I bought a porch swing for my mother about fifteen years ago. The manufacturer pointed out that you did not have to put a finish on it. They assured the buyer the wood would acquire a lovely gray patina.
I think those instructions were meant for a swing that was really residing on a porch. Our was under the eves of the storage shed. The wood took on a life all its own in the Pacific Northwest rains. It got a finish on it that looked very much like 'scabs' on an apple.
Over the years we power washed it. We finished it with deck finish. Eventually, this year, its right arm began to buckle and I did not feel it was safe any longer for us to depend on it not breaking with a load and dumping its occupants on the mosaic gravel-work below.
I think those instructions were meant for a swing that was really residing on a porch. Our was under the eves of the storage shed. The wood took on a life all its own in the Pacific Northwest rains. It got a finish on it that looked very much like 'scabs' on an apple.
Over the years we power washed it. We finished it with deck finish. Eventually, this year, its right arm began to buckle and I did not feel it was safe any longer for us to depend on it not breaking with a load and dumping its occupants on the mosaic gravel-work below.
This is a picture of it off in the distance.
