Thread: Outdoor table, best finish and best way to glue up the top?

Titebond 3 should be fine but so would a polyurethane such as Sikabond.

Finish depends on whether it is under shelter of absolutely open to the elements.

Under shelter I would use Feast & Watson Weathershield. For toral weather exposure then marine grade would be better.

Remember it is exposure to UV that does the damage.

While there are glues that will hold up to moisture a solid top table is not ideal for an outside environment. Expansion and contraction will soon come into play. If you look at most barbique tables they have slats on top for this reason. They are mostly built using bolts and screws also to allow for wood movement.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by artme

Titebond 3 should be fine but so would a polyurethane such as Sikabond.

Finish depends on whether it is under shelter of absolutely open to the elements.

Under shelter I would use Feast & Watson Weathershield. For toral weather exposure then marine grade would be better.

Remember it is exposure to UV that does the damage.

Thanks for this one.

The table is going to be used in a cafe setting, so brought outside in the morning and put back inside in the evening. So it'll be subject to the elements, but not for the whole day.

It seems that a marine grade UV protectant varnish would be OK? I can build for the table top to expand and contract a little, but i was more worried about the joints prying open. It seems that the glue will hold through all of that. (I'm not crossing any grain lines, it's all oriented in the same way as you would build any table top sanely).

S.