Spar Varnish on cedar split rail fence

[reprosser]

I am installing ~ 1000 feet of fence, and the wife wants to varnish to keep the color longer. Would probably recoat each year or so - depending.

I am NOT planning to brush coat that much fence, so I am looking at spray options. Maybe a Wagner airless painter would work?

Anyone have any experience in this area? Suggestions? Low cost options preferred :gar-La;

 

[scsmith42]

I have quite a bit of of cedar board fence on the farm, and looked into this myself a few years back. What I discovered is that cedar changes color due to UV rays, and a clear spar varnish will not stop the color change (although it may slow it down a bit). Your options are to stain it (the darker the stain - ie the more pigment - the longer it will last).

The best stain that I could find was made by TWP.

Hope this helps.

Scott

 

[reprosser]

Did you spray or brush it?

 

[scsmith42]

I opted not to put anything on it. The cedar has turned an attractive (and natural looking) silver color, and since it is naturally rot resistant a protectant is not required.

This also helps to prevent the need for long-term maintenance (ie regular retreating).

 

[boxxmaker]

I'm with Scott,you would be better to let nature take its course.I have built a lot of things from bird feeders to planter to outdoor furniture and never put any finish on it and the longer its out there there better it looks.just my 2cents

 

[RobS.]

If you choose to put a finish on it you should consider renting a sprayer. A lot of paint stores in my area rent them. Used to be around $40/day, but I haven't checked into them in years. Still cheaper than buying, and you will probably be able to rent a fairly nice one.

I don't know how cedar does with pressure washing but most woods look reasonably new after washing. If you leave it natural you may be able to pressure wash it after a few years to restore some color. The treated pine on my front porch is 11 years old. I've pressure washed once and It still looks pretty good.

 

[bigcat4t9r]

I've used Sikkens Cetol SRD semi-transparent on some of my cedar outdoor projects with very good results. Vertical fence surfaces should hold up pretty good, plus its oil based so re-coating in the future is easier than the pigmented water-based fence stains.

 

[reprosser]

I discussed some of the comments with the wife, and she agrees that the continued maintenance might be an issue - so WE :nah: decided that the fence will be great as-is, and will weather beautifully. No varnish on the fence.

thanks for the responses.

 

[MrAudio815]

If you choose to put a finish on it you should consider renting a sprayer. A lot of paint stores in my area rent them. Used to be around $40/day, but I haven't checked into them in years. Still cheaper than buying, and you will probably be able to rent a fairly nice one.

I don't know how cedar does with pressure washing but most woods look reasonably new after washing. If you leave it natural you may be able to pressure wash it after a few years to restore some color. The treated pine on my front porch is 11 years old. I've pressure washed once and It still looks pretty good.

This is a subject I should have asked about, good info.

Now I have a three or 4 year old fence, I believe it's cedar as it is a silver/gray color. And it has got some green algae on it from when it rains alot.

Can I pressure wash this? And would I use straigt water or add a detergent? Also I have a few boards that warped, well the 4x4 warped and the fence is leaning quite a bit. Anyway to fix that?

I have been thinking of putting a new 4x4, but didn't want it looking too much different than the grey boards.

Thanks

 

[scsmith42]

This is a subject I should have asked about, good info.

Now I have a three or 4 year old fence, I believe it's cedar as it is a silver/gray color. And it has got some green algae on it from when it rains alot.

Can I pressure wash this? And would I use straigt water or add a detergent? Also I have a few boards that warped, well the 4x4 warped and the fence is leaning quite a bit. Anyway to fix that?

I have been thinking of putting a new 4x4, but didn't want it looking too much different than the grey boards.

Thanks

You can definitely pressure wash cedar, with either straight water or a detergent. I use one of Northern Tool's "Turbo nozzle's" in my pressure washer, and it does a great job. Be careful not to linger too long in one spot though; the turbo nozzle can cut a hole right through the cedar (at least it can with a 4000 psi pressure washer!).

Re fixing the warped 4 x 4, yes it's possible but not necessarily in an attractive way... One thing that I have noticed about my fences is that they will move in and out a bit due to expansion/contraction of the fence rails.

I recall that you can treat the wood with a solution to age it? Perhaps someone familiar with this can chime in.

Scott

Scott

 

[bigcat4t9r]

You can definitely pressure wash cedar, with either straight water or a detergent. I use one of Northern Tool's "Turbo nozzle's" in my pressure washer, and it does a great job. Be careful not to linger too long in one spot though; the turbo nozzle can cut a hole right through the cedar (at least it can with a 4000 psi pressure washer!).

Re fixing the warped 4 x 4, yes it's possible but not necessarily in an attractive way... One thing that I have noticed about my fences is that they will move in and out a bit due to expansion/contraction of the fence rails.

I recall that you can treat the wood with a solution to age it? Perhaps someone familiar with this can chime in.

Scott

Scott

I've seen the "aging" solution on DIY - the take a landscaper home show - they used it to age some new panels to match old ones.

Definitely agree with using care w/the pressure washer - especially on cedar. There are plenty of cleaners that you can spray to get rid of the algae w/varying levels of chemical strength in case you have to worry about landscaping/grass.