Advice On Finishiing A Green Oak Porch

[Frankyg]

Hi everyone,

We've built an oak porch on my self build and I would be grateful for any advice on finishing it. It is made of green oak and the panels are in pine. We built it rom scratch using wood from a local timber merchant who gave me some preservative to paint on once a fortnight for the first couple of months. The wood is beginning to split in places but that is to be expected and enhances the appearance in my opinion. A friend has suggested that after the preservative I could improve the appearance and protection by using a product called Timberex Hard Wax Oil in satin. I see this is £70 for 5 litres so I don't want to shell out on it if there are better alternatives. I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you
Frank

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I see noone has commented on this, so ...

What are you aiming for - improved life, or keeping the fresh colour of the wood without it turning silvery grey ? I would have thought green oak would last OK with no finish (if it is not sitting in water, or at/near ground level) for quite some time. Oiling (linseed ?) might help. If you are looking to keep ther original colour for longer, there are some products like Osmo UV protection oil that contain a sunblock - about SPF 6 I think :lol: The Osmo has kept my Iroko front door looking a bit darker for longer, but it still bleaches a bit.

 

[Frankyg]

Thanks for your reply Tony. My main concern is to preserve the wood. I think it's natural colour changes look good.

 

[Jacob]

I'd leave it a couple of years to weather and dry out and then consider linseed oil or linseed oil paint.
If the thing is designed properly ("weathered" etc) it will survive a long time without any treatment and just go the familiar silvery grey of exposed untreated wood.

 

[RobinBHM]

You could try Sioo -it allows timber to weather to a natural silver grey but protects the wood and prevents water staining. Ive not tried it myself though so cant vouch for it!