Best varnish / stain for external hardwood door frame

[Scarum]

Any experiences on the gest varnish / stain for external hardwood door frame?

Thanks

 

[TheDec]

Sikkens or Sadolin products will offer good results.

Dec

 

[ic1927]

If it's to go on new untreated timber then you can't go wrong with Sikkens HLS and filter 7.

 

[matz]

If it's to go on new untreated timber then you can't go wrong with Sikkens HLS and filter 7.

sorry to barge in on the thread - the above is good for untreated. What about if its softwood frames (good condition 2 yrs old) but they've already been painted with an unknown stained finish which has worn away in large sections down to bare wood. This existing finish seems quite tough and is opaque but obviously the frames are now patchy in colour. Will a cursory sand and couple of coats of Sadoline straight on top do the job ok?

 

[TheDec]

If the woodwork appears to covered in an opaque paint system this will mean that the natural grain of the timber has become masked and a more like paint film is present??

If this is correct take a look at Sadolin Superdec, the Satin version offers a multitude of colour ranges yet the gloss only black and white.

Dec

 

[matz]

I was advised by Sadolin to use classic woodcare as a primer then stain extra varnish as a topcoat both Sadoilin products - god what a mess I'm guessing the only effective way to use this product is on a surface of consistent colour whether that be bare wood or stained, varnished etc. I've seen better finishes on dustbin lids, I hate these varnishy type products..

couldnt see superdec anywhere and its not on their website oops yes there it is under garden products - trouble is if you are after a particular shade of colour to match existing, it costs nearly £20 a time to find out what colour you've bought

 

[TheDec]

Superdec can be found on the Sadolin website, it is perhaps along with Cuprinol one of the best opaque protective exterior wood systems of the modern day, and is also self priming. If you can offer a little more description as to the existing finish and the finish of which you require then more help can be offered.

Dec

 

[matz]

Superdec can be found on the Sadolin website, it is perhaps along with Cuprinol one of the best opaque protective exterior wood systems of the modern day, and is also self priming. If you can offer a little more description as to the existing finish and the finish of which you require then more help can be offered.

Dec

yes I did see it there in the end. Sincere apologies for not reading your precious post properly - if I'd digested what you'd said about Superdec, I think I would saved myself a lot of work.

Existing finish is about 2 yrs old, dark brown, matt and opaque having worn away in places down to the pine colour of the softwood frame - which effectively has made the window frames patchy in colour. What I needed to do was freshen up the finish and amalgamate the worn bits into a consistent dark colour. Therefore opaque was what I needed but translucent is what I bought! Looks like I'll have to strip the whole lot off now as to get a consistent colour using translucent stuff will take numerous coats and it'll look terrible.....

 

[matz]

some progress - done 2 coats mahogany sadolin classic plus one top coat of Sadolin Extra on some of the inside softwood. meanwhile have stripped existing finish from the exterior back to bare softwood. I've been to Crown trade centre to look at superdec etc but with superdec - on the shelf theres only black, white and walnut and the walnut is a bit too brown. Off the colour chart they will mix to order but the nearest to mahogany apparently is quite a bright reddy tone so too bright and I dont want to spend £20 to find out.

Now with bare softwood on the exterior that I want to make look like mahogany, I'm unsure which way to go. Tempted to carry on using the mahogany classic and extra but it'll take 3 days to put 3 coats on before I can see that its working colourwise and I want to finish this sooner than that...

So to make softwood look a deep mahogany and be hard wearing what would be the best way forward?

 

[TheDec]

It is often very difficult in these situations to offer the corrrect advice, in reality if your happy with the Classic then you really should continue and find the extra time.

However a shortcut would be to apply a penetrating stain before the Classic, yet the grain and cut of the timber will have the last say with regard to the overall colour. Also once applied it will be almost impossible to remove yet perhaps worth a look.

To produce the choosen appearance of woodwork by staining is very involved and takes many years of experience to produce the desired effect, so take a look at the stains and see what you think. One name to look at is Blackfriar effective and inexpensive.

Dec

 

[matz]

thanks dec for your helpful advice. Someone has pointed me in the direction of Sadolin Supercoat which apparently is more pigmented than the Extra so that might be way to go. You'll probally laugh but I'm in the wood refinishing game albit an obscure corner of it!! Its just that I havnt much idea about modern exterior finishes and chatting to my mates who do the same as I, nor do they! Re. staining, the biggest prob with stain is that it fades and oil based is particularly bad for this as is spirit based unless lightfast. I was thinking about using water based light fast concentrate and thinning to suit but as you say, staining pine can be a bit challenging at the best of times - may help give more of a darker start to the overall finish though...

again, many thanks for your advice...

 

[TheDec]

Well you have had some good advice and perhaps some not so good, a base stain should not stand alone and be allowed to fade it needs to be sealed with either a varnish or stained/varnish With regard to the term lightfast perhaps another time Anyway good luck with the overall result.

Dec