This swing has the same design as one I built a while ago. I never properly finished it. While this was OK when it hung underneath the front porch, the elements were rough on it, once we hung it in our backyard. I attempted to clean up the old one, but it was too far gone. Hence, I built a new one, again from red oak. This time, I finished it with marine grade, heavy duty varnish, in particular Epifanes Clear varnish.