re: Outdoor Furniture Clear Finish of Choice?

I have been gathering the pitch from a pine tree in our yard for a while. My plan was to clean it up and add turpentine and hardening oil to make a finish. Just for the fun of it.

After a trip to a local museum, I was inspired to pick up the project again. However, I wasn’t ready to break out a double boiler [outside]. Instead, I stopped at a local horsey place and grabbed a can of pure pine tar, some BLO and my can of turpentine.

That mix is what a lot of gun stocks were treated with and they, obviously, held up well, and were easy to maintain and repair.

Many use this mix for their garden tool handles. I’m giving it a test drive on them and one of my wife’s wooden benches.

I believe the turpentine is crucial. Part of this is because it seems to, to some degree, contribute to the penetrating finish. I have three cans that have sat for a long while and have a tar like residue. Too, the gallon I had been saving was headed that way. In short, it has resins that are left behind after it gasses off (take that, California).

The coats I applied seem to penetrate will and the big rain we just had beaded off well.

The “finish” is ready to use in a couple days. It’s penetrating, so it doesn’t leave a glossing coat you would have to remove for future maintenance. Just like on a gun stock, it provides a nice gripping surface, but doesn’t come off on your hands.

Most wipe off the excess. However, too many waste valuable product doing this with things like mineral oil and this product. I like to let it soak in as much as possible. With non-hardening oil, you could come back days later and wipe off the excess. This this, I would give it hours, or even come back the next day and, if any hadn’t soaked in, wipe it off with mineral oil [if only so I could make some more self combusting rags]. ;)