I purchased 4 of these swings for firepit swing structure we are building. The wood is very nice looking, so we decided to use a coat of Thompson Water Seal to waterproof it without covering up the blond wood grain. We can paint them later if we decide to. The swings are very easy to assemble and they are actually quite comfortable to sit in, even without adding cushions. We encountered only 2 glitches. One of the swings had a cracked slat. I emailed this manufacturer, and they immediately responded that they would send a replacement slat. The customer service is excellent. The second glitch was that one of the pre-drilled holes in the arms does not align with the pre-drilled holes on the swing. It was simple to drill a few new holes. Because the quality of the swings seems so good for the price, I won't even ding their rating for a couple minor inconveniences. These seems like a real bargain--a reasonable price for great-looking, solid, easy-to-assemble swings.