Finish for our new egg table

jholladay

A friend and I just finished a massive table for my husband's egg and need help regarding the finish of the wood. After much investigation, we decided not to use varnish or polyurethane and used tung oil instead. So far we have 3 coats on the whole thing. The problem is that when it rained some black spots started showing up. The spots won't rub off but can be sanded off. Does anyone have a suggestion for how we can recover from this black spotted mess? We have considered sanding it down and using a cabot's stain/sealer on it. Any advice would be appreciated.

shadowrider

Need more information.  What "tung oil" did you use?  The reason I ask is because most of the products labled "tung oil" are anything but.  What they really are is a varnish and not even close to suitable as an exterior finish.  The Formbys brand does contain a little tung oil but they are all basically an oil based wiping varnish.  100% tung oil is more expensive and vastly more labor intensive to apply.  With 100% tung oil you will need 4 to 8 coats, or as many as it takes for the wood to stop absorbing it.  It takes way too long to dry (24-48 hours per coat) for most people.  And unlike the "tung oil finishes" they are actually a pretty good water repellent and wood preserver but they have to be freshened up usually yearly or waxed heavily.

It sounds as if you need to sand it all off, re-stain and apply an exterior finish that has anti-microbial and UV agents.  Note that urethanes and polyurethanes have basically ZERO UV protection and just aren't very good regardless of the marketing claims.

For the record I have a Cabot 5yr deck stain on my fence and it has held up well.  You still have to freshen up these finishes with another coat occasionally, but there really isn't any bullet proof finish.  About as close as you can get to that would be a quality oil based exterior enamel paint.

I'm building a cedar table for my egg and will use General Finishes Outdoor Oil on it with no stain.  Even it will have to be recoated every few years, but that is just the nature of the beast.

https://generalfinishes.com/retail-products/exterior-finishes/outdoor-oil#.VX-L11yrRBw

YukonRon

For wood finishes, see if you can find a Sikkens distributor. This company is a Dutch brand, their wood finishes are over the top in quality, using their stains, sealers and clears leaves you with a very long lasting, beautiful finish. 
I did my deck when I lived in Georgia, years ago (1996), and had tons of people stop to ask what I painted it with. I got transferred not long after (2004) and it still looked awesome. I had the chance to revisit the area due to work, and wanted to check out the old neighborhood, and it has remained untouched, but in very, very good shape.
i use it on all my wood outdoor furniture. It is not cheap, it is expensive, but the performance, when used as instructed, is stellar. Once and done.