When the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler, it’s the best time to get your wood finished and protected.
You’ve probably spent some fantastic time in your yard over the Summer months; Perhaps you even treated yourself to some new wooden furniture?
If so, you will want to make sure your wood is fully protected to prevent it from splitting and warping during the colder months.
Previously finished wood furniture
If your furniture already has a protective finish applied, we still recommend you help further protect it over Winter. If you have a space that you can store it such as in a shed or Summer house, this is your best option. However, if you are limited on space you can still help protect your wood by using a cover. Simply covering the furniture will significantly help protect your wood from moisture – one of the biggest causes of mildew and wood splitting.
Furniture covers come in a wide variety of colors, fabrics and sizes, allowing you to choose one that will suit your taste and budget.
If come the Spring you have found your furniture looking a little dirty, you could use Net-Trol wood cleaner and brightener to bring it back to its former glory.
New wood furniture
One of the biggest issues people have when applying a finish to new wood furniture is something called mill glaze. Mill glaze is a hard shiny surface that occurs during the milling process. The removal of mill glaze is vital to the protection and longevity of a finish. This is because the mill glaze will work as a barrier and stop any finishes from being able to penetrate the wood.
The finish will then sit on the top of the wood and eventually peel and flake leaving your wood unprotected from the elements.
Some products will recommend you to let new wood weather naturally during the first year before applying a finish. Whilst we agree this is a good thing to do, leaving it completely unprotected means that your new wood is extremely vulnerable from the damaging effects of moisture, pollution and UV rays resulting in the wood warping or even splitting.
How to prevent damage to your new wood furniture
Whilst you leave your wood to weather, we recommend applying Seasonite. Seasonite is a new wood protector which stabilizes the wood and protects it during its first 6-12 months of weathering. It controls the transfer of moisture into the wood and so protects it from warping and splitting as well as damaging UV rays.
Water-repelling products make the water simply ‘bead-up’, which makes raindrops sit on the surface and eventually scuff off. Whereas Seasonite penetrates deep into the wood and bonds with the fibers, stabilizing and protecting it from within.
Seasonite is a colorless product ready to use straight from the bottle and requires just one single coat. We recommend applying it to your wood as soon as possible – before the bad weather sets in! It is an essential product to use on all softwoods and especially pressure-treated wood.
Application of Seasonite will ensure that your new furniture will safely be protected over the cooler months, ready for finishing next year.
Finishing your new wood after Winter
After 6-12 months of weathering, your treated furniture is now ready for an application of your choice of finish.
However, before getting started we recommend that you thoroughly prepare your wood with a product such as Net-Trol. Net-Trol is a water-based wood cleaner and brightener powerful enough to remove both surface and ground-in dirt without damaging the wood’s fibers.
It is easy to apply, fast-working and does not contain any bleach or chlorine – meaning it is harmless to plants and shrubs and so safe to use in your yard.
Once your wood is clean, it is now ready for a finish!
We have a wide variety of finishes available depending on your taste. If you prefer a more natural-looking finish, we recommend using products such as Textrol, Deks Olje D1, Aquadecks or Aquatrol. However, if you prefer a more opaque or colorful finish, we recommend using SCS (solid color stain).
We hope you found this post helpful. If you have any more handy tips or advice, please feel free to leave them below. We love hearing from you!
Have you completed any projects with Owatrol products? If so, we would love to see! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram @owatrolusa or use the hashtag #owatrolusa
About Owatrol Team
Our team are ready and willing to support you with your requirements whether it is protecting your newly laid deck or renovating a luxury yacht, whatever the application Owatrol US has the solution you are looking for.