Replies

1. 
   Mitremike | Oct 06, 2005 08:20am | #1

   I have had my painters use Cupernol by Serwinn Williams and have had decent results.

   Just know that Clear finishes have very little in UV holding power.

   As soon as you start with the tint the staying power of the UV goes up quick,

   Has something to do with the UV having some tint which is easy to hide in tinted finishes but has to be in lesser conc. in true clear .

   Mike

   " I reject your reality and substitute my own"
   Adam Savage---Mythbusters

1. 
   wane | Oct 06, 2005 03:49pm | #2

   I use Sikkens on your beautiful BC Cedar, Cetol 1, then Cetol 23 .. trick is not to use clear, clear (they call natural, 078) will make the lighter toned pieces look yellow-orangish, I use Cedar (077) .. clear products all have poorer UV protection, and what little they do have doesn't make them quite so clear .. as I understand it this product was originally developed as a base for cosmetics and is breathable, I coat all sides before installation .. I have been thinking lately that fir/pine might look just as good if you used darker color, and it's allot cheaper ..

2. 
   AndrewG | Oct 06, 2005 08:05pm | #3

   I recently bought a 40 year-old house with massive amounts of redwood siding (the kind you can't buy anymore, even if you wanted to). It has never been treated with anything , and as a result the siding varies in color from grey to black.

   I know that a lot of paint manufacturers are re-formulating their oil-based products to comply with VOC limits (volatile organic compounds), so instead of running to my old tried-and-true favorite, I spent a month just looking at products on the market. My favorite product is something I did not know of before; a water-born penetrating oil. Ya, I know....oil and water don't mix, right? I'm told that water is not a solvent, just a transport agent. The product goes on a bit milky (or cloudy) and, as the water evaporates, the penetrating oil soaks into the wood, fills the cells and hardens. As a penetrating oil, you can ONLY apply one coat, which is a nice benefit. The products - CWF [Clear Wood Finish] by Flood, and Premium Weatherproofing Wood Finish by Behr  - are not called stains, but clear wood finishes that are available as "natural" or any number of tints. CWF-4 has a 4-year application, CWF-5 a 5-year; Behr's top-of-the-line product, the Premium Weatherproofing Wood Finish, is listed as needing re-application every 6 years and is available in a greater number of color tints.

   I've also been restoring the 40 year old untreated redwood before finishing using Behr's 3-step restoration products (the magic is in the second step, a 10% solution of Oxalic acid, also available ffrom Cabot; all other products were a waste).  I am totally thrilled with Behr's cleaners and wood finish. I strongly recommend including them in your considerations.

   ---

   Edited 10/6/2005 1:07 pm ET by AndrewG

   ---

   Edited 10/6/2005 1:08 pm ET by AndrewG

   ---

   Edited 10/6/2005 1:09 pm ET by AndrewG

   
   

   ---

   Edited 10/10/2005 10:55 am ET by AndrewG

3. 
   haley | Oct 06, 2005 09:24pm | #4

   I used clear WoodGuard on my house 20 years ago.  My siding is cedar and it still looks good today.  I've never put a second coat on it.  I will take some pictures and post them if you would like.

   http://www.woodguard.com

1. 
   Advocate | Oct 06, 2005 09:45pm | #5

   I would bet a lot of money that anything you put on your house 20 years ago has had many reformulations since then and is nowhere near the same product it was 20 years ago.

   Consumer Reports regularly does studies on exterior finishes, mostly for decks, but applicable to siding. Most recent test was in July, '05 issue. Don't know if it's the same product as yours, but Olympic Waterguard was the best rated clear finish.

    

    

   Advocate

   Edited 10/6/2005 5:31 pm ET by Advocate

4. 
   DanH | Oct 06, 2005 11:58pm | #6

   Tain't no such thing. Sikkens and a few others contain very fine pigments that make them more durable while still providing a "transparent" finish. But they still will only last 5 years or so.

   One thing you gotta do is give up on trying to preserve that nice "fresh" wood look that your wood gets after 1-2 months of exposure. Take a picture of it so you'll remember how nice it looks, then resign yourself to grey.

   --------------
   No electrons were harmed in the making of this post.