After a year, I usually apply one more coat. The more sealer you apply, the darker the wood becomes.Īfter building my wood outdoor furniture, I apply one good coat of sealer, then after a month or two, apply another coat. Note that sealing the wood with a stain/sealer will make the wood darker. I also built an end table and coffee table for my patio from the leftover cedar, stained/sealed them both, and they too still look like the day I built them. I built a cedar patio cover, sealed/stained it, and after 10 years it looks just like the day I built it. They will last even longer if you seal the wood with a stain/sealer that is made for your species of wood. Western red cedar and redwood are excellent choices for picnic table wood because of their natural resistance to decay. Treated pine will probably last the longest, but cedar and redwood are also quite durable. When building any of these picnic table designs you can use any species of lumber that you want, but your picnic table will last longer if you use wood that is resistant to decay, such as western red cedar, redwood, or treated pine.

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