what do you guys use?

I use a marine grade urethane spar varnish. I have said this so many times that people may think I work for the company, but I do not, I only know it is good stuff. I'm talking about Min-Wax brand "Helmsman Spar Varnish". It is available in most hardwares and big box stores for about $15/qt, and comes in gloss, semi-gloss, satin [my favorite]. etc.
Three coats, sanding between coats with 220 or finer grit will give a great finish that will last for quite a while, depending on exposure to sun and weather. It gives far better UV protection than a standard grade urethane and is only a buck or two higher in price.
When you do need to recoat a little sanding and a top coat is usually all that is necessary One of my tables is starting into its third summer in the Ohio valley and needs only the top redone.

This is a good question as I sit here trying to determine which type of wood to use. I priced out building my table with Red Oak. Even with the 10% off sale the local lumber supplier is having, it still topped out over $400.00. I'd hate to drop 4bills and hours of my time, only to have it ruined. After reading a bunch, and coming from the air plane world, the spar varnish was going to be my choice.

Regarding which wood - Maybe I should head over to the table forum and see what kinds of woods are being used. Cedar seems like a viable option. Though, the oak would be reallllly nice.

Ted

No, it will not get flaky. Old type varnish made from resins gets flaky, urethane does not and marine grade gives excellent protection. The actual life you will get from it will vary considerably due to exposure.
This table is now over two years old, it is covered but still outside in winter while we are in Florida, it will be uncovered during the hot summer months and stay that way until January. As I said before, all it needs is a light sanding and a coat of varnish on the top, although I will probably do the whole thing.

P4060003 by Capt Frank1, on Flickr
By the way, this one, as well as my other three tables [two in FL, two in Cincinnati} are all made from cypress. Cypress is not available everywhere, but if you can find it, it is an excellent choice
Phil, the first table I built I let someone talk me into using a high grade wood sealer instead of varnish That one is black and gunky. The sealer keeps out moisture but not dirt and grit and it is slowly weathering to gray.

Any idea on price of cypress vs red oak?

Maybe I should just call my local hardwood supplier. :laugh:

Cypress is very reasonable, about the same as pine, especially if you are in the south. It works very much like pine also. You won't find it in Big Box stores though, go to local lumber yards.

Southern Lumber here in San Jose, California has pretty much any wood you can think of, they even carry a regular stock of Ebony. Talk about expensive!?

I'll take a longer lunch and head over there today.

Thanks for the ideas (and sorry to hijack the original thread...) :S

been scraping spar varnish off my boat for just about 20 years now, its almost all grey now :laugh: my rocker hit 7 years this spring, there is a little green showing in the grey weathered teak, might just rub it down with a little bleach and water this year im glad i like the weathered grey look :laugh: theres something out there now called teakguard, looks similar to a spar varnish finish, water based, goes on quick and easy, supposed to hold up, i havent actually seen the stuff but have heard about it being pretty good for marine use. anyways, ive had a lot of beers in my grey weathered chair :laugh: