Making windows look raw and unfinished?

[AJB Temple]

Any current advice on oil finishes? This building, which is oak framed, is being refurbished as part of repainting the entire house. It was coated in thick brown varnish which has been very largely scraped and sanded off. The intention was to paint it, like the doors in the last picture, which have had two coats of Bedec barn paint in light grey. However, we quite like the stripped look and we are considering doing some more sanding and scraping, possibly bleaching, and then oiling for some protection. The wood looks like one of the mahogany multitudinous family and is completely sound and free of rot. The room faces south and gets the full force of the sun all day.

The key requirement is not to darken the wood if at all possible. I have used OSMO raw in the past (the one with slight white pigment) and also their UV exterior oil, but that was on old oak doors and I was not super thrilled with the effect.

Any recommendations for an oil that can be wiped or brushed on and will not darken the wood? Matt finish would be ideal.

Thanks all. A

(PS, I don't know for sure but I expect the pictures will be all over the place despite using the Andy rotator script

 

[AJB Temple]

Yep. 2 are upside down and one is on it's side. It's just random. But wood is wood and you get the idea of what I am dealing with. I could still paint them of course.

PS. Impressed with the Bedec barn paint. (Thanks Mike). It's better in my view that the multi surface one they do. Both white and cream have relatively low pigment so coverage is poor, but the more solid colours have high pigmentation and I am finding with the blues, greens and greys that I can cover black in two coats.

 

[Cabinetman]

As far as I know there isn’t anything that will work successfully unless you redo them every year, might be worth contacting Bedec to see if they make paint without pigment, can’t imagine what that would be like! Ian

 

[AJB Temple]

bedec is water based. So I suppose it would be like.....water :lol:

 

[AJB Temple]

I find OSMO UV has lasted two years so far on an outside oak door, without any signs of problems (in full sun about half the day). But that was a satin finish. In this case I want to stave off rot, but have the wood look quite raw.

 

[Stuart]

I wouldn’t normally have anything to add to a thread like this but wondering if something like screwfix decking oil might work? (Stop laughing!).

I used it for our decking and with the left overs ended up treating some old bits of garden furniture. Soaks in well (I think it’s only linseed oil with thinners, - nothing special) and have been impressed with the lack of deep colouration . Easy to apply and probably sprayable if you wanted.

You could of course just make your own with oil and white spirit.

Just a thought.

 

[AJB Temple]

Thanks Stuart. I've never heard of decking oil. Will check it out. However, I had thought about plain, colourless mineral oil (as used for chopping boards).

 

[Jonathan]

Adrian, from my experience any exterior oil treatment tend to dry out quite quickly, my uncle used osmo on oak windows which again dryed out and went that oak gray that actually suited his barn conversion.... I think you need something that will actually keep the windows sealed.....you know I'm a Renner fan....so https://www.amazon.it/Renner-RF-1020-fi ... 3144f05702
Not used this one so don't know how Matt it is.

Another idea would be to use a water based varnish (to seal) which all tend to come in satin or gloss, then kill the shine off with wire wool. I've done this many times for my clients on internal finishes, don't see why it wouldn't work outside.




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[Lurker]

I have used this on my workshop and like it. I d say it’s darkened the wood, which was sawn softwood , by the same amount as wiping it with water, if you see what I mean.
Goes a long way , I just put one coat on bare wood last year knowing it needed another coat which I will do this year. Glad I bought several tins as it’s ten quid a can more now, still cheap though.

https://www.toolstation.com/barrettine- ... -5l/p68513

 

[AJB Temple]

Thanks Jonathan and Lurker. I will try the preservative product from Toolstation as that is much the easiest for me to source. Presently chucking it down with rain here so no painting for me today.

 

[AndyP]

Does it have to be oil Adrian?

I am a great fan of Cuprinol, spirit based wood preserver. Never used the clear though. It is not skin forming. Easy to reapply, just brush off dust and dirt and slop it on.

https://www.cuprinol.co.uk/product/cupr ... rver-clear

I use it everywhere here, shutters, gates, garden table.

 

[AJB Temple]

Hi Andy. No, I only said oil because I am so used to using OSMO products and similar for floor and drawer finishes. Perfectly happy with water based products. The main thing is to get away from the awful brown coloured varnish that was there before. They also painted all of the oak posts black and that was hard work to strip back.

Mrs AJB T wants me to try to avoid darkening the wood if possible. I just want to do a couple of joint repairs in the cills, then apply some sort of dead flat preservative to get the water to run off. I also intend to replace the gutters with galvanised steel (which I already have to hand) but that is another job. Music room (the new oak framed jobbie) presently has no gutters or EDPM fascia at all and that is more of a priority.

 

[AJE78]

Hi Adrian, wow looks great ! I can see why you want to keep things raw and unfinished, that's lovely woodwork.

I'm not sure if this fits the bill, to be honest I rely on folks like yourself on this forum for the wisdom and experience on how best to approach stuff like this!

In case its of help there is this:

https://linseedpaint.com/nourish-wood-oil/

I have to caveat this suggestion to clarify that I have not ever used this product. I have used their exterior linseed paints and have been pleased with the results. The product here does seem very similar to OSMO in that its clear, has UV inhibitors and application wise seems near identical. The only difference being that its a linseed oil product. You can get 125ml sample pots to try out. Long term though I am not sure how it holds up so for me that would be the greatest unknown on something like this.

Anyway, good luck and I hope you (and wife) figure out the perfect finish for the wood.

All the best

Andy