What to coat my new table with?

Philly35

Hey guys. I just built a new table for my egg out of cedar and I have no idea what to coat it with. I like the looks of the natural cedar, would just some urethane do the trick? What kind of urethane do I need? Thanks for the help and I will post pictures when it's all done!

onelikearock

I used a marine grade varnish over cherry

CANMAN1976

Helmsman spar urethane supposed to be good.

henapple

What canman said. Sand between the three coats on top. Be sure to get 2 coats on the bottom.

Philly35

The bottom as in the bottom shelf or underneath the shelves?

berndcrisp

both and the posts (uprights) or just say all of it.

QDude

All sides of the wood should be treated the same. This includes sanding to the same grit and applying the same number of coats. This will help prevent warping in the future.

trip150

General finishes exterior 450. Bought at woodcraft. It set into the wood instead of on top of it (wont peel or chip), has UV protection, and lasts a long time. I used it on my redwood table and it worked great.

Philly35

I went with the Helmans spar urethane. Just got it stained (changed my mind) and ill do the first coat of urethane in the morning!

BigDHornFan

2nd on the Helmans Spar.  Great stuff.

dweebs0r

My table has a coating of grease and soot.  Seriously.

My only advice is to use plenty of poly or your table with get funky and grimy (like mine!).

QDude

Do the underside also to minimize warping in the future.

Charlesmaneri

I varnished mine with marine varnish it holds up great 

cortguitarman

I'm currently in the midst of a table build for a friend. His will be treated with Sikkens Door and Window. 3 coats on all surfaces. His table is made out of white oak with a mahogany stain.

nolaegghead

Very nice...he must be a good friend!

Last thing I built for outdoors was a TV case.  I used a marine epoxy then a spar urethane to protect the epoxy from UV.  So far it's holding up great.

cortguitarman

Thanks, @nolaegghead. Yes, he's a good friend. I've known him since I was 10. The planer and jointer have been getting a workout. Still need to make doors and a drawer as well as glue on the face frame and install the rear panel. Definitely not a cheap table, but it should last a long time. So far he has about $700 in it. It will get a concrete top to finish it all off. I'll post pictures when it's done later this week.

I chose the door and window stain because it will just need roughed up with a sander to apply additional coats of stain in the future. They also make a clear semi gloss product that can be used as the third coat.

ambrodsky

I finished mine with satin Helmsman spar urethane. I did refinish the surface again this year, but the initial treatment was 3 coats last year plus one more this year.

SmokinTiger81

Wow--a dually table, first one of those I have seen.

ambrodsky

Felt dually wheels were necessary because the wheels wanted to tilt towards the legs when I rolled the table around the patio.  Also, I thought it looked good too!