for us to apply.
The photo below shows all our finish options in our 7 available wood grades:
