Wood that is subject to outdoor exposure will eventually rot and decay from environmental factors such water absorption, humidity, heat, UV light and pollutants.

The UV light (ultraviolet) from the sun is the main culprit causing the timber surface to deteriorate. This break down, depending on the level of exposure to the elements and the species of wood can take as little as 1 week to start to show signs of degradation. Once exposed to the elements without protection, timber will develop small surface cracks as well as a loss of colour. The grain will become raised, the surface will become roughened and the timber will absorb moisture, the process of wood rot has started.

It is worth mentioning at this point that the moisture of the timber is extremely important. Once the timber has taken on moisture it may be difficult to successfully apply an oil based product onto the surface as oil and water do not mix; therefore the product will not penetrate the surface and will simply sit there and eventually wash off.

The point to bear in mind is: do not allow untreated timbers to be exposed to the elements especially during the winter months or when rain is expected. Timbers which have a high tannin content, Oak and Idigbo to name two will create great problems if they are exposed to moisture.

To stop this degradation a protective coating needs to be applied to the surface of the timber. The protective coating can be in the form of a paint, wood stain or oil and each type of coating has to be applied in a specific way, which has developed and tested by the manufactures to give long term protection. Only if everything was as simple as that!

On certain species of timber it is always advisable to apply a wood preservative to the bare timber before you apply a protective coating, these preservatives are formulated to prevent fungal attack on the timber surface and should be used on all softwoods and some hardwoods.

The protective coating must also incorporate water repellents, UV absorbers, translucent pigments, must be fade resistant, stay flexible and give long term protection and of course needs to be easy to apply./

Some of the best PAINTS & WOOD PRESERVATIVES to consider are as follows: 

NC PAINTS

AKTIVATOR

ALL PURPOSE JOINT COMPOUNDS

ARCHITECTURAL PAINTS

AUTOMOTIVE PAINTS

Dealers Of Paints & Wood Preservatives

Deck Cleaners / Strippers

Decorative / Marine / Industrial Coatings

DECORATIVE PAINTS

ECO FRIENDLY PAINTS

Emulsion

EMULSION PAINTS

Enamel

ENAMEL PAINTS

EPOXY PAINTS

Etc

EXTERIOR PAINTS

FILLERS

Fire Protection / Road Marking Painting

FIRE PROTECTION PAINTS

FIRE RATED PAINTS

FIRE RETARDANT PAINTS

FIREPROOFING INTUMESCENT

FIREPROOFING INTUMESCENT & CEMENTITIOUS

FLOOR COATING PAINTS

GREEN PAINT PRODUCTS

GREENGUARD GOLD CERTIFIED PAINTS

HOME PAINTS

Industrial Painting

INDUSTRIAL PAINTS

Interior / Exterior Paints

INTERNAL / EXTERNAL PAINTS

LOW VOC PAINTS

Manufacturers Of Decorative / Pc / Marine Coatings

Marine Paint Removers

MULTIPRIMER

OIL BASED PAINTS

OUTDOOR PAINTS

Paint Brushes

PAINT PRIMERS

Paint Rollers

Paint Thinners

PAINTINGS

Paints

Paints & Solutions

Paints & Wood Preservatives

Power Tools

PRIMERS

PROPONE PAINT FOR PROPELLERS

PROPSPEED & LIGHTSPEED PAINT FOR PROPELLERS

Residential Painting

SIKA290DC PRIMER

SIKAFLEX 290

SILICONE CT 1200

SILICONE RTV

SILICONE 2200

SILICONE FOR GLAZING & GLASS

SPECIAL

SPECIAL PAINTS

Spray Paints

Steel Putty

Stucco Putty

SYNTHETIC

SYNTHETIC PAINTS

TEAK CLEANERS

TEAK SEALERS

Technical Inspection

TEXTURED PAINTS

Thinner

THINNERS

Undertake Site Surveys

VARNISH

Varnishes

WALL PAINTS

WATER BASED PAINTS

WOOD FINISH

WOOD POLISH