How to stain new timber fence?

[Justin2]

Hello, I have recently had a new fence put in, and am looking to stain it to increase its longevity. 

The recommendation on the Cabots product looks to say if one uses the new timber prep product it can skip the 4-6 weeks weathering process, does this mean if my fence has already been in place for more than 6 weeks, I can immediately apply the first layer of stain?

If yes, can someone explain what is happening with the timber after those few weeks of weathering.

thanks  

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi  @Justin2

If the fence has  new timber quite often it still has miosture in it (do you see any fresh sap marks thats  recent cut.) and as it dries out timber products like fenced can shrink by few percent Over some time. When it comes to staining a new timber with a higher moisture content the new stain will not soak in as far as dry or seasoned wood and may look patchy on  new timber and not recommended by manufacturer before the  six weeks.

Staining will only change the color of the fence and wont increase its life span unless you seal it with clear UV stable sealer or  exterior  paints.  And as it is a  fence you will need to  seal or  paint both sides for a longer life expectancy.  Typically  the wood posts in the ground  will rot faster than (20 year) that the top palings and rails unless they where specially treated too.

The cabots  produce your talking about seams to be suggesting you can stain your fence the moment it is built as it probably has new formulation that possible  combines  with the  moisture in the wood and produces nice results.

The timber  that built you fence might be freshly milled or it could have  dryed  a bit sitting  around a  lumberyard its the luck of the draw in this regard.

Green timber nails well  old timbers split more easily and almost need predrilling before nailing/screwing.

Staining will keep a fence looking  young ( not going grey in time ) so thats  a nice touch.  

Merry  xmas

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Justin2. It's fabulous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about staining new timber.

What type of timber is your fence made from? A weathering process is required if it's a tannin-rich timber like Merbau. If you've seen significant rainfall over the 6 weeks, then the timber has likely weathered enough naturally. It doesn't hurt to use the New Timber Prep just to be sure, though. As @Jewelleryrescue has helpfully mentioned, a pure stain does not sufficiently protect your timber, and you'd need to include an oil for protection value. You can use exterior decking and timber oil on your fence. There are natural options without tint, or you can pick them up with a stain additive already pre-mixed in them.

The weeks of weathering allow the Merbau tannins to leech and wash out of the timber. If it treated Pine then this period allows some timber for resins to expels themselves from knots.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[Dayne]

Hi Justin,

New hardwood timbers contain tannins. Tannins must be removed from hardwood timber before coating to avoid ugly staining as the oils leach out.

Once a hardwood exterior timber project is completed and exposed to the weather, this process will happen naturally over a period of 6 months; however, who has 6 months to wait? Tannin removal may also be achieved in as little as 30 minutes using Sikkens Cetol BL Tannin & Oil Remover.

Softwoods generally only require a clean with Cetol BL Deck & Wood Cleaner before coating.

Once timber cleaning and preparation is carried out, you can then seal!

An easy water-based system that allows 3 coats in one day is the Sikkens BLX-Pro.

Click here to view the Sikkens Project Guide 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Dayne. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and many thanks for jumping into the discussion with helpful advice.

I trust @Justin2 appreciates your input and the recommendation of products.

We look forward to hearing all about your projects and plans around the house and garden. Please let us know if you ever require assistance or have something to share with the community.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell