Accoya Front Door in coastal location

[ajsimmo]

Good morning all.
As my title says, I have an Accoya front door & frame and I think I've left it a bit too long to give it a spring clean.

It's nearly 3 years old and has faded, (we're 100 yards from a North facing beach on Alderney CI's).

I want to try and revive it to it's former glory, so my question is, (after rubbing it down), should I just reapply the nearest colour stain I can find, or should I varnish it?
Some photos of before & after for reference.

 

[Austin Branson]

Exterior timber suffers badly. I would avoid varnish, it fails, then has to be scraped off . It’s a lot of work. Oil is OK, but has to be repeated frequently. A chum has used Osmo oil, but it was fairly recently, so I can’t comment. I used paint. Sorry.

 

[ajsimmo]

Exterior timber suffers badly. I would avoid varnish, it fails, then has to be scraped off . It’s a lot of work. Oil is OK, but has to be repeated frequently. A chum has used Osmo oil, but it was fairly recently, so I can’t comment. I used paint. Sorry.

Cheers Austin

 

[bobblezard]

That's a very nice door and surround.
Sorry, you don't say what the original finish was? Just stain?
I've no experience of Accoya so will leave it to those who know what they're talking about to give advice...

 

[ajsimmo]

That's a very nice door and surround.
Sorry, you don't say what the original finish was? Just stain?
I've no experience of Accoya so will leave it to those who know what they're talking about to give advice...

Cheers Bobble, it was just a custom mixed stain that the carpenter did himself.

 

[baldkev]

Well... you might be best contacting him and asking for clarification on what he used....

Firstly, i would think it must have a varnish ( maybe polyurethane ) over the top. Accoya is durable, rot resistant etc, but would still benefit from being sealed. The limited wood movement is one of the reasons its so good, it should hold a finished surface ( paint/ varnish etc ) better than other timbers.

It might be a colored varnish... but if he stained the wood and then put on a clear coat, youd need to scrape off the varnish, then decide on the next move... i.e sand it back, restain, or try oxalic acid to see if it brings it back..... but youd need to do a small test patch to see if the oxalic works with the stain.

I dont have experience with accoya, but it should be a lot better with varnish than other timbers. Also worth saying theres varnish, then theres varnish! The marine coatings hold up just fine on boats for a while

 

[ajsimmo]

Well... you might be best contacting him and asking for clarification on what he used....

Firstly, i would think it must have a varnish ( maybe polyurethane ) over the top. Accoya is durable, rot resistant etc, but would still benefit from being sealed. The limited wood movement is one of the reasons its so good, it should hold a finished surface ( paint/ varnish etc ) better than other timbers.

It might be a colored varnish... but if he stained the wood and then put on a clear coat, youd need to scrape off the varnish, then decide on the next move... i.e sand it back, restain, or try oxalic acid to see if it brings it back..... but youd need to do a small test patch to see if the oxalic works with the stain.

I dont have experience with accoya, but it should be a lot better with varnish than other timbers. Also worth saying theres varnish, then theres varnish! The marine coatings hold up just fine on boats for a while

That's extremely helpful, thank you very much. I'll just wait for some good weather now!

 

[MARK.B.]

Have never used accoya, so no help there but that that is a lovely looking door or it will be be with some TLC

 

[ajsimmo]

Have never used accoya, so no help there but that that is a lovely looking door or it will be be with some TLC

Yes, our design, but built by a local guy with much more woodworking skill than I. A true craftsman, (with his nephew as an apprentice).

 

[Doug71]

If you do end up starting again with the stain Sikkens products are highly rated and suitable for Accoya.

Use their Cetol HLS Plus as a basecoat and Cetol Filter 7 Plus for extra protection as a topcoat, you would really need to get the old finish off though to do it properly, unless the original finish is Sikkens.

 

[ajsimmo]

If you do end up starting again with the stain Sikkens products are highly rated and suitable for Accoya.

Use their Cetol HLS Plus as a basecoat and Cetol Filter 7 Plus for extra protection as a topcoat, you would really need to get the old finish off though to do it properly, unless the original finish is Sikkens.

Thank you Doug, that is very useful. I think I will be starting again, so I'll hunt down your recommendation.
Thanks again.
Ali

 

[johnnyb]

I would try and find out what it is. if its oil based woodstain most any oil based woodtain can go over it after clearing off the loose. if it was me I would be getting a chap to spray in your choice of finish. opaque preferably. I can see by the amount of grain showing in the first photo the finish wasn't thick enough. I find oil based woodstains really durable but they are practically brown paint. semi opaque means they stand up a bit better. water based paint sprayed on like say ankerstuy would be my choice.

 

[ajsimmo]

I would try and find out what it is. if its oil based woodstain most any oil based woodtain can go over it after clearing off the loose. if it was me I would be getting a chap to spray in your choice of finish. opaque preferably. I can see by the amount of grain showing in the first photo the finish wasn't thick enough. I find oil based woodstains really durable but they are practically brown paint. semi opaque means they stand up a bit better. water based paint sprayed on like say ankerstuy would be my choice.

Thanks Johnny, very useful information.

 

[ajsimmo]

If you do end up starting again with the stain Sikkens products are highly rated and suitable for Accoya.

Use their Cetol HLS Plus as a basecoat and Cetol Filter 7 Plus for extra protection as a topcoat, you would really need to get the old finish off though to do it properly, unless the original finish is Sikkens.

Just wanted to say thanks to Doug71 for his recommendations of Cetol HLS & Filter 7. I did one undercoat of HLS & two Filter 7 coats. It's a bit rich right now, but should "bed in" and fade slightly. Next job is the frame!