Playhouse stain options

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acetone

181 posts

Master Geek

#303738 6-Mar-2023 11:12

Hi,

I have a playhouse that I would like to stain to help it last longer. This will be for all visible wood and possibly inside. Example of the playhouse

What are some good options?

Thanks

lxsw20

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#3046247 6-Mar-2023 11:29

If it's treated then it doesn't really need stained to help with longevity, but it will obviously look nicer. What ever you go with, remember you'll have to redo it every few years with stain.

You'd be looking for something like a deck and furniture oil - water based options are available. I'd go talk to your local M10/Bunnings etc.

Dratsab

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#3046251 6-Mar-2023 11:47

I very recently used Aquamax timber stain (Karaka green) on a fence and it looks really good - needs a second coat though. It's a water based linseed oil stain. The theory is once the water evaporates the linseed oil that's left behind works into the timber and helps with preservation. Purchased from Mitre 10 and sprayed it on without it needing thinning.

Tick

13 posts

Geek

#3048499 10-Mar-2023 11:28

That’s a decent looking playhouse you got there, whoever built it deserves a DB.

It doesnt look like you have used treated timber so i would go with any oil/stain. Anything made for decks will be more cost efficient. However, its does come out sort of plastic looking as they are mostly urethane based. Natural oils look great but don’t last as long, linseed oil is not really great for outdoors as it tends to grow fungus/mould.
I and my painter mates prefer oil based anything as it lasts longer, more durable and sticks on better than water based stuff. It does also mean harder cleanups and involves chemicals. If you aren’t ready to get a bunch of chemicals just go with water based stuff, I personally like the Feast Watson products, they are a bit pricey though. Don’t worry too much about the longevity as everything gets blasted by the nz sun and goes to shit so you’ll have to touch it up every 3 years or so.

Just to correct some of the previous posts.

Oiling treated timber does in fact help improve longevity. The treatment helps prevent insects from eating into it and inhibit mould growth. The treatment can only inhibit biological interactions and is strongly recommended for damp environments which are great conditions for insects and fungus. The other element of deterioration in timber funny enough is the lack of moisture. When wood dries out the fibres shrink laterally and when this happens unevenly, develops stress in the timber which results in cracks. Cracked timber does not hold fixings very well. Oiling of wood (most stains are oil/stain combos) preserve the timber by preventing the release and absorption of moisture and therefore prolongs the life of the structure

As for the water based I'm not altogether sure that works as well as simply allowing the timber to dry out before staining. Water gets absorbed much faster as it is less viscous compared to oil. That would leave the oil sitting on the surface until the water dries out and it then gets absorbed. Wouldn’t that run the risk of washout during that time? I would think oiling it directly after a good few days of sun the best (and this is the usual practice) way to ensure the oil gets taken in by the timber.

neb

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#3049027 11-Mar-2023 19:24

+1 to everything @Tick said, with one additional comment, get something that has good UV-blocking capabilities to prevent the timber from being bleached white over time. If you want to show up the wood grain I'd go with BLO ("boiled" linseed oil) followed by several coats of polyurethane varnish, preferably something sold as marine-grade which has extra UV blocking elements, with the caveat as Tick mentioned that after too many coats it'll start to look a bit plasticky.

Tick

13 posts

Geek

#3049214 12-Mar-2023 10:41

neb: If you want to show up the wood grain I'd go with BLO ("boiled" linseed oil) followed by several coats of polyurethane varnish

Does the polyurethane varnish hold onto BLO'd wood? I've had varnish flake off oiled timber when I first started my foray into woodworking. I also find that even two coats of wipe on poly starts to come out plastic looking but this might just be a subjective thing

neb

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#3049282 12-Mar-2023 13:35

Should be fine, "Danish oil" is just an expensive mix of BLO and polyurethane. I would look for other factors, too thick a coat, not enough time for drying/curing, etc. What I do is apply multiple thin coats of BLO, maybe three or so, with 24 hours curing time in between. The BLO doesn't do much to protect the wood, it mainly brings out the grain and, importantly, fills the pores in pine so you're not soaking up huge amounts of expensive varnish. Then put on a first coat of varnish thinned with turps to get the best penetration into the wood so it's not just sitting on the surface, then add not-too-heavy coats of varnish applied with a foam brush and again 24 hours in between. It's overkill, but you know then you'll never have to worry about mishaps, I've seen douglas fir finished incorrectly and it was a tacky, oily mess. You also see lots of complaints about this with decking oil (Cabots is a prime offender), people follow the instructions and use a sheepskin applicator and the stated time between coats and wonder why walking across their deck is like walking on hot tar.

Edited to add: Looking at the photo again it's hard to tell if it's rough-sawn which will tear up a foam brush, as an alternative buy a bunch of cheap nylon brushes as use-once items and thin the varnish a bit with turps so you don't see the brush strokes so much.

If you don't mind a bit of faffing around with cleanup, get a cheap spray gun and spray it, because with all that fancy trim you're going to be spending an eternity painting into corners and angles. Just check what the gun can handle, varnish is quite viscous so you might need to either thin it or get a gun that can handle it. Just had a quick look at Bunnings and you can get an Ozito gun for $68, you're going to be spending several times that on varnish and many times that on time so it may be worthwhile, you'll just need to thin the varnish a bit so the gun can handle it.

jonherries

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#3049420 12-Mar-2023 21:30

Dont make it too good or you might be sent to sleep out there on occasion rather than the couch…

Jon

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acetone

181 posts

Master Geek

#3050435 15-Mar-2023 14:56

Some of it is rough sawn and some of it is decking wood. I believe some of it is treated while some not, I have no idea really.

So what I am taking away so far is that I should use an oil staine.