No more oil based finishes for me.

oil is typically flat. Its about the wood, not the shine, so it depends on taste. (but don’t try a spoon full)

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

Try a water based finish. Much less toxic.

-- Beer, Beer, Thank God for Beer. It's my way of keeping my mind fresh and clear...

Don, at least I didn’t pay for it, the Cabot rep was at Lowes and we talked so he gave it to me. I can appreciate that it stains and seals in one coat, but the wrc looks like ultra dry pine after you stain it. And I used two coats of Charles Neil on it too. From now on, wrc just gets spar and no color.
I’m going to hang a sheet of plywood from the ceiling in the shop and drill screws in it every couple inches so the poke through. Then I can spray Spar on each piece and put it on the ply wood and hoist it up to the ceiling to dry all at once. I really need to stream line this finishing process.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

+1 for waterbornes.
I use wipe on poly occasionally but water borne 99% of the time.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

I gotta say, I have yet to find a waterborne stain or clear finish that looked good. They all look cloudy and blah to my eye. Anybody got a specific recommendation?

But it’s certainly true about toxicity. Russell, were you spraying it? If so, what kind of rig?

I used to work with some crazy painters who would go inside boats and spray linear polyurethane—nasty stuff. These guys would be all suited up in Tyvek, no skin showing at all anywhere, with air piped to their masks from outside, and lots of ventilation as well, and after 15 minutes they’d come out staggering hung over. We only go ‘round once—be careful out there.

-- Mud thrown is ground lost.

Chris, I have the lower portion of the Adirondack chair assembled and the back is still in pieces. I brushed the lower part and used a cloth on the back. It looks dull as heck. I plan to spray on some Spar with my HF Chicago sprayer when this dries, which should be sometime tomorrow evening after I get the back on. Nothing comprehensive with the spar, just the surfaces that can be seen to liven them back up a bit.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

Adirondack chair with a dull finish seems appropriate to me. That Cabot Timber Oil looks like a deck finish and was probably intended to be applied in the open air, looks like a blend of linseed, tung and varnish.

-- |Statistics show that 100% of people bitten by a snake were close to it.|

Chris, Crystalac super premium is what I use. When applied correctly it doesn’t look milky or cloudy at all.
Mind you, some waterbornes look cloudy until they dry.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

All I can say is that if you hate oil wait until the exterior varnish you used starts crazing (they all do at some point no matter how expensive) and you have to strip and refinish. And then you will be on that wagon for as long as you own the chairs.

For my deck flooring on the front porch and for outside chairs, etc I use CWF clear. It dries super hard, no fumes, holds up really well and is super easy to re-apply. I have not had any luck with Spar- it chips off in just 2 years and makes a real mess. Would not even consider water based for exterior use. CWF cedar color is wayyy to orange for my taste.

-- Homer : "Oh, and how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain."

I would consider making the chairs from a weather resistant wood then oil alone would be fine.

-- |Statistics show that 100% of people bitten by a snake were close to it.|