Spring into action
The weather’s starting to get warmer, meaning now’s the perfect time to freshen up exterior woodwork. Thankfully, there’s a variety of Sadolin options available, whether you’re looking for a finish to showcase the natural woodgrain or a more colourful contemporary style for decking, fencing or garden furniture.
Embracing natural tones
Repainting or staining exterior wood both protects it from the elements and makes it more aesthetically pleasing, whether it’s being enhanced with translucent woodstain or being revamped with a solid colour.
Preparation is key – it’s vital that time is taken prepare the wood, making sure the surface is sound and ready to be coated, especially if the wood is weathered and has been exposed to the elements for a long period of time. Sadolin Classic works by seeping deep into the timber to protect it, but if there’s a layer of dirt or algal growth it won’t work effectively, so be sure to never skip this step.
When selecting the appropriate woodstain shade, it’s important to bear in mind that the depth of colour of the wood itself will contribute to the final look along with the translucent woodstain. Make sure you try out colours on a small area of the same wood to check it’s exactly the finish you want – don’t forget that you can buy 250ml colour testing sample pots from most of our stockists, which includes over 40 tintable translucent shades.
Getting creative with colour
As well as offering a variety of translucent shades, we’ve got 280 opaque tintable products to choose from. In particular, we’re seeing that the trends of neutral greys, sage greens and pastels are maintaining their popularity, especially for garden furniture and accessories such as planters. When choosing a colour, it’s worth considering a shade which will complement the natural environment of the surrounding area to make sure that the woodwork will blend in. If you’re repainting wooden doors, windows or the fascia of the building, looking to the period of the property for inspiration could also help with the colour choice.
If choosing the perfect shade is proving difficult, resources like Crown’s Exterior Colour book are able to help, providing details about the built environment and covering topics such as historical styles and regional colours.
Don’t forget, it’s important to ‘future proof’ your creations by choosing a product that will stand the test of time. Because wood naturally expands and contracts depending on the temperature, the paint also needs to be able to flex without cracking and spoiling the finish, and leaving areas of the wood exposed to the elements.
Luckily, all of our formulations are created with this in mind and Sadolin Superdec and Sadolin Beautiflex have both been specifically designed to flex, providing long-lasting protection whatever the weather.
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