What are wood preservers?
Wood preservers are exterior wood finishes that protect timber from the weather and insects, helping the wood last longer and look better. Long UK winters and general consistent wet weather conditions will rot exterior wood if they aren’t preserved and UV will degrade the wood grain leaving the timber looking very scruffy.
When should you use a wood preserver?
Wood preservers should be used if the wood has never been manufactured pre-treated, such as pressure treated wood or tantalised, or if the wood is a few years old and has been a little neglected. High quality wood treatments will prevent wet rot, fungus, algae, UV damage, woodworm and be water repellent. How often they should be applied depends on the environment that the timber is in and what has been applied to the wood in between and how regularly. If only a preservative is applied every couple of years is a safe bet.
Wood Preservers often are made in a series of colours making it very easy to add colour to your fence, shed or structural timber.
Primer Preservers
Some of the preservers in this category are base coats, such as the Osmo WR Base Coat or the Barrettine Universal Preserver Primer Clear.
The Osmo WR Base Coat is best for applying before exterior wood oils to protect against rot or wood boring insects, whilst offering further weather protection.
Barrettine Universal Preserver Primer Clear is the best choice for customers who are looking to protect exterior wood prior to staining, varnishing or painting. The preserver primer not only acts as a preservative but also gives a high adhesion surface for the final finish to cling to which prevents peeling over time.
Creosote Alternative
As Creosote has been banned for sale to the public, Bristol Chemical manufacturer Barrettine has created a less hazardous alternative to the traditional product, by the name of Creosolve. Creosolve has similar protective and aesthetic properties to traditional creosote due to its Oil Based, Bitumen and wax formula. CreoSolve is recommended to be used on agricultural and garden posts, fences and stables.
