vendredi 22 septembre 2017

How To Seal Cedar Fence

By Brian Murphy


Beautiful cedar fences are highly decorative and really durable. Even so, if you want them to remain beautifully reddish, you need to protect them properly. So, here are some things you should know about how to seal cedar fence and why. First, sealing will protect the wood from sun, rain and mildew, affecting your fence appearance and health.

Thanks to UV rays, cedar wood color is prone to fading. After some time, weather exposed wood will lose its wonderful reddish color and become unappealingly grey. Using a good sealer containing UV filters this can be successfully avoided. You can use transparent or semi-transparent stains, preferably oil-based, because these provide higher level of protection.

Transparent coatings contain less pigments, but there are also clear ones, with no pigments in them. Even so, some people say that those clear coatings also affect the color, making it a little darker. A smaller level of reddish pigments might be the best solution, because they might simply improve natural color intensity. Some products might also contain linseed oil, and it will make the color a little bit darker.

When choosing the appropriate nuance, make sure to bring a few pieces of the wood to a store. This is the only way to choose the right one. Stains with higher levels of pigments are more durable, because they provide higher level of protection, at least when it comes to UV filters. Be careful when choosing the exact nuance, because some of them might have too much orange in.

It's hard to say which application method is the best. Some people use rollers, some find it easier to use a sprayer. In any case, you will also need a brush, for making corrections, as well as for achieving better results. Sprayers might be more expensive solution, because they use more material. On the other hand, using sprayers is easier and quicker, so, it's up to you.

Some sealants can be used only with particular type of sprayers, and it might be a good idea to check it up before buying anything. You should protect your hands, if you don't want them to smell like your sealant. If you are using a sprayer, protect your eyes as well. In this case, you might consider protecting the opposite side of a fence as well. Your lawn doesn't need a sealant, and neither does your neighbor's lawn.

Newly installed fences should not be sealed right away. It is advisable to wait up to two months before staining them. On the other hand, if you wait too long, the color might begin to fade, especially during hot summer months. Unprotected wood could become grey after a year or so, and you have to prevent it on time.

Well, if it is already grey, there are some things you can do. First, use a pressure washer to remove the grey patina and renew the color. Inspect the fence, and, if there are some stains, remove them using a mild solution of a bleach. Then, let it dry and apply the sealant, for example semi-transparent, oil-based one. Wait for a day, and apply a second coating.




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