Inside our houses we’re encompassed with amazing finishes… by wood furniture, cabinets, millwork, and other wood things and without much thought we just expect them to last a lifetime.
The finished wood items we've got outside are lucky. They’re exposed to the extremes of solar radiation from the sun… moisture in the forms of dew, rain, and snow…. high temperatures… freezing cold… fungal strikes… and in some cases foot traffic. Great exterior finishes protect the wood from these brutal conditions, but will certainly fail unless they are renewed on a scheduled basis. Maintenance is a must for outside wood finishes.
Choosing an Exterior Wood Finish There are an assortment of exterior wood finishes with different characteristics and properties. To select the best one, make some decisions at the same time and you must fit the product with the project. All these would be the key variables and concerns to select the finish that is best;
⦁ Function – Which finish is the most suitable choice for the project you are focusing on? For example, the finish you are using in your deck is not always the top choice for the new solid mahogany entrance door.
⦁ Life Cycle/Maintenance – some finishes last more than others, but none last forever. How often are you ready to scrub, scrape, and/or sand and recoat the finish (i.e., weeks, months, or years) and how simple do you desire the upkeep and repair procedure to be?
⦁ Look – should the finish be clear and bring out the beauty and depth of the wood, lightly colored and semi-transparent, opaque like paint, polished (shiny), matte (dull), or look “natural” – practically undetectable so that it’s not obvious the wood has a finish?
⦁ Application – Given a choice, if the finish be relatively simple to apply or are you ready to get a product which requires advanced abilities and more work?
⦁ Cost – How significant is the price?
Sadly, no finish scores well in all categories – you need to choose a product that fits you and your job the best. There’s the finishes which are simplest to implement and maintain and take in the selection procedure – for example, give don’t last as long as others and the ones that last longest are more work and more costly. The one thing they all have in common is that they have to be recoated every so often to keep up their protective qualities.
Is a Finish Really Necessary? If you prefer the design of silvery grey weathered wood, you may be contemplating leaving your job bare and avoiding the time plus expense related to keeping up and implementing a finish. The climate is right along with in the event the wood is naturally resistant to decay, there’s the weathered appearance will be developed by an opportunity in time. There’s a better opportunity the wood turn black and green, grow mildew, and will get filthy.
Weathering and Decay In the outdoors, bare wood is destroyed by the forces of weathering and decay. Weathering alone is a slow, purposeful process. Exposure to sunlight and water erodes the top layer of the wood. The grain raises, as it erodes and cracks and tests develop causing the surface to eventually become rough. The cracks expand and start to become larger as the boards cup, twist and warp – pulling or eroding away from fasteners. Colour will be changed by the roughened surface and collect grime, notably on the horizontal surfaces. This creates outcomes as shown in the picture and is a slow procedure.
Fungus causes rot and breaks down the wood considerably quicker than weathering. Mildew is an airborne fungus that lives on organic stuff such as dirt, pollen, and wood. In most of the U.S. the climate has the right combination of warmth and dampness that enables mildew to flourish. It will attract and host other fungi and develop rot, in the event the wood stays damp. In climates that are dry as well as primarily cold, decay is much less common or nonexistent.
Decay Resistant Wood Species Finished or bare, the top wood for outside jobs is the heartwood from a species that resists decay. Some woods that match the description are accoya, catalpa, cedar (Spanish, western red, eastern white, or Alaskan yellow), chestnut, cypress (old growth is greatest), ipe, juniper, locust (black), mahogany (Honduras or African), mesquite, mulberry, oak (bur, white), redwood (old growth is greatest), sassafras, teak (old growth is best), walnut, yew, and pressure treated lumber.
United using a correctly maintained exterior wood finish, these species will look fantastic and last a very long time outside. All exterior wood finishes fall into two general classes – permeating film and finishes forming finishes. Let’s explore their characteristics and properties.
Penetrating Finishes Strengths ⦁ Don't blister and peel
⦁ Usually do not have to be scraped or sanded – they wear away
⦁ Let the wood dry and breathe out
⦁ Simplest to apply and recoat
⦁ Natural looking
Weaknesses ⦁ Offer little protection from dirt and wear
⦁ Desire care more commonly than other products. Penetrating ends usually last three months to your year on surfaces that are horizontal and twice as long on vertical surfaces.
⦁ Do not bring beauty and the depth of the wood out
Seal it from water and penetrating finishes are made to soak into the wood surface. They don't offer any protection against wear and just a bit protection in the sunlight, if any. However, penetrating finishes would be the easiest to implement and maintain and come in a assortment of formulations that includes water repellents (WRs), water repellent preservatives (WRPs), colored WRPs, teak oils and tung oils, and semi-transparent stains. Producers appear to be blurring the lines between these finishes which could help it become hard to learn what precisely is in the can. A general guideline is the more natural appearing the less protection it offers and more frequently it's going to need to be revived, the finish.
Fire resistant coatings for wood
