A Guide to Treating Exterior Wood
If you’ve used exterior wood on a project, you’ll need to treat it to provide protection from the elements.
While timber is extremely hardwearing, and will last a long time, plus few things match its natural beauty, excessive exposure to moisture or insect activity can lead to problems if it’s left untreated.
Rot is another potential issue, as is general tear, wear and decay. Equally, you may wish to freshen up a tired-looking timber piece.
So we’re often asked how to treat exterior wood. And there are a number of different methods, which we look into in a little more detail here.
Exterior Wood Treatment Oil
Wood oils nourish your timber and can give worn wood a new lease of life by reviving wooden surfaces to their natural colour. Weathering saps timber of its natural oils, potentially leading to splitting, warping and drying, while wood treatment oils replace them. You’ll be left with a robust, waterproof finish, and could choose to have enhanced water resistance with an oil/resin blend, or a product with UV filters to protect against sun damage.
Exterior Wood Varnish
Time and weathering can result in cracks, blisters or peeling paint on woodwork. Exterior wood varnish is particularly good on doors and their frames, as well as wooden gates and window frames to safeguard against UV light and moisture penetration. Good varnish for wood is weather resistant, offering continuous protection, and is especially good if the wood has previously been treated or stained.
You’ll also get a rich colour and enhanced grain on your wood, while varnish comes in gloss, matt or satin finishes. You’ll need to prepare your surface well first, by sanding and by filling in any cracks.
Exterior Wood Paint
This is a quick, easy way to breathe new life into your wood with a fresh injection of colour. Equally, outdoor wood paint also means you keep fading, peeling and other wear at bay, while providing a rich colour palette. Exterior wood paint is ideal on items like planters, furniture, panels, sheds and other wooden structures.
Again there’s great protection, from peeling, fading, and weathering. You’ll need to apply a good couple of coats, if not three.
Exterior Wood Preserver
Wood preservers are beneficial to use on sheds and fences, and they can be coloured or clear. Exterior wood preservative treatments help stop rot and decay as well as waterproofing, insect attack plus algae and mould. Meanwhile, you hold back potential damage from UV rays at the same time. You need to apply the wood preserve quite generously, and let it soak deep into your timber. You can add a fresh topcoat without sanding, plus an exterior paint coat if you wish.
Exterior Wood Stain & Dye
Exterior wood stains add a rich, deep colour as well as long-lasting, scuff-free protection from the elements and heavy foot traffic. Enhance your natural grain and take your pick from different colours as well as extra water repellence or a non-slip finish. You’ll see off peeling, blistering and cracking with wood dye and stains. Let it saturate deep into the wood – and bear in mind you’ll need to recoat every two or three years.
The Best Outdoor Wood Treatment Brands
So there are clearly quite a few products from which you can take your pick, and a number of leading brands making them.
At Creative Wood Floors, we appreciate how important it is to have the right products for exterior woodcare.
Treatex Exterior Wood Products
With more than four decades’ experience in the sector, top brand Treatex is best known for its hardwax oil, but all its products are aimed at enhancing wood’s natural beauty, while also protecting it from damage.
We stock a range of Treatex products including those from the Treatex exterior oil range, for cedar, larch and oak. If you’re wondering what is the best exterior paint for wood, the brand has a rainbow of paint colours, from terracotta to midnight blue and burgundy red and fresh lemon. We stock many of these, alongside Treatex anti-slip decking oil, plus sample pots if you’re unsure which exterior oil to use.
Osmo Exterior Wood Products
Osmo supplies a good line-up of natural wood finishes, including stains and oils, that are all about protection while retaining the elegant appearance of natural wood. There’s a focus on environmentally friendly products which keep wood healthy and elastic and are based on natural vegetable oils.
Osmo products we offer include many from the Osmo exterior oil range. So we supply Osmo decking oils and anti-slip oils in different colours as well as the Osmo Exterior UV-protection clear, plus oil tints for different types of wood, from cedar to oak, spruce and larch.
Explore Our Online Store For Exterior Wood Treatment Products
where you can buy the products mentioned above and more.
