How to Apply Marine Finish with a Paint Sprayer

One of my favorite things to build is outdoor furniture. I love creating the perfect place to enjoy my backyard.

But finishing outdoor furniture requires a bit more work. You have to protect it from wear and tear as well as the sun, wind and rain.

So I partnered with Waterlox to protect my outdoor furniture all season long. Their Marine Finish is perfect for sealing my outdoor builds.

Outdoor Wood Sealer

My latest outdoor project was two beautiful outdoor umbrella side tables.

To make sure my tables hold up to the sun and weather, I sealed them with an amazing outdoor finish: Waterlox Marine finish.

This finish provides protection for outdoor furniture in direct sunlight. It protects your hard work from UV rays and humidity so you can enjoy your new outdoor tables for years without a lot of maintenance.

This is the same sealer I used on our DIY fire pit benches and I loved it!

The Tung Oil pre-sealer adds an amber color to the finish. It adds a nice warmth to the wood.

This time I used a cedar, a wood that already has a warm tone, so the added warmth makes it look so rich!

Cedar is a great wood for outdoor projects, it is also lightweight so it makes these side tables easy to move around when we out playing and want to move the shade.

And the color that the Waterlox Universal Tung Oil Sealer followed by the Marine Finish in satin give it is amazing. They look so expensive!

More DIY Finishing Tutorials

Building is only part of the process. Give your projects a professional look with a perfect finish.

How to Spray Waterlox Marine Finish

Tools & Materials

STEP 1- Apply UTOS

After sanding your furniture to 100 grit sandpaper, it is time to apply the Universal Tung Oil Sealer (UTOS). The UTOS needs to be applied by hand, not with the sprayer.

Use a lint free rag to apply the UTOS to the table. Pour a small puddle of UTOS on the table and rub it in with the rag.

When the puddle is gone, pour another puddle and repeat. Continue until the entire piece is covered in a coat of UTOS.

Let dry for 24 hours before applying the finish.

The UTOS needs oxygen to cure. Open up some windows and use fans to provide enough airflow to properly cure.

STEP 2- Thin the marine finish

To spray the Marine finish in an HVLP sprayer, it must be thinned slightly.

Thin using mineral spirits. All sheens of the Marine finish should be thinned 25% to properly spray.

For my 2 umbrella side tables, I used 10 oz of Marine finish thinned with 2.5 oz of mineral spirits for each layer.

The first layer used pretty much the entire amount, the second layer only used about 3/4 of it.

Also, you must strain the thinned finish before putting into your sprayer. This will help prevent any clogs getting into the tip and making it hard to spray.

I prefer using these inexpensive cone filters to strain the finish or paint for my sprayer.

STEP 3- Spray the first coat of finish

Plug in your gun and turn it on. On a scrap of cardboard or brown paper, spray the gun and adjust the spray to your desired spray.

You want to make sure to open the tip so you get enough spray through to leave a thick enough coat to fully cover the wood. It can be easy to spray a too thin coat.

Spray the underside of the table with the adjusted sprayer. And further adjust as needed which is why it is great to start on the underside.

Keep your hand about 6-8″ away from the furniture and always keep your hand parallel to the piece. Move back and forth and overlay the sprays about 50%.

Keep your hand about 6-8″ away from the furniture and always keep your hand parallel to the piece. Move back and forth and overlay the sprays about 50%.

Once the underside is sprayed, flip it over. Place a paint pyramid under each foot to keep the bottom raised while you spray the sides and top.

Spray the entire top, making sure to get the sides and top of the lower shelf.

Make sure you get a good solid coat of finish on it. If you look at it so you can see the reflection of the light in the we finish, you should see a continuous film, no spots not covered. That way you know that you have proper coverage.

Now it’s time to clean your sprayer.

STEP 4- Spray remaining coats

Let the finish dry until it is no longer tacky. Then turn on some fans to allow lots of airflow.

The marine finish also needs oxygen to properly cure. Open up the windows with the fans as well to supply the area with lots of oxygen.

Let it cure for at least 24 hours. Then apply the second coat.

You do not have to sand between coats. The Waterlox finish does not require it for adhesion. However, I prefer to sand after the first coat to remove any grittiness.

Just lightly sand the umbrella side table with a fine grit sanding block. Then clean it with a tack cloth.

Apply the second layer of finish the same as the first. This layer will not need as much finish to create a solid layer since it will not soak into the wood as much.

After spraying, let dry for 24 hours. If desired, you can apply a third coat. Softer woods will benefit from more coats.

Let any additional coats dry fully, again with good ventilation. Then you are done!

The finish can handle light use after 24 hours. After a week, you are good to use it as needed.

To keep any outdoor finish at it’s best for the longest, I do recommend covering furniture when not in use for a long period of time.

We love how our new umbrella side tables turned out. The finish looks amazing and we love having shade when relaxing outside.

Thank you to Waterlox for sponsoring this post. I only recommend products that I use and love and all opinions are 100% my own. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.