clear finish on cypress

[slider]

We are building a cabin with cypress lap siding.I want to retain the light color of the wood.Has anyone tried this with a clear finish with any success .Flood has a clear finish with uv on the label .I don't want that grey look that cypress turns over time.Thanks  al

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hi Slider,

We use almost exclusively, "LandArk," ( http://www.landarkwoodfinish.com/contact.html )a natural oil blend that is go to product from furniture to covering our barns.  Like all products, it will give it a slightly darker color, but, if you get there outside grade, it will stop graying.

Regards,

Jay

[shelbycharger400]

Jay,    Is that a food safe finish? 

I tried a Behr silver can, basemaker, semi-gloss enamel ,  you need to thin that stuff!!   
Cedar needs a coat or 2 of toung oil,   as did oak.   boxelder didnt need any,  but too many coats and it looked like a opaque milk jug plastic.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hi Shelbycharger400,

When they started 20 plus years back, it was all food safe as far as I know.  Now they do add some U.V. inhibitors to the exterior grades of there product, so I doubt that is.  It has linseed, tung and citrus oil mixed with beeswax, and pine rosin.  We have use both commercial sprayers and regular garden variety back pack sprayers with the product, having good soak in and coverage.

Regards,  jay

[slider]

I just checked the moisture on the cypress siding ,it's averaging 15 % .Do you think that's dry enough for applying a sealer.Most of it is around 12%.Thanks   al

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hi Slider,

You may here counter to this, I have, but since I work more in green (read wet,) wood most of the time, my perspective is completely different.  There isn't a lot of a tree that is living tissue most of it is just support structure.  That support structure has moisture in it.  What I like to do, as soon as a particular wood application is implemented, in your case siding; I want to replace that moister with my oil finish.  Now of course it is not going to get "pumped" through the cellular structure of the wood, but it will slow the drying process and replace some of the lost moisture in the cells with oil.  I have had success with species like ash or oaks, that will misbehave less than if I did not oil them.

In short, 15% even 20% is fine in my book.

Regards,   jay

[WDH]

Al,

15% is within the range that the siding will see in use due to seasonal and humidity changes.  I would go ahead with it. 

[slider]

thank's  J C and WDH i thought so.

[Planman1954]

I walked outside in the rain and took some photos of my house that I am currently power washing and staining. The deck areas are cypress, and the house siding and trim are western cedar. I am using Olympic semi-transparent Cedar Naturaltone stain. Although it is raining, when I applied it a few days ago, it darkens the cypress and cedar just a bit, but really brings out the grain of the wood. I expect it will last a couple of years before needing to be applied again. Here's a sort of before and after shots:

First is a broad shot of the house. The deck and siding on the left have been power washed and stained. The right end of the house has only been power washed:


 
This is a closeup of a cypress bridge which has weathered for about 7 years. (You can see a bit of the darkened house siding above the bridge before power washing. If you glance at the photo above, you can see the power washing removes down to the raw wood):


 
Here is a closeup of the cypress steps that I've power washed and stained:


 
I used Olympic stain years ago on a cedar house I built. I've always liked the look. But keep in mind, to keep the look, it needs to be re-applied about every 2-3 years. You can spray it on, but it is extremely FLUID. It can be messy. This time I'm brushing it on for good and efficient coverage. The power washer took the cypress and cedar down to the bare wood quickly. That's why I wasn't worried about putting the job off as long as I did! But this winter, the goal is to make it all the way around the house and seal it off completely from WASPS!!! They love wood and finding gaps into walls (and into the house!) Bad....

[Tree Feller]

Jay,    Is that a food safe finish? 

All finishes are food safe once they have cured. UV protection is nothing more than solids placed in the finish. Boiled Linseed Oil is not actually boiled but has metallic dryers added to speed up the drying process, otherwise it can take forever to dry. Same with tung oil. While one can get pure Tung oil, it takes a long time to dry in that form.

Any clear finish will need regular maintenance. Even paint, the ultimate outdoor finish, needs maintenance every few years.

I doubt that you will be able to retain the bright look of Cypress with any clear finish. Some version of semi-transparent stain is probably the best option to prevent the graying.

I did an experiment with a ERC board where I coated half with BLO and half with Tung Oil. I applied the oil in seven separate coats, wiping off the excess after 15 minutes each time. I then laid the board face up on a metal-mesh patio table so that it was fully exposed to the sun and rain. Within 6 months, the board was completely weathered gray.

On  a separate ERC board, I coated half with Epifanes Marine Varnish and half with Helman's Spar Varnish. Both varnishes were applied per the Epifanes schedule of seven coats. After two years, both finishes needed maintenance of sanding and reapplication where some areas had cracked and allowed the wood to weather. The Epifanes looked slightly better than the Helmsmans but the key, I think, was the seven coats to build enough UV protection.

Hope this helps.