If you are familiar with varnishing or giving finish to your furniture, you might know about lacquer. Generally, lacquer is one type of clear coating that makes your furniture protected from physical damage. Moreover, it makes the furniture shiny and smooth.
So, you might be confused about whether you can lacquer outdoor furniture or not. Well, you have to know whether the environment outside will save the lacquer from damaging or not. Moreover, knowing about the consequences of using lacquer on outdoor furniture is essential.
Can you lacquer outdoor furniture?
You can lacquer outdoor furniture. Generally, lacquer is weather-resistant and a pretty hard finish material to save outdoor furniture from environmental effects. Moreover, when the lacquer dries, the transparent layer protects the underlying surface. But the furniture surface must be dry and cured.
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Generally, indoor and outdoor furniture go through different environments. For example, outdoor furniture has to deal with different ranges of humidity, temperature, air, rain, sunlight, etc. So, it is likely to damage the outdoor furniture more.
So, people want to use such a finish that will protect the outdoor furniture from these effects. Generally, when we use lacquer finish over indoor furniture, the furniture remains in good condition for a long time. Moreover, the finish gives a shiny outlook.
That’s why many people might not use lacquer on outdoor furniture. But the idea is not completely right. Because you might think that lacquer is a thin and damageable surface finish. But when you apply lacquer and it dries, it will make a hard finish on the surface.
Moreover, the finish on the furniture will be so smooth that cleaning the furniture will be easy. So, you can easily clean the outdoor furniture. Besides, the lacquer finish will make the surface weather-resistant.
That means it will not wet the underlying wood surface because the lacquer will prevent the moisture to soak into the wood. So, when it rains, the outdoor furniture will be safe from wetting into water.
Generally, when we polish or varnish outdoor furniture, we expect something flexible and durable for finishing. Because we move the outdoor furniture more than the indoor furniture. So, a flexible and durable finish will make it long-lasting.
In this perspective, you can use lacquer on outdoor furniture.
Is lacquer good for outdoor furniture? What is the best lacquer for outdoor furniture?
Yes, lacquer is good for outdoor furniture. Even it has been popular for many years. Because lacquer has some features that are suitable to use on outdoor furniture. For example, lacquer is weather-resistant. That means it will protect your outdoor furniture from weather effects.
When you apply lacquer on outdoor furniture, it will protect the furniture from all types of weather effects like rain, humidity, temperature, etc. Moreover, the lacquer surface finish is pretty durable.
Generally, we want a finish for the outside that has both durability and flexibility. So, lacquer has the durability that will protect the furniture. But if you want something best, you should use the best type of lacquer that also has durability.
You can use spar urethane if you are searching for something better on outdoor furniture. This finish is one of the best because it has durability, water resistivity, and UV resistivity.
Is lacquer weather resistant?
Yes, lacquer is weather resistant. It might not be the best, but it can save the furniture from environmental effects. Lacquer might not give the best protection from all types of weather effects. But it can provide some basic protections.
For example, lacquer has waterproofing quality. Moreover, it will protect the surface from dirt, dust, grease, etc. Besides, it will protect the underlying surface. But lacquer will not save the surface from ultraviolet rays.
Moreover, it will not show flexibility when needed. Sometimes, the lacquer finish might chip off from any physical damage. Moreover, when the temperature is excessively high, it can damage the lacquer finish.
So, you can say that a lacquer finish can be weather-resistant to a certain point. But it can’t save your furniture from all types of weather effects.
How do you waterproof lacquer outdoor furniture?
When you use furniture outdoor, you need to save the furniture from the rain and moisture. So, waterproofing outdoor furniture is pretty essential. Let’s see how you can waterproof outdoor furniture.
Get the instruments ready:
Get ready all the instruments for waterproofing outdoor furniture like sandpaper, mineral spirit, deck cleaner, lacquer, soft bushes, etc.
Sand properly:
If the furniture is old, remove old paint and finish from the furniture with sandpaper.
Mix the deck cleaner:
Mix the deck cleaner and water in a 1:4 ratio and use the formula on the furniture.
Dry the deck cleaner:
Dry the deck cleaner completely.
Safety:
Take the furniture in an open area and wear safety equipment.
Apply a thin coat:
Apply a thin coat of lacquer with a soft paintbrush on the outdoor furniture.
Clean the brush:
Clean the paintbrush with mineral spirit.
Dry the furniture overnight:
Dry the furniture overnight for curing the first coating of lacquer.
Apply 2 or 3 coats:
For making the furniture waterproof, apply 2 or 3 thin coats of lacquer and each time dry the earlier coating completely before using another coating.
Dry and cure:
After applying the lacquer, dry and cure the furniture for at least 24 hours.
Final Thoughts
You can lacquer outdoor furniture for protecting the outdoor furniture. Generally, lacquer is one type of clear coat that saves the furniture from weather effects. But you need to keep the furniture dry before using lacquer. Moreover, lacquer also makes outdoor furniture cleaning easy.