The Great Cedar Window Coating Contest

The Back-story

This story begins with the construction four years ago of a two storey Melbourne house, with thirty-four double glazed windows that have window frames of western red cedar. The majority of these windows North East and North West facing and consequently exposed to sun and weather.

Within two years of being built, the builder’s original finishing on most of the exposed cedar windows was starting to flake away, especially on the sills. The proud home-owner (Let’s call him Muggins), declined to call on the builder’s warranty to make good the window frame finish, and instead, call it crazy braver or call it call it foolish pig-ignorance, embarked upon a quest to tame the ravages of sun and rain, and to restore the dignity of these beautiful windows by selecting the best possible finish for the windows and doing the job properly – himself.

Act One: The Beginning of The Journey

An excursion to Bunning’s to equip quipping himself with the tools for his quest, resulted in the procurement of a Delta Sander and some 100 grade sandpaper. (By chance a good call, as cedar, as Muggins discovered, is a soft wood, and is too easily sanded away with coarser grade paper).

Significantly Muggins also selected Intergrain Ultraclear for the coating, based on the confidence inspiring promise on the side of the can.

Intergrain Ultraclear Exterior is a tough, clear water based timber finish for use on window frames, doors and trims. Incorporating UV absorbers, Ultraclear Exterior provides superior protection against the weather including the harmful effects of the sun’s UV radiation.

Over a long weekend of dusty and sweaty sanding Muggins had prepared half a dozen north facing second story windows (the ones most in need of maintenance) and was happily slapping on the Ultraclear, when something began to play on his mind.

"Was this the right stuff to be using?", he thought. Ultraclear is in essence a plastic coating – It does not bring out the rich colour of the timber – it appears to make the timber a blonde colour – but that is of less importance than its protective qualities and its longevity. After so much effort preparing just these six windows, Muggins realised that this quest was far from a doddle, and that twenty eight more windows lay ahead, and making the right choice with the coating could mean the difference between sanding and preparing just twenty eight more windows or looking down the barrel of 68 windows over a couple of years if he’s made the wrong choice with the Ultraclear, and Cedar being such a soft wood, would not tolerate endless re-sanding before it would be sanded completely away.

Act Two: The Challenge in On

After an evening’s consultation with a mate over a few bottles of Shiraz, Muggins decided to hedge his bets. Six windows were already committed to the ultraclear experiment, but the next lot of windows would be done with something different. This would become a contest between products, and a new quest. To find the best product for the windows with the most optimum mix of protection, longevity, minimised preparation time, and ease of maintenance.

The second contestant would be Organoil, a product originally recommended for these windows by Muggins’ Architect, but not in fact used by builder when the house was built.

The first challenge was buying the stuff. It was not stocked at Bunning’s – nor at the local paint supplies, but after some serious Googling and some calls to defunct numbers in NSW, Muggins discovered that Organoil now went by the name of Ecowood Oil – Natural Decking Oil, and it was still available in a few selected retail outlets.

So after numerous weekends, twenty-one ground floor windows were prepared and coated with EcowoodOil. Colour wise Ecowood Oil is a winner. It imparts a beautiful rich red to the timber, and when fresh it has a lovely low-sheen. It is also incredibly easy to apply. On the downside, it smells awful – and can give a headache if a vapour mask is not worn. Plus it requires turps to wash up the brushes.

So the stage was set for an experiment. A challenge between a plastic membrane protection verses an penetrative oil based protection. Ultraclear Verses Ecowood oil

Two Years On - 2010/11

Today, some two years after the commencement of the quest – Muggins is now twenty-eight windows in (the remainder being less exposed, and Muggins a little wiser, fatter and lazier)– and some important things have been learned.

Firstly, Intergrain Ultraclear is not up to the job. Despite regular – six monthly – recoats on the six original windows, the plastic coating has begun to lift off the surface in spots, and small perforations in the membrane has allowed water to penetrate, and create black stain marks under the membrane. It is worse on horizontal surfaces (e.g. sills or corners) where water can pool, but the lifting has occurred on vertical surfaces also. The membrane peels off in long strips where it has weakened – but in more protected areas it remains fast to the wood. This means that the whole window needs to be sanded back for an alternative coating to be applied - Muggins is glad he stopped at six windows with the Intergrain Ultraclear.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57784292@N03/5318788966/

Ecowood Oil – Natural Decking Oil- The downside with this solution is that regular re-application is required. For the windows as a whole re-application every six months when they begin to look dry is necessary, but for the highly exposed horizontal sills, re-application every three to four months is probably warranted. Although this sounds like a lot of maintenance, all twenty-two of the oiled windows can be completed on a single warm day. A wash down with sugar soap in the morning is all the preparation that is needed – let it dry, and then two coats in the afternoon, and the jobs done.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57784292@N03/5318789270/

Round One Summary

Intergrain Ultraclear
Pros: Washes out in Water; Probably OK for protected timber
Cons: Useless for exposed timber; (IMHO) and gives Cedar a blonde appearance.

Ecowoodoil – Natural Decking Oil
Pros: Look Great; Almost no preparation necessary, easy to apply with a brush or an old rag
Cons: Regular re-application needed on highly exposed timber; Stinks (mask recommended); Not water based.

Round One goes to Ecowood Oil. The territory previously held by Ultraclear will be offered to another combatant


What Now?

The UltraClear has got to go, in fact it’s already being replaced. Muggins has selected Feast Watson Decking oil for the next contest. Initial impressions are good. It behaves like an oil, in that it soaks into the wood, but it does not stink like Ecowood oil, and it can be washed out in water.

Muggins has also read with interest other threads on this topic, and noted that Intergrain DWD and Sikkens receive high recommendations. Sikkens may make its way into the contest eventually depending on how Feast Watson performs, but Intergrain DWD is too closely related to its sibling UltraClear to get a shot at this title.

EDITED POST


Read and reply to the full thread at RenovateForum.com....