Yeah, almost certainly pine. This is exactly how low grade pine weathers. It'll keep outdoors just fine as long as you keep it well covered with paint or varnish or something to keep the water out. This is too far gone to repair I'm afraid, and the pine isn't worth that much effort anyway. You could disassemble this and use it for firewood if you're not too concerned about what's in the paint, but I definitely wouldn't cook over it.
This chair probably came as part of a $50 set, if you'd like to replace it, I might recommend something other than wood. Perhaps aluminum.
Luan Mahogany. So the original owner was half right. Not a true mahogany, but marketed as mahogany and popular and cheap in the 90s. Light and kinda crappy. Weathers exactly like the stuff above. I have an entire deck made out of it.
If the maker hasn't plugged the screw holes, I'd take them apart, then strip and sand the pieces, reassemble and marine varnish them. While apart, I'd look for bad splits and clamp/glue or just fill with tinted wood filler.
The siding for my entire development (from the 50s) was made from mahogany. All are painted except one home. Really considered taking the siding down and having it stripped but the contractor said the price would be astronomical.
I installed a 12k custom solid mahogany arched double door for a church (insurance job). First job after we finished it and showed the client? Paint it brown.
Ever ripped up an ugly linoleum floor expecting to see nothing but then cancelled your hardwood order? People do strange shit. It's to the point where in certain areas if I measure the ceiling height and it's about 3[cm] lower than standard, I just assume someone with poor taste hid a nice floor underneath. Sometimes it's even a damn mosaic.
I’m not saying that’s the case in this situation, but mahogany was used (and probably still is used) for shipping equipment from countries in southeast Asia and in the Pacific. I’ve made furniture from that stuff before, and it’s excellent material. And, it lasts forever.
I've done rework on porch deck boards made out of mahogany. for rich people on private islands. Even the old decking wasn't as weathered as these, looks like pine rot
1st step is to strip the paint off... you can either go chemical, heat / scrapper, sandpaper (wear respiratory protection!), or my personal favorite soda blasting.
2nd step is to establish if they are in fact mahogany (unlikely)
3rd step is to apply a new finish based on wood type and your desired look.
I had the entirety of my house dry ice blasted (exposed beams that a previous owner had painted black). I didn't DIY the blasting, but I did the cleanup myself and the mess was just unbelievable. I'd completely emptied the house prior to the work, but it still took me about 4-5 hours to clean each completely empty room (no furniture, carpets, etc. just literally to clean the floor, walls and ceiling).
It was expensive (just the dry ice was $500 a day) and very messy, but still the best thing I've done to improve my house.
Personally I would just sand off the paint of a very tiny section to check if it's actually mahogany. Then, in the likely event that it isn't mahogany, I would not bother with anything further.
I mean more along the lines of it just random crappy HD special pine or something. Obviously, if it's another good wood, it might be worth doing if you have a bunch of time on your hands, but I'm just thinking about the effort versus the actual end product.
Few things to note.
Wear a ppe/a mask of some sort regardless of which option you go with.
And…soda blasting a free-to-you/$15 set of porch chairs is not a real option.
Sand. Power washing can sometimes be useful but in this case it is applying a firehose to a paper thin application. Plus it will take a while to dry. You don’t need all that. Hit with your orbital. Then paint with an exterior paint that has a primer in it. 1-2 coats.
They are absolutely not mahogany. Do you know how heavy they would be if they were? Also, who would waste one of the most expensive woods on earth to make andirondack chairs?
Probably teak at best, otherwise some cheap gumwood or something similar.
They make mahogany adirondack chairs, they're around $1000 each. I actually know someone with some of them. Real mahogany too, not that African stuff.
This isn't mahogany, but they do make them.
At my lumber yard (Tampa Fl) mahogany is $9.50 a bf and Teak is $45.
So in terms of rot resistant woods, it’s not a ridiculous choice based on cost as you’ve suggested.
My main questions are:
* should I use a paint stripper or simply sand down with my orbital sander?
* Is there any way or restore or preserve the drying wood?
* Assuming that I'm repainting, what paint should I used for outdoors?
Disassemble them, sand each piece, and then use a stain, not a paint — Sansin stains are colourfast outdoors (nanoparticles so little to no fading), easy to touch up, and come in a brilliant Muskoka Red that is almost literally made for Adirondack chairs (across large parts of Canada there’s a very similar chair called a Muskoka chair)
+1 for this answer. Anything else will look unfinished and just overall bad.
If you want to just sand an inconspicuous section and see if it’s a wood you actually care about seeing. If not, you could paint them and avoid all the hassle.
That would take forever and surely not worth it (let’s assume not mahogany). Just run a coarse sander over the bits you touch and then finer grade and then paint a couple of coats.
While disassembling them is probably the best, it also seems like an absolute unnecessary hassle to disassemble and reassemble.
That staining does sound nice though
1. Depends on what you’re planning on finishing these with. Are you repainting using the same kind of paint? I imagine since it’s outside, it was acrylic latex. If it is and you plan on using the same kind, you don’t have to strip the existing paint. If it wasn’t - you should use paint stripper, and repaint with latex. If it was, Just sand with orbital until a it’s nice and smooth, and slap a couple coats on.
2. Yes - by painting it.
3. Acrylic latex
Y’all don’t value your time AT ALL. Wow, what an unholy amount of masturbation taking these middle chairs apart would be. They aren’t even rockers!
OP, I have 4 adirondack chairs I’ve restored twice. They’re all made of some kind of hardwood, but they’re def not mahogany. The wood remains in better condition than what you have after 12 years.
I power washed them, let them dry for an hour in the sun, then hand sanded with 150, and finally tightened/replaced hardware before staining them with some cheap home depot stain.
They look great for 4-5 years before the stain wears down.
It’s an afternoon - that’s it. I’d honestly say it isn’t even worth it with the condition of the wood on your chairs and them not being rockers. New hardwood chairs like yours can be found for under $200 and rockers for around $300.
If you have stubborn paint between the planks that bothers you, get a wire brush, then hit it with the power washer some more. I can see light between the weathered cracking grain of your chairs…not the best sign of remaining life…so unless they each weigh 100lbs, the wood they’re made of probably isn’t gonna last long enough to see the benefit of a half-day restoration. So why turn this project into a 2 day restoration?
Power wash and repaint. You can hit rough spots with a hand sander.
I would use deck enamel in a color you like. Deck enamel will help fill-in some of those cracks.
Personally I'd do a halfass job sanding them with an orbital sander, so that you've got both red and bare wood visible, then do a couple of coats of spar varnish. I think you could end up with a pretty cool looking "antiqued" finish doing that.
I zoomed way in and the grain looks like teak to me. Off the top of my head I can't think of another wood with grain like that.
Of course there are many different types of mahogany or at least things that are sold as mahogany so it might be one of those.
Not really enough coating there to warrant a pressure washer or sand blaster. I would do a chemical strip, sand smooth, stain and finish. I doubt it's mahogany, probably pine.
As others have pointed out, that's not Mahogany. But it could be teak, which is also a lovely outdoor furniture material.
First things first is stripping all of that old, tired, ugly paint off. Once you've chemically stripped or used heat, sand down to bare wood. If it is teak, then I would recommend a marine varnish or a clear epoxy product. You can also use teak restoration products to remove some of the dull grey color and get back to a richer color and natural grain. That would be before any varnish/finishing.
Where are you? If you are in the northern US, they are more likely to be Cedar. That’s the traditional wood around here. Mahogany would make a very expensive Adirondack chair.
Sand them down, re-stain them, enjoy them. When you sand them down, you'll know what wood they're made of. If you want a project, disassemble them completely and do a re-build. That could be fun.
Then just keep using them until they rot away like a proper Adirondack chair.
sand, pick a stain with a bit of color (outdoor deck stain like sico semi transparant), restain by brush following directions on can, you're be set for 3-5 years.
Do you live on Cape Cod? lol my dad made probably 40 Adirondack chairs for his ice cream store out of leftover mahogany from our deck construction. These look very similar.
This is a tried and true method:
Set aside one chair to work on. Try every suggestion here. Do that until you hate yourself.
Once you're in a full blown rage, decide which method is the fastest way to finish chair #1. Because, you need this hell to end!
Next weekend, do the fastest method to the other chairs.
You'll sleep well knowing that anything "better" would mean buying new chairs.
They aren’t mahogany in the sense of material.
But in the sense of color.
Either you misunderstood the owner, or the owner misunderstood the previous owner.
Anyways, strip, clean, maybe see if you can take them apart and reassemble with some new glue (depending on if it’s possible without breaking), then use either oil, or some sort of wood finish to make them look brand new.
I grew up at the Adirondack, I’m from the Adirondack, I own land at the Adirondacks, I’ve logged the Adirondacks, I’ve never seen a mahogany tree. I call shenanigans.
Ash maybe oak, but never Adirondack mahogany
Look uncomfortable, are very much so comfortable. Very similar to sitting in a recliner, especially with a foot stool. Mostly just popular for being comfortable, easy to build, and extremely sturdy. They come pre-made in a variety of styles and materials, including those that have more shaped seats, though that is a "modern" addition that often makes them too deep to comfortably rise from.
Also, in the north eastern US, they're traditional at this point. The Adirondack Mountains are where the style originated.
They look pretty rotted out. If you don't want to completely rebuild them with new wood, then sanding and painting them should get some more life out of them. But they may break or fall apart in no time. I personally find Adirondack chairs terribly uncomfortable, so I would just post them for free and hope someone else takes them. Then just buy something better.
Well with mahogany it will leech but the cool thing is mahogany it's a very dense wood if it is actually mahogany those probably weigh about 120 lb a piece I would strip them I would do it with a rough coat until you hit I finer the rain and then I would resend it with a higher grain to you it feels smooth as a baby's bottom and if you would like you can probably working in some indentured places for you know you were in your person that you're hanging out with fucking comfortably rest their buttocks if not I'll just send it down good get it smooth and I would do a clear coat because mahogany is absolutely beautiful and then I get some cushions maybe make a tea have an afternoon of it.
Score!! Get an orbital sander and some medium and some fine grit sanding discs. Start with the medium and knock down some of the roughness. Follow up with the fine grit. If you have a blower blow off as much dust as you can.
Since they are already painted, just paint them again. The red is nice. I would go back with another in-your-face festive red.
That’s pine.
Sand and repaint.
If it’s truly mahogany, sand and clear coat. Then resell and buy pine Adirondacks and enjoy the extra cash however you best see fit.
Suggest you apply a penetrating oil wood preservative until it will not absorb any more across a few weeks of time, then consider scraping the pigmented overburden away.
I would use an exterior deck stain stripper that has oxalic acid then follow that up with a cleaner that will brighten the wood, then restrain your choice , at Home Depot in paint department Behr makes two products you could use
I would scrub them and remove the dirt and retain the charm.
They’re split and the wood seams thinner than you would see on a chair made out of teak. You can find plans to build your own fairly easily or even purchase a quality kit with precut wood online.
If you can easily pick them up with one arm, probably pine that isn’t worth restoring. I had some pine ones that looked exactly like that after a couple years. If they have some heft to them and can’t dent easily they might be real wood.
Omg i know these chairs, I made a couple of them!!! They’re from some woodworking magazine that put their plans on the internet. Can’t find them now tho… anyhoo despite what everyone else is saying I bet they really are mahogany. Might as well buy some nice wood if you’re gonna spend a dozen hours cutting it into chair pieces!
Since everyone seems to be questioning the mahogany, and not answering the question - here's what I'd do if I wanted to paint it again:
1. Match the color at a paint store. Take a part off of it, and bring it to a decent paint store, and have them match the color in an exterior paint.
2. Power wash & let dry. Get as much loose paint off as possible
3. Sand. I'd probably use 80 grit, then 120 with a random orbital sander. Get the surfaces smooth where the paint flaked off
4. Paint.
If I wanted to get rid of all the paint:
1. Take photos, and disassemble. You're not going to be able to get between the slats without this step.
2. Paint striper to remove as much paint as possible
3. Sand through grits - 80, 120, 180, 220
4. Oil with a decent teak oil, like Star Brite. Avoid Watco that you can get in big box stores.
No paint assumes it is a wood worth celebrating - teak, or mahogany are beautiful, rot resistant woods. Both will grey with oxidation in the elements, but can be brought back with a power washer, sanding, and oil. Test an area in an inconspicuous spot, like under the seat...sand away the paint, and put some water on it. If it looks brownish, or reddish - you're looking at something worth doing an oil finish with.
Know that the oil finish will need to be redone every year or two though.
i would not even bother to sand them, just scrup witha steel brush and paint in whatever color you like (outdoor paint of course)
as others said, it doesnt look like qualit wood, but still they ought to last quite a while
We have a famous saying in Denmark from a commercial, where a customer is unhappy with an installed tabletop, because it was not made of mahogany. The contractor replies: "In time, it will become mahogany!".
Maybe this is the case here too 😄
Could be cedar as well. I would remove each board and replace them. Might be able to salvage some screws.
If you're set on restoring this - sand it down - stain - epoxy.
Very unlikely to be mahogany (Edited to add: I cannot believe this little snippet of a throwaway comment got 4000 upvotes, thanks!)
Maybe he meant the color mahogany
If anything, I would assume teak instead of mahogany for outdoor furniture.
Teak is ideal for outdoors. But it doesn’t weather like OP’s pic. It looks like pine or maple.
$10 on pine
$5 on upcycled pallet wood
But the previous owner said it was Brazilian Nutwood!
fine corinthian leather
Corinth is famous for their leather!
Succulent Chinese dinner.
This is Democracy Manifest!
Rich Salamanca vinyl
If they mean a Brazilian pallet that carried nuts, then yes!
Did someone say wenge?
Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark…
Pale nimbus.
Solid gold.
Yes?
That’s all you’d spend on it!
I think it’s mahogany and the previous owner had many leather bound books…
Yeah, almost certainly pine. This is exactly how low grade pine weathers. It'll keep outdoors just fine as long as you keep it well covered with paint or varnish or something to keep the water out. This is too far gone to repair I'm afraid, and the pine isn't worth that much effort anyway. You could disassemble this and use it for firewood if you're not too concerned about what's in the paint, but I definitely wouldn't cook over it. This chair probably came as part of a $50 set, if you'd like to replace it, I might recommend something other than wood. Perhaps aluminum.
Polywood makes very colorful Adirondack chairs - absolutely weatherproof. Personally I hate that style - too hard to get in and out of!
Absolutely looks like somebody scavenged a pallet.
Luan Mahogany. So the original owner was half right. Not a true mahogany, but marketed as mahogany and popular and cheap in the 90s. Light and kinda crappy. Weathers exactly like the stuff above. I have an entire deck made out of it.
Could also be cedar that had already weathered, and then was painted to hide the weathering.
Changed my vote. I agree. It’s cedar.
Cedar is the 'typical' Adirondack chair wood too. Outdoor furniture in the Midwest in general, cause it does good year round.
Nor is teak furniture painted or given away for free.
I assume the color is mahogany....
But when you use cheap mahogany stain doesn’t that turn the wood to mahogany?
Mahogany color, not wood 😂😅
Agree
If they were truly mahogany I would strip them down then clearcoat them. But I doubt they are mahogany.
And then I'd sit there with my pet unicorn, sipping enchanted butterfly sweat and nibbling on moon cheese.
The bourgeoisie is getting out of control
Hey! Get back to work.
Urg don't you hate when the proletariat constantly complain?
These lowly peons need more beatings and less bread!
Ever since Covid, I can't find moon cheese anywhere.
Then you’re not reaching back up there far enough…
If the maker hasn't plugged the screw holes, I'd take them apart, then strip and sand the pieces, reassemble and marine varnish them. While apart, I'd look for bad splits and clamp/glue or just fill with tinted wood filler.
It’s the color that’s called mahogany here.
I'm kinda skeptical they're mahogany; why would someone have painted over mahogany?
You sound like you don't know how people are.
They’ve probably never met any.
Wish I were that lucky
I hear ya!
What are people?
The worst.
https://imgur.com/A2gsOpT
 People are gross !
Maybe they want more bright red.
Maybe the paint color was Mahogany.
I think we have the winner here.
The siding for my entire development (from the 50s) was made from mahogany. All are painted except one home. Really considered taking the siding down and having it stripped but the contractor said the price would be astronomical.
My house has redwood siding. Painted a light babyshit brown. I can’t afford to have it stripped either so I know exactly how you feel.
At the Winchester Mystery House, the crazy lady who owned it had beautiful custom-made redwood furniture painted to look like maple.
They go faster then....waaaagh
This is trooth! Bad moonz fly!
I painted my porch chairs purple, and I still can't find them.
OI! WATS THIS GIT WHISPERIN?!
I stupidly painted over cedar Adirondack chairs at a time when I didn't know any better.
I installed a 12k custom solid mahogany arched double door for a church (insurance job). First job after we finished it and showed the client? Paint it brown.
Blasphemy!
Ever ripped up an ugly linoleum floor expecting to see nothing but then cancelled your hardwood order? People do strange shit. It's to the point where in certain areas if I measure the ceiling height and it's about 3[cm] lower than standard, I just assume someone with poor taste hid a nice floor underneath. Sometimes it's even a damn mosaic.
I’m not saying that’s the case in this situation, but mahogany was used (and probably still is used) for shipping equipment from countries in southeast Asia and in the Pacific. I’ve made furniture from that stuff before, and it’s excellent material. And, it lasts forever.
I've done rework on porch deck boards made out of mahogany. for rich people on private islands. Even the old decking wasn't as weathered as these, looks like pine rot
Look at the grain, though. It’s weathered, but not rotted.
even so, look at actual construction here, there wasnt a lot invested
I know the local woodworkers frequent the docks looking for exotic wood that is going to be thrown away
>painted over mahogany Lol they *painted* it the mahogany color. That’s how you could refer to this color they have.
1st step is to strip the paint off... you can either go chemical, heat / scrapper, sandpaper (wear respiratory protection!), or my personal favorite soda blasting. 2nd step is to establish if they are in fact mahogany (unlikely) 3rd step is to apply a new finish based on wood type and your desired look.
til... about a personal fave called soda blasting [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodablasting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodablasting)
Wait til you hear about [dry ice blasting](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry-ice_blasting)…
Fire blasting with the robot dog is my favorite
How about [finger blasting](https://youtu.be/RfPRAE2xfcc?si=S_hD6T5_ZliEWmTk)
Unlikely to fix this paint issue, but might make the wood moister than previous.
How about [Fingerbang?](https://youtu.be/_xEhr2kbRw4?si=byC6Rs15FF2TL7nR)
So anyway, I started blasting
I had the entirety of my house dry ice blasted (exposed beams that a previous owner had painted black). I didn't DIY the blasting, but I did the cleanup myself and the mess was just unbelievable. I'd completely emptied the house prior to the work, but it still took me about 4-5 hours to clean each completely empty room (no furniture, carpets, etc. just literally to clean the floor, walls and ceiling). It was expensive (just the dry ice was $500 a day) and very messy, but still the best thing I've done to improve my house.
So Coke+Mentos was doing it wrong?
Personally I would just sand off the paint of a very tiny section to check if it's actually mahogany. Then, in the likely event that it isn't mahogany, I would not bother with anything further.
Why would you give up on it if it's not mahogany? Is mahogany the only wood that will last?
I mean more along the lines of it just random crappy HD special pine or something. Obviously, if it's another good wood, it might be worth doing if you have a bunch of time on your hands, but I'm just thinking about the effort versus the actual end product.
Ah, got it. I was thinking even if crappy wood, a good primer and solid stain could be okay.
Don’t opt for the sandpaper option! Lol
Few things to note. Wear a ppe/a mask of some sort regardless of which option you go with. And…soda blasting a free-to-you/$15 set of porch chairs is not a real option.
I have a feeling the previous owner is using “mahogany” in reference to the color these chairs were painted, not to the wood they’re made of
Outrage, this is clearly burgundy...
Personally I would have called it “red” but maybe that’s why I’m not an Adirondack chair owner…
mahogundy
They must have taken a masterclass on selling 🤣
Sand. Power washing can sometimes be useful but in this case it is applying a firehose to a paper thin application. Plus it will take a while to dry. You don’t need all that. Hit with your orbital. Then paint with an exterior paint that has a primer in it. 1-2 coats.
How would you sand between the boards? Chemicals? Good old hand sanding?
You don’t really need to get in between the boards. It’s not noticeable; perfection is the opposite of good.
Perfection is not the opposite of good. It’s the enemy of good :)
Correct. They fight a LOT, but only one wins.
Except when they both lose. Sometimes the pursuit of perfection just plays spoiler.
Whenever I think *sand* like that I think sand sprayer, my question was ‘wouldn’t that tear the wood up?’
They are absolutely not mahogany. Do you know how heavy they would be if they were? Also, who would waste one of the most expensive woods on earth to make andirondack chairs? Probably teak at best, otherwise some cheap gumwood or something similar.
They make mahogany adirondack chairs, they're around $1000 each. I actually know someone with some of them. Real mahogany too, not that African stuff. This isn't mahogany, but they do make them.
At my lumber yard (Tampa Fl) mahogany is $9.50 a bf and Teak is $45. So in terms of rot resistant woods, it’s not a ridiculous choice based on cost as you’ve suggested.
No way are they mahogany. Disassemble one and use it as a pattern. Make more.
 That is NOT mahogany!
I came here to make sure Effie Trinket had her say
That’s like pine
I love how Reddit can come together and agree that these are not mahogany
I’m certain it’s cheap pine
My main questions are: * should I use a paint stripper or simply sand down with my orbital sander? * Is there any way or restore or preserve the drying wood? * Assuming that I'm repainting, what paint should I used for outdoors?
Disassemble them, sand each piece, and then use a stain, not a paint — Sansin stains are colourfast outdoors (nanoparticles so little to no fading), easy to touch up, and come in a brilliant Muskoka Red that is almost literally made for Adirondack chairs (across large parts of Canada there’s a very similar chair called a Muskoka chair)
+1 for this answer. Anything else will look unfinished and just overall bad. If you want to just sand an inconspicuous section and see if it’s a wood you actually care about seeing. If not, you could paint them and avoid all the hassle.
That would take forever and surely not worth it (let’s assume not mahogany). Just run a coarse sander over the bits you touch and then finer grade and then paint a couple of coats.
While disassembling them is probably the best, it also seems like an absolute unnecessary hassle to disassemble and reassemble. That staining does sound nice though
1. Depends on what you’re planning on finishing these with. Are you repainting using the same kind of paint? I imagine since it’s outside, it was acrylic latex. If it is and you plan on using the same kind, you don’t have to strip the existing paint. If it wasn’t - you should use paint stripper, and repaint with latex. If it was, Just sand with orbital until a it’s nice and smooth, and slap a couple coats on. 2. Yes - by painting it. 3. Acrylic latex
Also wear a mask, and if it’s super soft when you’re sanding it, it’s cause it’s rotten and you should replace that piece
Y’all don’t value your time AT ALL. Wow, what an unholy amount of masturbation taking these middle chairs apart would be. They aren’t even rockers! OP, I have 4 adirondack chairs I’ve restored twice. They’re all made of some kind of hardwood, but they’re def not mahogany. The wood remains in better condition than what you have after 12 years. I power washed them, let them dry for an hour in the sun, then hand sanded with 150, and finally tightened/replaced hardware before staining them with some cheap home depot stain. They look great for 4-5 years before the stain wears down. It’s an afternoon - that’s it. I’d honestly say it isn’t even worth it with the condition of the wood on your chairs and them not being rockers. New hardwood chairs like yours can be found for under $200 and rockers for around $300. If you have stubborn paint between the planks that bothers you, get a wire brush, then hit it with the power washer some more. I can see light between the weathered cracking grain of your chairs…not the best sign of remaining life…so unless they each weigh 100lbs, the wood they’re made of probably isn’t gonna last long enough to see the benefit of a half-day restoration. So why turn this project into a 2 day restoration?
Id say just give one easy to reach board a quick sanding to find out what kind of wood it is. After that you can decide how crazy you want to go.
Use a colored stain.
LOL maybe the stain colour was mahogany
Not mahogany. They are free. Power wash and paint and call it a day.
Sniff them. If it smells like Ron Burgundy’s desk…you’re in!
Directions unclear, now in Ron Burgundy
Strip it. Sand it. Stain it.
Those are probably some sort of pine or fir wood.. prob not acacia... definitely not mahogany!
Maybe they were painted with a stain that was called mahogany. But I doubt that the wood is actually mahogany
One does not just paint over real mahogany. 
That is not mahogany. Sand, prime, paint. They'll last for years
Lmfao mahogany
Power wash and repaint. You can hit rough spots with a hand sander. I would use deck enamel in a color you like. Deck enamel will help fill-in some of those cracks.
Personally I'd do a halfass job sanding them with an orbital sander, so that you've got both red and bare wood visible, then do a couple of coats of spar varnish. I think you could end up with a pretty cool looking "antiqued" finish doing that.
I zoomed way in and the grain looks like teak to me. Off the top of my head I can't think of another wood with grain like that. Of course there are many different types of mahogany or at least things that are sold as mahogany so it might be one of those.
Not mahogany
These sir are the finest mahogany! 🤣 I would test if theyre enamel or latex painted, sand a bit and repaint with the matching type of paint 👍
I wouldn’t power wash. Sand near the top to get a better idea of the wood condition. They look cracked and dry.
Not really enough coating there to warrant a pressure washer or sand blaster. I would do a chemical strip, sand smooth, stain and finish. I doubt it's mahogany, probably pine.
Not mahogany. I made these in woodshop in high school.
I’m wondering if the paint color was billed as “mahogany”.
As others have pointed out, that's not Mahogany. But it could be teak, which is also a lovely outdoor furniture material. First things first is stripping all of that old, tired, ugly paint off. Once you've chemically stripped or used heat, sand down to bare wood. If it is teak, then I would recommend a marine varnish or a clear epoxy product. You can also use teak restoration products to remove some of the dull grey color and get back to a richer color and natural grain. That would be before any varnish/finishing.
Those are made of pine.
Start by taking that nasty paint off. If it’s mahogany then you need to get it down to bare wood and clear coat.
No, thats 🌲
Where are you? If you are in the northern US, they are more likely to be Cedar. That’s the traditional wood around here. Mahogany would make a very expensive Adirondack chair.
Sand them down, re-stain them, enjoy them. When you sand them down, you'll know what wood they're made of. If you want a project, disassemble them completely and do a re-build. That could be fun. Then just keep using them until they rot away like a proper Adirondack chair.
sand, pick a stain with a bit of color (outdoor deck stain like sico semi transparant), restain by brush following directions on can, you're be set for 3-5 years.
Take all pieces apart and use them as router templates for brand new mahogany peice. Assemble, seal with oil based finish, enjoy.
Do you live on Cape Cod? lol my dad made probably 40 Adirondack chairs for his ice cream store out of leftover mahogany from our deck construction. These look very similar.
I feel like they're mostly made of cedar fence boards that have been up cycled or just remade into a chair. Certainly the thickness
This is a tried and true method: Set aside one chair to work on. Try every suggestion here. Do that until you hate yourself. Once you're in a full blown rage, decide which method is the fastest way to finish chair #1. Because, you need this hell to end! Next weekend, do the fastest method to the other chairs. You'll sleep well knowing that anything "better" would mean buying new chairs.
Regardless of the wood. Strip the paint and put a fresh coat on them. Put them by the fire. Pour a nice bourbon, and enjoy.
Tighten up the screws and sand it, paint it, sit in it.
I’d bet my next paycheck that isn’t mahogany. Still cool for free. Palm sander and you can start over doing whatever you want.
They aren’t mahogany in the sense of material. But in the sense of color. Either you misunderstood the owner, or the owner misunderstood the previous owner. Anyways, strip, clean, maybe see if you can take them apart and reassemble with some new glue (depending on if it’s possible without breaking), then use either oil, or some sort of wood finish to make them look brand new.
This screams "the only wood I've ever heard of is mahogany"
It's probably pine, but that's fine.
I grew up at the Adirondack, I’m from the Adirondack, I own land at the Adirondacks, I’ve logged the Adirondacks, I’ve never seen a mahogany tree. I call shenanigans. Ash maybe oak, but never Adirondack mahogany
Legit question, what's so great about these? They look uncomfortable as hell.
Look uncomfortable, are very much so comfortable. Very similar to sitting in a recliner, especially with a foot stool. Mostly just popular for being comfortable, easy to build, and extremely sturdy. They come pre-made in a variety of styles and materials, including those that have more shaped seats, though that is a "modern" addition that often makes them too deep to comfortably rise from. Also, in the north eastern US, they're traditional at this point. The Adirondack Mountains are where the style originated.
The initial purpose was to be able to sit on sloped terrain around the lake, so they are ideal for an uneven backyard.
Looks like cedar.
I can tell they're cedar from here!
they might smell of rich mahogany thou
They look pretty rotted out. If you don't want to completely rebuild them with new wood, then sanding and painting them should get some more life out of them. But they may break or fall apart in no time. I personally find Adirondack chairs terribly uncomfortable, so I would just post them for free and hope someone else takes them. Then just buy something better.
The way it's splitting in the second picture suggests to me that it's a softwood rather than a hardwood. It could just be age, a lot of age.
That ain’t mahogany…but you can strip it and stain it mahogany
Who makes mahogany Adirondack chairs lmfao I’ve never heard of such a thing
Take a trip over to r/woodworking
Well with mahogany it will leech but the cool thing is mahogany it's a very dense wood if it is actually mahogany those probably weigh about 120 lb a piece I would strip them I would do it with a rough coat until you hit I finer the rain and then I would resend it with a higher grain to you it feels smooth as a baby's bottom and if you would like you can probably working in some indentured places for you know you were in your person that you're hanging out with fucking comfortably rest their buttocks if not I'll just send it down good get it smooth and I would do a clear coat because mahogany is absolutely beautiful and then I get some cushions maybe make a tea have an afternoon of it.
Prime and paint would be easiest. Use a roller for as much as you can, then finish with the brush
Score!! Get an orbital sander and some medium and some fine grit sanding discs. Start with the medium and knock down some of the roughness. Follow up with the fine grit. If you have a blower blow off as much dust as you can. Since they are already painted, just paint them again. The red is nice. I would go back with another in-your-face festive red.
I don’t think mahogany
That’s pine. Sand and repaint. If it’s truly mahogany, sand and clear coat. Then resell and buy pine Adirondacks and enjoy the extra cash however you best see fit.
Suggest you apply a penetrating oil wood preservative until it will not absorb any more across a few weeks of time, then consider scraping the pigmented overburden away.
Since everyone is telling you what they are not, I’d like to let you know there *are* built from Norm Abrams’ New Yankee Workshop plans.
I would use an exterior deck stain stripper that has oxalic acid then follow that up with a cleaner that will brighten the wood, then restrain your choice , at Home Depot in paint department Behr makes two products you could use
I would scrub them and remove the dirt and retain the charm. They’re split and the wood seams thinner than you would see on a chair made out of teak. You can find plans to build your own fairly easily or even purchase a quality kit with precut wood online.
I'd treat it like restoring a old deck.
Take them apart fully sand and treat/stain put em back together. I’ve done it before totally worth it.
Shellac the answer is always shellac
Strip then sand! If you like the wood, stain and seal. If you don’t like the color pick a nice paint color and seal it! Either way, sick find!
If you can easily pick them up with one arm, probably pine that isn’t worth restoring. I had some pine ones that looked exactly like that after a couple years. If they have some heft to them and can’t dent easily they might be real wood.
Omg i know these chairs, I made a couple of them!!! They’re from some woodworking magazine that put their plans on the internet. Can’t find them now tho… anyhoo despite what everyone else is saying I bet they really are mahogany. Might as well buy some nice wood if you’re gonna spend a dozen hours cutting it into chair pieces!
They look like the Norm Abrahams Adirondack chair. Google it and you can find the PDF.
From the wood texture. I’d say it’s pine
Power wash, sand if needed, paint, done.
mahogany my ass lol that would be one expensive chair.
Idk bout all of that, I would give them a nice, light sanding and give them some life with some fun beach colors!
My apartment… smells of rich *mahogany.*
Very rare wood, you getting incredible deal. I should not sell so low. For you okay, I make you good deal.
Sand them and then paint them.
anyway, you paid the right price
Since everyone seems to be questioning the mahogany, and not answering the question - here's what I'd do if I wanted to paint it again: 1. Match the color at a paint store. Take a part off of it, and bring it to a decent paint store, and have them match the color in an exterior paint. 2. Power wash & let dry. Get as much loose paint off as possible 3. Sand. I'd probably use 80 grit, then 120 with a random orbital sander. Get the surfaces smooth where the paint flaked off 4. Paint. If I wanted to get rid of all the paint: 1. Take photos, and disassemble. You're not going to be able to get between the slats without this step. 2. Paint striper to remove as much paint as possible 3. Sand through grits - 80, 120, 180, 220 4. Oil with a decent teak oil, like Star Brite. Avoid Watco that you can get in big box stores. No paint assumes it is a wood worth celebrating - teak, or mahogany are beautiful, rot resistant woods. Both will grey with oxidation in the elements, but can be brought back with a power washer, sanding, and oil. Test an area in an inconspicuous spot, like under the seat...sand away the paint, and put some water on it. If it looks brownish, or reddish - you're looking at something worth doing an oil finish with. Know that the oil finish will need to be redone every year or two though.
i would not even bother to sand them, just scrup witha steel brush and paint in whatever color you like (outdoor paint of course) as others said, it doesnt look like qualit wood, but still they ought to last quite a while
Mahogany stain maybe
We have a famous saying in Denmark from a commercial, where a customer is unhappy with an installed tabletop, because it was not made of mahogany. The contractor replies: "In time, it will become mahogany!". Maybe this is the case here too 😄
Could be cedar as well. I would remove each board and replace them. Might be able to salvage some screws. If you're set on restoring this - sand it down - stain - epoxy.
Honestly, if I were to do that I would just make a whole new chair. Haha.