Sweet Chestnut cladding preservative.

[spudulike]

My brother is building a posh lodge..aka man cave and he has spent a lot of dosh on nice sweet Chestnut cladding.

He wants to retain the natural colour of the wood rather to letting it silver over time.

He mentioned he thought varnish was best, I thought, in my limited experience that a clear oil based preservative would be best.

He is happy to regularly treat it and it is always easier to re-treat rather than rubbing off the old treatment.

So...do any of you have experience of a preservative/ covering that will maintain the current colour of the wood?

[Mark Bolam]

I used to use Sadolin Clearcoat on my old house, and that seemed to last quite well, but was quite pricey.

[waterbuoy]

Whatever he uses - definitely not varnish.  Once it begins to go you have to take it all off and start again.

[Macpherson]

I've found this stuff to be very good and it's oil based unlike most of the other options today, in fact all the Barrettine Premium range are my go to treatments these days for outside wood.

It claims to be fade resistant but as I've always used one or other of their coloured wood preservers as a base coat I can't vouch for how much UV protection it provides in reality.

 

Anyway free delivery over £60 and a very quick service👍 

 

They also do just about every other brand available should something else be preferred.

 

Barrettine Log Cabin Treatment | Oil Based Log Cabin Wood Treatment

WWW.WOOD-FINISHES-DIRECT.COM

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Barrettine Log Cabin Treatment at Wood Finishes Direct. A high-quality treatment that offers excellent protection against water ingress for summer-houses, sheds and more.

 

[Stere]

Never used it but everyone always recommends osmo

 

UV-Protection Oil - Osmo UK

OSMOUK.COM

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Clear Protection for Vertical Structures Highly water and dirt resistant Clear UV Protection Oil 410 is safe for humans...

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Stere

[Squaredy]

2 hours ago, spudulike said:

My brother is building a posh lodge..aka man cave and he has spent a lot of dosh on nice sweet Chestnut cladding.

He wants to retain the natural colour of the wood rather to letting it silver over time.

He mentioned he thought varnish was best, I thought, in my limited experience that a clear oil based preservative would be best.

He is happy to regularly treat it and it is always easier to re-treat rather than rubbing off the old treatment.

So...do any of you have experience of a preservative/ covering that will maintain the current colour of the wood?

As has been said already, steer clear of varnish.  It would need rubbing down hard and redoing twice a year.  Oil is the way to go if he really wants to treat it.  But it will go grey eventually no matter what he does.

[spudulike]

OK, thanks for the responses, it is what I thought and didn't think varnish was a good option for the reasons given.

He is a few grand in to the project so another £100 on a premium preserver won't be an issue and am sure he will seal it at least once a year after the initial 4 coats.

I have used Barrettines on a fence and gate which turned out well but appreciate the advice so far.

[Sviatoslav Tulin]

Best finish for outside timber is penetrating,not creating film.Varnish is not good and paint isn’t fantastic however can be used usually not last very long.So stains and penetrating oils is the best.I use simple Larson wood preservative on my deck 17 years still good,I use tungoil  for garden furniture good results.

Edited March 18, 2023 by Sviatoslav Tulin

[Mr. Squirrel]

On 18/03/2023 at 16:07, Stere said:

Never used it but everyone always recommends osmo

 

UV-Protection Oil - Osmo UK

OSMOUK.COM

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Clear Protection for Vertical Structures Highly water and dirt resistant Clear UV Protection Oil 410 is safe for humans...

 

I’ve  been very happy with Osmo products. Though I’ve not used it, something like this would be my best bet. 
I used some sort of Osmo oil paint on our old extension and had no complaints. I’ve used their top oil for years on furniture and been very happy with it.