Wood will naturally change colour as it ages. Some people like the fact that woods like oak and cedar grow grey with age, a reflection of us as humans I suppose. Others though like the elixir of youth and want to maintain the colour, depth and vibrancy of wood in its prime. So how can we do this?
Well, if the wood (patio / cladding etc) has started to grey, you can get it back to looking great by using Oxalic Acid. Osmo’s Wood Reviver is the product that we stock to do this job. A good covering and a scrub will bring the wood back to its original colour. Once the colour has been retrieved, work can start to preserve it.
The wood basically needs some sunscreen to reduce the effect of UV rays. Most preservers have a colour in them and this acts as a good UV protector, however clear oils and preservers commonly do not provide any UV protection. So the best advice is to use a coloured wood oil and to ensure that this is topped up annually to give ongoing protection. However if you wanted to use a clear oil then you can get some UV protection from products like Osmo’s 410 and 420 Clear UV Protection Oil. These give a factor 12 level of protection (effectively reducing the greying effect by a factor of 12).
