Outdoor Living & Lifestyles - Using indoor items out in the garden....

There were a number of other forums where i might have posted this, including Accessories in Interior Decorating, so please advise if you think I'd be better off elsewhere, but I wanted some advice on "weather-proofing" items for use in the garden. For example, I recently took some plaster-like fluted columns that I had been using as bedside tables and put them on the patio, supporting some cast concrete planters. They look great, but I can already see the damage that watering and rain is causing. I wouldn't have put them out there if they were precious to me, but if there's a way to toughen them up, I'd likely try it. I also have one of those Art Deco ceramic panthers (that I've had since I was single and my wife hates, so it's stuck in the basement) that I've considered putting in the landscape, but I'm sure it would deteriorate pretty quick without protection, right?

I'm not an authority on this, but I'd think they need to be painted with an outside paint. They even sell spray paints now that are for outdoor things including plastics, which may be easier to use. If you don't want to change the color you could use some of the clear stuff that would be used on decks and things like that.