No experience with the furniture, but when we lived in California, we had a bunch of trees on our large rural property. On a hot day, the air was scented with eucalyptus and oh so lovely. I miss that.

I do miss the eucalyptus trees along the Marina bike path, where I used to ride my bike almost every day when I lived in Venice. I would also collect eucalyptus "berries" to use when I had a cold. I would crush the berries, put them in a large bowl, and pour boiling water over them. Then I would put my face over the bowl with a towel over my head and inhale the eucalyptus infused steam. It was also a good facial.

Lars, I bought a larger version of that table several years ago to use in the yard. I immediately treated it with linseed oil as directed. It was a rainy summer, and within about a month, the top edges of the table started to lift. I submitted a complaint with photos and was sent a replacement, but I have kept that replacement table out of the rain, just in case. I think you need to worry about water damage more than sun/heat damage.

I like your set and always like seeing your back yards (both houses).

I had a small side table like that, and it didn’t hold up well to the Texas sun … but then, not much does! I did oil it and still enjoyed it for years, though. I don’t think it ever cracked, just faded badly. This was several houses ago, I can’t remember what I did with it.

Thanks - I will look for the Australian Timber Oil. In the meantime, I will not keep the table outdoors except when we are here, and we are leaving for Los Angeles on Saturday.

We do not get enough rain here for that to be an issue - only about 5 inches per year, and I have the table in a covered area in the patio, protected from both sun and rain. The patio is on the north side of the house, and so I think that will help.

I'm not concerned about the table fading - I mainly want to make sure that it will not crack or split.

I have not heard of sapele being used tor outdoor furniture - at work we used sapele as a veneer for indoor high end furniture.

I figured moisture would not be a problem for you and north side positioning probably takes care of all but reflective and ambient UV. Dry air might be your real issue and I thing the Timber oil will help with that. It's our front door that is sapele, solid panels. Veneer would be destroyed in our climate.

Lars,

I love your table. It is perfect and should last.

I have 3 eucalyptus wood folding side tables that I bought 15 years ago at Christmas Tree Shops. They have been on my uncovered deck in New England all that time and have not rotted. I gave them a coat of linseed oil when purchased. When they start looking dingy I pressure wash, let dry and sand if needed then recoat with linseed oil. I paid $10 for each table and wished I had bought more.

My front door in L.A. is also sapele mahogany, and we finished it with a marine grade wax. The door is protected from sunlight and rain by the roof of the porch/portico, and so it has fared very well. We do add more wax to the exterior every couple of years but have not touched the inside of the door.

We stained it before we waxed it, and I mixed two stain colors to get the shade of red that I wanted.

That door is gorgeous! I don’t think I’ve seen it before. And love the blue there, you’re so good with colors.

Since I live in Australia, I know a bit about eucalyptus trees. Some of them are soft and wouldn't be suitable for furniture or anything else, but various species are used extensively for flooring, and, increasingly for furniture and construction.  With proper care, that table should last for years.

It looks like I might have to order the Australian timber oil, as the stores appear not to have it in inventory - at least not in natural, and I do not want to add more stain to this table.

I noticed that linseed oil is one of the ingredients in Australian timber oil also.

DLM2000-GW, do you think 1 quart of Cabot Australian timber oil would be enough? I can order a quart from Amazon, but the local stores only have it in gallon containers, and I do not think I would use that much. It is expensive from Amazon at $34 a quart, while the gallon containers at Lowe's are $53.

Wow - that's a CA premium cost - it's $45/gal here. Yes I'm sure a quart will be more than enough for you. Just FYI, it will darken the wood even though you buy the transparent with no stain. That's what I used, too. You can get an idea of how the color will change by just wiping down a section of the table top with water. The water will dry and lighten, the oil will not.

Why wouldn’t good old tung oil work? That’s what we use on teak (boats and furniture).

Tung oil might work on teak, but that's not what I'm using it on. Eucalyptus requires a different kind of finish than teak, as it is not as durable. Teak will be okay with no finish, but Eucalyptus will not.

The mfg recommended linseed oil, and the Australian timber oil has that as one of its ingredients, and so I think it will be the best.

I tried putting some wax on the top of the table, and that was a mistake, as it left white streaks, which were difficult to remove.

I used tung oil once on some oak, and it left a sticky finish, and so I was not very happy with it.

The table already has some sort of finish on it, and so I want to make sure that what I put on top of the existing finish is compatible. I think wax for one is not.

Lars I didn't realize there was already some type of finish on the table. You would be smart to wipe the entire table down with mineral spirits or naptha before going any further. It should clean up anything that will prevent the Australian oil from penetrating.

Lars - I think you may be making this more complicated than necessary. From what I've read, you can use teak oil, tung oil, linseed oil or Danish oil on eucalyptus furniture.  You just need to oil it once a year and it should last for 20 years.   You'll need to make sure you get that wax off first, though.

DLM2000-GW, thanks for that information. I do already have mineral spirits that I can use.