Re-purposing a table from Borders

[TechWife]

First of all, let me say that I have spent hundreds of hours @ our local Borders Cafe doing lesson planning, meeting up with friends and just plain relaxing. It has been a great place for me!

 

With the store closing soon, they will be selling off the fixtures & I believe that includes the tables. I would like to purchase one of them for the balcony off of my bedroom. It is a covered balcony, not very deep and it gets a lot of sun.

 

I think I would need to paint the metal base with Rustoleum to prevent rust. Should I put any type of coating on the table & chairs itself? They are wood. I have wood rockers that are painted with outdoor floor paint and they have held up well, but I don't want to paint them, I want them to have their original look. I know they won't last forever outside, but I'd like to get a few years out of them at least. Maybe when the finish starts wearing off I might then sand them down and paint them.

 

What do you think?

[gardening momma]

I would think you could put a coat of varnish/polyurethane on them, and they'd be good for a couple of years. When that starts peeling, you can sand them and refinish again. I don't know if there's anything along these lines for outdoor furniture (a clear, smooth finish, that is). Decks usually need a new coat once a year, but you would want something other than a deck stain. I don't have experience with outdoor stuff, just indoor. I worked full time refinishing and repairing furniture for several months before I met dh, but it was all indoor stuff.

[Frontier Mom]

Don't know about the finish, but love the thought of having your own table like that at home!! Just sounds fun. My guys have baseball 6 days per week right now and I have become attached to a certain table at Starbucks. Funny how we find "our" table, "our" spot, etc.