How To Treat Wood For Outside Use

If you desire a country getaway on your landscape, then think about building log furniture. This design is charming and attractive. Log furniture can last for years as long as the wood is treated correctly from the beginning. The following article will explain how to treat wood before you begin on your next project.

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How to Treat Wood - Prep It

Raw pieces of wood are excellent as they are. However, to be used for log furniture, properly preparing the wood is essential.

Untreated pieces for log furniture typically will be crudely cut with the bark still on the cut ends. Even if there's nothing terrible about the wood, you can't use it. The exterior will have numerous imperfections that make the completed product come out badly.
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Put a drop cloth under your work area to safeguard the floor. Sand the naked logs, wipe them with a cloth, and then remove any dust still present. Apply a wood conditioner layer and let it seep into the wood for at least 2 - 4 hours. The conditioner will bring out any bumps still on the log. You can sand these bumps down. 

​Stain

To get an excellent stain on the wood, your work must be exact. Put a foam brush into the stain, and put it on the log using even smooth strokes. 

As you paint the stain, don't overlap your earlier lines. Another way to put the stain on is to put it on liberally with a rag and then clean it off. Either method you pick will give a gorgeously stained log.
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Let the wood dry overnight and sand once more. Clean the dust off with a cloth. Put on an additional coat of stain and allow it to dry. Follow with a layer of varnish and let it sit for 24 hours. 

Seal

At this point, the log is treated accurately for use in a log furniture job. It is, though, not ready to use outside in the elements. For wood preparation, the piece needs treatment and sealing. A couple of applications of polyurethane will do the trick for you. 
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Call us at Rochester Tree Service with your questions about treating your wood.