◆ Crafters Market
Powder, clear coat, raw patina, gun blue — we put 8 finishes outside for a year. Photos and verdicts on which actually held up.
Customer #1 question on outdoor pieces: will this survive my climate? We pinned eight finished steel test pieces to a south-facing fence in Austin, TX last spring and photographed them every month. After a year of triple-digit summers, two hailstorms, and a humid winter, here's what survived intact, what surprised us with how well it aged, and the one finish we'd never recommend for outdoor again.