Roxil Spring - How to stain and finish outdoor wood

We might be in the middle of a cold snap, but we’re all 100% ready to get in our gardens to take maximum advantage of the warm season. In the home, the threat of moths is encroaching. Read on to find out what to look out for.

Following on from last month’s wood preparation primer, today we’re tackling the last steps to fully refresh and protect outdoor wood.?By far the most fun part of any upcycling or restoration project, stains and finishes are ideal for sprucing up:

• Outdoor storage structures such as sheds
• Furniture for outdoor seating and dining, including tables and chairs
• Garden accessories like planters and trellises
• Wooden barriers such as fences
• Timber platforms like decking
• Any other outdoor-use wooden features

Last edition, we learnt how to:?

• Remove damaged prior treatments
• Preserve and protect against wood-boring beetles and woodworm, rot-causing fungi and mould.

If you missed the last newsletter, make sure you check out our step-by-step wood treatment guide over at safeguardeurope.com.

Stain?

Your outdoor wood surfaces are clean and protected from biological threats. Now it’s time to think about the finish.

Why choose a wood stain? Unlike paints, which sit atop wood to form a physical layer, stains penetrate into wood to colour the entire piece of wood. This makes them perfect for undercoating before a clear layer of waterproofing protection.?Paint cannot be overcoated by a penetrating layer of protection cream in the same way that stains can. Another benefit is that you can stain a piece of wood and then cut it to size. Attempting to do the same after painting will often cause the paint to crack and flake at the fresh joint.

Stains highlight wood grain. Paint hides it. This makes wood stain amazing at accenting the distinctive grain patterns of bold open-grain timbers like ash and oak.

There are four main types of stain on the market today:?

• Oil-based
• Water-based
• Gel-based
• Combi-stain/preservative

Oil-based stains take longer to dry than water-based stains and tend to be smellier, higher in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and more hazardous in general than water-based stains.?

Water-based stains are easier to work with, contain low amounts of VOCs and benefit from a quicker drying time.

TOP TIP: Stain large areas like fences in one go with a pump-action sprayer. This ensures a consistent finish across the entire project.?

Gel-based stains benefit from less dripping but usually take a while to dry. Due to the thickness of their consistencies, they often don’t absorb as deeply into timber as the alternatives.

Roxil Coloured Wood Preserver streamlines the preserving and staining process into one efficient treatment. It can be brushed or sprayed onto any outdoor timber and comes in 7 distinctive shades:

• Cobalt Blue
• Fir Green
• Autumn Gold
• Red Cedar
• Chestnut
• Burnt Umber
• Charcoal

As a water-based preservative stain, Roxil Coloured Wood Preserver can be used exactly like a traditional outdoor wood stain. Protection and colour without compromise.

Finish

Cleaned timber? Check. Protected it from rot and wood-boring beetles? Check. Stained it a vivid new shade? Check. All that’s left now is to protect it from the most obvious threat: the rain.?

There are a bewildering amount of finishes available in the world of woodworking - from waxes to varnishes to oils. By far the most versatile and effective is silicone wood cream. It penetrates deeply into timber just as well as oils and protects from water ingress even more than varnishes.?

When it comes to finishes, Roxil Wood Protection Cream gives you peace of mind that your outdoor timber is fully protected.

It features:

• Robust waterproofing
• Natural appearance retention
• Single-coat application
• A long service life of up to 10 years

Leading to:

• A reduction in mould and algae growth
• Improved warping resistance
• Extended life compared to untreated wood

Apply Roxil Wood Protection Cream by roller or brush in an even and thin coat. It brushes on white and dries to an invisible finish, ensuring that your chosen stain colour remains as vibrant as ever.

The Rogues’ Gallery #1: Common Clothes Moth

Welcome to The Rogues' Gallery. In each edition, we'll be exploring common UK pests and how to spot the signs of infestation.

This week, we’re putting a warning out for this furry little fella. Have seen him? If so, just say NOPE!

Tineola Bisselliella, also known as the Common Clothes Moth, is a small insect around 7mm in length, with a wingspan of approximately 12mm. The adult moth has golden-brown wings and a light brown-yellow body.

The larvae of the Common Clothes Moth are yellow to off-white and around 10mm in length.

Tineola Bisselliella’s lifecycle is destructive. Clothes moth larvae feed on natural fibres such as wool, silk, and fur, causing damage to clothing, blankets, and other fabrics. For more information on common UK moth types, check out our comprehensive "How to get rid of moths" guide.

Safeguard Spotlight

CJE Developments have been hard at work in Birmingham, establishing a new damp-proof course with Dryzone Damp-Proofing Cream.

Metropolitan Building and Refurbishment Ltd solved a tricky mould problem at a home in Beaconsfield with the Dryzone Mould Removal & Prevention Kit & Anti-Mould Additive.

We want to see your Stormdry jobs!

Tag our profile into your Stormdry application post and you could win a Stormdry Umbrella! And as always, let us know about any of your Safeguard projects to be in with a chance to feature in the next Safeguard Spotlight!?

That's it for this edition of Built to Protect. Have you put our wood protection tips into practice? We’d love to hear from you. If you haven't subscribed already, hit that button and get the next newsletter direct to your inbox. We'll see you again on Wednesday 29th March!