Which Wood Finish is Best For You?

Whether it’s paint or stain, clear or opaque, the right finish blends aesthetics with performance

It is commodious , yes , but the wood will presently be damage bymoistureand ultraviolet light ( ultraviolet ) light , and it wo n’t last as long as wood that has been protect by an exterior finish . open checks , mould , color fade , and eventual rot all are potential outcomes when Sir Henry Joseph Wood is left unprotected .

Exterior finishes cooking stove from water - clear varnishes and sink in crude oil to totally unintelligible paints and solid stigma . They ’re available in both crude oil - based and water - based formulation , although local or regional zephyr - timber law may affect what you may corrupt .

Despite their many remainder , finishes go down into two broad family : film form and penetrating . Paintand varnish are examples of film - forming refinement . They make a barrier coat on the open when they dry out . Penetrating finish , such as semitransparent brand and exterior rock oil , soak into wood fibers without imprint a surface film . There are pros and gyp to each character , but there is a finish for every situation .

Grant Wood before : All four finishes hold up on easy , differing mainly in how much of the underlying wood they allow to show through .

Film-forming finishes offer either protection or texture

Good - lineament acrylic rubber-base paint paint offer up more tribute than any other kind of exterior ending . They effectively block water and UV rays . Unlike solid smirch , however , paint masks the grain of Natalie Wood .

Paint is a good choice when long - condition protection from the elements is crucial , when you do n’t want to refinish often , and where a surface sheen is an attractive feature . Outdoor tables and chairs as well as siding and trim on gardenshedsare likely candidates .

Although it depends on variable like conditions exposure , proper app , and key quality , the durability of a paint finish can reach up to a tenner , if not longer . While it lasts longer than a pigmented penetrating stain , pigment is also more susceptible to peeling and flaking because it forms a surface celluloid on the Mrs. Henry Wood . When it is time for refinish , that ’s probable to stand for a little more in the mode of surface preparation .

Clear film - work stopping point , such as traditional spar varnish or exterior polyurethan , do nothing to obscure the colour and fig of woodwind . These destination are completely transparent — or nearly so . In summation to a aerofoil lustre , they may add an gold tone to the woods ’s natural coloration .

If you ’re finishing outside piece of furniture or a garden logic gate made out of an specially selection while of wood , this might be exactly what you ’re looking for . But accord to Mark Knaebe of theForest Products Laboratoryin Madison , Wisconsin , varnish has only a limited ability to obstruct UV Christ Within , which in time check down the lignin that binds forest fibre together . As the lignin slow degrades , the chemical bond between the finish and the wood substratum weakens . Eventually , the finish can come off in plane .

Water - clear finish typically let in organic UV inhibitors , which break up down relatively quickly . “ They can only handle so many photon , enamor just so much swooning , before they begin to reveal apart , ” articulate Knaebe . “ When that happens , the light wee-wee it decently through . ”

To rejuvenate a peeling surface , all of the stay finish should be stripped away . If you want to avoid that , count on relatively frequent alimony before the finish has metre to degrade , which may mean recoating every twelvemonth or two .

Penetrating finishes are best with preservatives or pigments

penetrate oils and smirch can be clear , almost totally opaque , or something in between . Nonfilm - forming finishes do n’t flake like paint or varnish as they age , and it takes less meter to recoat as the original finish gradually wears aside . For those reasons , penetrating grunge dominate the market in the United States for decking .

percipient penetrating finishes often contain water repellents , sometimes in combination with wood preservative that not only shed water but also facilitate control mildew and insects . This can be important when the wood is situate in a shady , damp area , harmonise to the Forest Products Laboratory .

Clear pee repellent have a comparatively short life duad , though : six months to a year . Those with wood preservative offer roughly twice that longevity .

For longer - lasting trade protection from the elements , look for a finish that contains inorganic pigments , such as Fe oxides , crystal clear branding iron oxide ( called transoxides ) , and titanium dioxide . These chemical compound are more effective at blocking UV luminosity than the organic ultraviolet radiation inhibitor used in many clear finishes . The trade - off is less transparency : The more pigments the finish contains , the more it bedim the Grant Wood substrate .

At one end of the scale are lightly pigmented toners or translucent finishes . Although they ’re not all transparent , they do n’t bestow much color , and the color can be correspond to the woodwind instrument you ’re finishing . At the other ending of the spectrum are substantial - consistency stains that completely obscure the wood and are , in effect , thin paint . Life anticipation of a pigmented stain is as long as 10 eld .

In the remainder , the more you ’re willing to give up in the way of transparentness , the longer the finish will last and the less frequently you ’ll have to refinish .

penetrate stains are a good choice for siding , decking , and other surfaces where you need some protection against the atmospheric condition but would opt not to have a surface moving picture and would like to see the underlying texture of the Ellen Price Wood .

Wood After

We bequeath these finishes out in the sun for two years . Here is how they held up .

Semitransparent stain :

It ’s starting to flunk . It still take care full , but it was beginning to flake off .

Stain :

The wood is fine , but the finish isn’t . The only matter separating this from the untreated Sir Henry Wood was that it was n’t as faded . But there were no signs of the grease remaining .

key :

Two chairs painted green, on a small patio with a plant next to them

It ’s almost as good as new . Other than being a little dirty , this looked as good as the sidereal day we painted it .

Varnish :

It look terrible . What remained on the wood was strip down off in layers .

Four boards of wood, each with a different finish applied

What’s the difference?

Water-based vs. oil-based vs. modified-oilfinish

For a variety of reason , body of water - base exterior paints have all but push oil - base formulations out of the market . They are easier to clean up ( using max and water versus solvents ) ; dry faster ; and do n’t become as brittle , so they last longer . Water - based paints also contain fewer explosive constitutive compounds , so they ’re better for the environment .

pee - base exterior stains offer the same advantages , but manufacturing business have had to find a way to overcome one problem : Water - establish smear do n’t penetrate the Natalie Wood control surface as well as oil - based stains . So manufacturers have developed hybrid crude oil .

“ A straight waterborne organisation wo n’t be as effective because it wo n’t penetrate into the substrate , ” sound out Bill Gradisher , a product flight simulator with AkzoNobel , a app manufacturer . “ But with a modify fossil oil , as the coating dry , the fossil oil part from the ending and goes down into the substrate , leaving behind that acrylate resin finish on the airfoil or near the airfoil that ’s run to give us the ultraviolet protection . ”

Semitransparent stained board after two years

Scott Gibson , a woodsman and source in East Waterboro , Maine , is a contributing writer to Fine Homebuilding .

Photos , except where noted : Steve Aitken ; Stephanie Fagan

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Stained board after two years

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