Finishing Hints "Naturally Aging" Western Red Cedar, in its natural, unfinished state, has a deeply textured, tactile grain combined with mellow tones ranging from a light amber to a dark, honey brown. Perfect for outdoor furniture, it somewhat resembles an ale, in its early stages. Because of cedars natural ability to withstand temperature and the harsh realities of the environment, some let their cedar piece "Naturally Age". This means no sealer or finisher of any kind is applied. This is perfectly acceptable, and the choice of many. Watching your piece mature overtime is one of the many joys of not using a finish. As the years pass, the tones of the wood will handsome into a silver/gray with darker streaks, and the grain will become slightly raised, giving it a very classic look. Wood Sealer Recommended for our wood benches, and picnic tables, a quality wood sealer, such as Thompson's, is useful in blocking the pores of the wood. This helps in stopping the grain from becoming overly raised, yet still allows for aging. Highly recommended if your outdoor furniture will be left out in nature's elements for more than 1 year at a time. Staining Perserving the tones of your new porch rocker or lawn decor item can be accomplished by using a high quality stain on your new wood furniture. We recommend "Sikkens Cetol 1" (natural), to preserve the woods look. Every year, you can reapply a coat to "freshen" its look, if needed. Little sanding and/or prepping and primer is needed when staining, and a darker stain looks very handsome on our picnic tables and cedar patio sets. Wood Oil Wood oil is only recommended if a dust and debris free environment is available. If not, airborn particles will stick to the oil and become part of the finish. Paint Painting will be fine, but like any outdoor furniture that is painted, it will need scraping and refinishing overtime. Stain, on the otherhand, breathes excellently, meaning no peeling, blistering, or chapping.