Stain and Seal for Outdoor picnic table..Help!

Submitted by Lacy H. on Wed, 06/15/2011 - 09:12

So I built the big kids picnic table and used an indoor stain on it. Then I used Minwax Helmsman indoor/outdoor Spar Urethane to seal the table. I did 1 full coat on the entire table. Then I sanded the table top and benches slightly and sealed them again. I put the table outside a couple of months ago, and it looks horrible. The top is losing the stain and is graying. Its like I didn't even seal the table. Did I do something wrong? It says its exceptional protection from Sunlight , rain moisture and temperature changes. I need help I just finished staining my adult picnic table and noticed the problems on my kids table. What did I do wrong??? Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks
Lacy

claydowling

Wed, 06/15/2011 - 12:28

That sounds really weird. Although spar urethane and spar varnish have a tendency to crack and peel in the weather. It's also possible the material wasn't mixed thoroughly before you used it. I've seen that and you don't get enough of the sealer or UV blocker in the mix.

You might try sanding it down (use a belt sander with a coarse belt initially), sealing it with a layer of shellac, and then coating it with one of the water-based deck stain/sealer products.