Tanalised Softwood Sleeper Raised Beds - Finishing

[gtchucker09]

Hi,

I have some raised beds made from softwood sleepers and I am looking to apply a finish to them. They are around 3 years old and have weathered slightly.

I want to apply a clear finish that will last as long as possible. My intention is to make them look uniform in finish and restore the nice look they had when they were new. I am not so worried about preserving them as they are tanalised and are lined with DPC to keep the wet soil off the inside. I just want to make them look uniform. I don't want to colour them i.e. by using exterior paint/stain but just want to brush on something to restore them as such.

I was wondering is a clear preserver such as one by cuprinol would do this and have also heard raw linseed oil is a good alternative. Some people have also said not to bother and just leave them.

Any suggestions (ideally with pictures) greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

[Shed dweller]

Every finish will fail in pretty quick time. Unless you want to sand and refinish every year it's best to let nature take its course.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I want to apply a clear finish that will last as long as possible. My intention is to make them look uniform in finish and restore the nice look they had when they were new.

Never going to happen, and a waste of time and effort. Just leave the sleepers unfinished to survive as long as they can. Then replace them as required. Slainte.

 

[Jameshow]

As they are already weathered I would stain them with a lightish woodstain. Something like light oak.

 

[Jbonevia]

Ronseal do a '10 year' woodstain in various shades which you could try, but I would agree with previous comments and leave them as is, unfinished.

 

[Johnwa]

You could try Sikkens Cetol THB, but it will need redoing in about 5 years. Nothing lasts forever I'm sorry to say!

 

[Tony51]

Hole sizes are important 25mm for **** 28mm for great **** and 32 mm for sparrows.
Tony

 

[Fitzroy]

I would also leave to weather out, however the photo does show some discolouration/greening likely due to surface growth, you could pressure washer this off to improve the uniformity of the weathering. If you don't have a pressure washer a good hrd scrub would show you if the pressure washer will work before borrowing/buying/renting one.

 

[--Tom--]

Pressure wash, then the clear wood preserver of your choice. I used this for my shed before painting and worked well.

https://www.toolstation.com/barrettine-wood-preserver-5l/p45685
Linseed oil will quickly go black with mould on something like that, so I’d steer clear

 

[Tony51]

It would appear that the post I intended for bird boxes has appeared in this posting. My apologies for any confusion. T*ts seem to be taboo.
Tony