Problem with finish to external cedar sheeting.

the keen edge

Hey all.

I'm a carpenter who is in the middle of building a house for myself.

A projected section of the front elevation of my house is clad in 18mm Cedar sheeting.

From a structural aspect the Cedar sheeting has been successful, however the varnish finish that I applied to it,(2 years ago this summer) is flaking badly.
About a year ago I noticed white patches appearing under the finish, and in the following months the varnish has lifted and flaked in places and is very unsightly.

When I initially varnished the cedar, I used a good quality external varnish, and I spent much time and care sanding before the first coat and between subsequent coats(three coats in total).

The silvery/grey weathered appearance of untreated cedar is not the look I require. I wish to retain the golden colour of the cedar.

The varnish is lifting from the cedar completely, leaving bare timber exposed, which is suggesting to me that maybe I should have first applied some type of sealant to the untreated timber.

Adjacent the the cedar sheeting, a teak front door received the same treatment and has maintained in perfect condition.

Does anybody know if cedar requires a specific type of varnish?.

DOCARCH

the keen edge wrote: »

Does anybody know if cedar requires a specific type of varnish?.

Yes. Sorry for the short and brunt answer! The natural oils in cedar usually will not allow regular varnish to adhere.

If you wish to keep the 'new' cedar look, the cedar needs to be treated with a specialist treatment such as Textrol (not a varnish).

Poor Uncle Tom

Cedar acts differently to other timbers outside. Have a read of this.

yosemite_sam

the keen edge wrote: »

Hey all.

I'm a carpenter who is in the middle of building a house for myself.

A projected section of the front elevation of my house is clad in 18mm Cedar sheeting.

From a structural aspect the Cedar sheeting has been successful, however the varnish finish that I applied to it,(2 years ago this summer) is flaking badly.
About a year ago I noticed white patches appearing under the finish, and in the following months the varnish has lifted and flaked in places and is very unsightly.

When I initially varnished the cedar, I used a good quality external varnish, and I spent much time and care sanding before the first coat and between subsequent coats(three coats in total).

The silvery/grey weathered appearance of untreated cedar is not the look I require. I wish to retain the golden colour of the cedar.

The varnish is lifting from the cedar completely, leaving bare timber exposed, which is suggesting to me that maybe I should have first applied some type of sealant to the untreated timber.

Adjacent the the cedar sheeting, a teak front door received the same treatment and has maintained in perfect condition.

Does anybody know if cedar requires a specific type of varnish?.

You should have used another timber, Iroko the same stuff that is in your door. Everything would then look the very same no problems

the keen edge

Many thanks for all the replies folks.

Textrol would seem to be the solution!.

mickdw

Im seeing an awful lot of very weathered timber finishes lately. It can look so bad.

the keen edge

mickdw wrote: »

Im seeing an awful lot of very weathered timber finishes lately. It can look so bad.

If it is cedar you're referring to, the weathered/natural look seems to me, to be the preferred finish for people.

I personally don't like that finish .
To my eyes it just gives the impression of a neglected building, although architect's and designers seem to love it.

mickdw

the keen edge wrote: »

If it is cedar you're referring to, the weathered/natural look seems to me, to be the preferred finish for people.

I personally don't like that finish .
To my eyes it just gives the impression of a neglected building, although architect's and designers seem to love it.

Yes architects will say its a natural material and allowing it to weather/age is ideal. I personally think it looks fabulous when first installed but the weathered appearance doesnt work for me and agree that it does appear like neglect.

Poor Uncle Tom

It's all down to personal taste. I've been told it 'works' better untreated, maybe that's just convenient.

mickdw

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

It's all down to personal taste. I've been told it 'works' better untreated, maybe that's just convenient.

But architects dont do personal taste...... unless its their own:D

Poor Uncle Tom

mickdw wrote: »

But architects dont do personal taste...... unless its their own:D

So what does 'taking a brief' mean to you?....(keep it clean).....:p

Mellor

As mention, you should varnish Cedar, its doesn't work.

Cedar needs to be oiled, there are plenty of varients out there.
Textrol is just a brand name, i'm not sure exactly what kind of oil it is. But the other options would work too.

yosemite_sam wrote: »

You should have used another timber, Iroko the same stuff that is in your door. Everything would then look the very same no problems

Iroko are teak aren't the same, that said there is a pretty good change the his front door is actually iroko and not teak.

gman2k

Slightly off topic, but I had a client one time who hated the way that cedar ages (naturally) and believed that oiling was going to be problematic in the long term, so he went with Trespa cladding instead. It looks quite good actually.

Mellor

gman2k wrote: »

Slightly off topic, but I had a client one time who hated the way that cedar ages (naturally) and believed that oiling was going to be problematic in the long term, so he went with Trespa cladding instead. It looks quite good actually.

Any pics gman? I've used trespa on one job (multi-unit domestic, internally) and though it was a poor substitute for wood tbh. (clients requested it to be used).

But I also blame the contractor for the standard and not soley with the product.

gman2k

Mellor wrote: »

Any pics gman? I've used trespa on one job (multi-unit domestic, internally) and though it was a poor substitute for wood tbh. (clients requested it to be used).

But I also blame the contractor for the standard and not soley with the product.

Sorry, no pix, was 3 years ago, the company I was with had the photos on their server, they're gone now of course (the company)