Choosing a colour

Before you start, ensure you know the type of timber and its natural colour. The same colour stain can look remarkably different on different types of wood. Hardwoods and high density timbers do not absorb stain as readily as softer timbers. You may need to select a darker stain or apply an extra coat to get your desired colour. View samples of stained timber at your Resene ColorShop and make sure you use a Resene testpot to test the colour on a timber off-cut. If no offcut is available, find a discreet part of the timber to test it on.

did you know?  The light reflectance value – LRV – for a colour tells you the proportion of light that a surface reflects compared to the amount of light that falls on that surface. Wood stains do not usually have light reflectance values, because the timber underneath the stain affects the colour. A stain on light coloured timber will have a higher LRV – i.e. will reflect more light, than the same stain on a darker timber. Some councils will require specific LRVs for exterior colours. This may mean you need to choose a painted finish unless the council agrees to a stain equivalent.

Colours to try

• Black – Sleek and modern, dark brown and black wood stains amp up the drama. Resene Woodsman shows the texture and grain of the timber giving the overall appearance a softer quality than black paint. Try Resene Pitch Black, a tar creosote black, Resene Charred Black, a modern black, Resene Shadow Match, a black with a shadow of brown or Resene Crowshead, a tar brown that looks great in a country setting.

• Red – Red wood stains are bold and architectural while also quite at home in a natural setting. Try Resene Japanese Maple, a bright and elegant hue inspired by autumn foliage or Resene Whero, an earthy red which gives modern flair to timber extensions on older brick buildings.

• Grey – Turn your home into a silver fox by combining popular grey colours that nod to weathered, aged timber – if only we could all age so gracefully. Try Resene Tiri, a dark grey suited to contemporary homes or Resene Smokey Ash which gives a weathered timber look with a hint of smoke.

• Sublime limed – Go pale and interesting with a whitewashed limed timber look (for much less fuss than actual liming). Try Resene Limed Oak for a mellow, warm brown, Resene Limed Ash, a soft grey ash colour or Resene Limed Gum, a subtle gumtree brown.

• Nearly nude – Give nature a little helping hand while letting the natural colours of the timber shine through. Resene Woodsman Natural adds a slight tint to timber to enhance the appearance. Other barely-there colours to try include Resene Woodsman Uluru and Resene Woodsman Driftwood. If you’d like a natural look on exterior timber, opt for a Resene wood stain colour as close as possible to the timber colour.

• Cedar – Resene Oiled Cedar creates the ultimate cedar look to enhance this popular timber and allows the beautiful grain to show through. For a similar solid paint colour on spouting and trims, try Resene Hukanui.

• Whitewash – For a white-hot exterior, try finishing pale and blonde timber with Resene Woodsman Whitewash for a modern Scandi look. Whitewash can be tinted to greywash options for a dusty silver look.

Top 10 picks

Favourite Resene exterior wood stain colours to choose:

Need to know

Resene does not recommend clear stains or varnishes on exterior timber as they do not provide sufficient protection for the timber against the weather or UV damage. Light will pass through them and damage the timber underneath, which will usually lead to the clear finishes flaking off.

Application tips

• Apply Resene Woodsman with a brush to ensure the stain penetrates into the timber.

• The first coat over bare timber should aim to saturate the wood so that the surface is totally wetted with the stain.

• Apply along the grain of the timber and take care to always keep a good ‘wet edge’ by ensuring that the last stroke of stain doesn’t dry before the next stroke is applied. Maintaining the wet edge allows the new brush-load to be merged in evenly. Work across 1 or 2 weatherboards or floorboards at a time at a good pace rather than trying to do an area too wide. Lap marks are more likely to occur when painting in hot weather and/ or when painting very dry weathered timber.

• Avoid applying stain in direct, strong sunshine.

• The second coat of stain will be easier to apply than the first coat and will spread easily. Be careful not to apply excess stain as this might give the surface a splotchy appearance.

• Some timbers have hard exposed ‘latewood’ grain which are harder for wood stains to penetrate. If possible, apply a third coat of stain to timber with latewood grains after three to six months.

• Depending on the colour, stains may need maintenance after two summers but you may find on the protected side of the house and after future maintenance cycles, because of stain build-up in the timber, you can go longer before you need to restain.

• Darker stains will soak in more light and heat and the timber will heat up faster. Resene CoolColour technology is designed to reflect more of the sun’s energy than standard colours, helping to reduce heat build-up and reduce the incidence of cupping and warping.

• Exterior stains will usually penetrate better on rough-sawn timber than dressed timber. Better results will also be obtained over quarter-sawn timber compared to flat sawn. This is because more stain will soak into rough sawn and quarter sawn wood.

• Aim to put on the right amount – not too much and not too little. As a wood stain penetrates into the surface, the finish will appear low sheen or matte in finish. If you apply too much, a stain finish can look glossy. Applying too little also causes problems. Reducing the strength of an exterior stain colour by thinning it or overspreading it means less protection for the timber. The more timber grain you can see, usually the shorter the time to next maintenance. This is particularly true on smooth sawn or dressed timber.

• Where walls are partially protected from the sun by overhanging soffits uneven weathering of stains will occur. There is nothing that can be done about this but to be aware that this will happen and that special care is needed during maintenance to ensure an even colour from top to bottom.

• Unlike a paint, the spreading rate for a penetrating stain can vary dramatically. Rough timbers usually require more stain than smooth timbers. Very old, weathered timber can be very dry and can soak in much more stain than you expect. Hard timbers may soak in a lot less. Usually the first coat will take a lot more stain than any subsequent coats. Generally it pays to buy a little extra, which you can use for touch-ups or maintenance. Avoid applying too much stain.

• When applying a waterborne varnish, it is possible that the water in the coating can ‘raise the grain’ of the wood, resulting in some degree of roughness. This is especially so with certain hardwood species such as oak and walnut. To avoid this roughening effect, predampen the wood surface with a wet rag and allow it to dry for a half-hour. Carefully sand the surface in the direction of the wood grain with fine-grit sandpaper to remove any wood ‘whiskers’ that may appear. Dust off the surface before applying the clear finish.

• Mineral wood oils, such as Wood-X, are often factory applied to timber, such as new cedar. A timber finished in mineral wood oil must continue to be finished in mineral wood oil. If stained or painted, the mineral wood oil is likely to cause the paint or stain to fail. Mineral wood oils often look like stains.

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