What To Use For Coating a Wooden Veranda?

Wooden veranda or terrace are pretty popular. Wood is easy to work with, it is affordable and gives natural look to the veranda. But it is not a secret that wooden flooring, which is not protected by anything, won’t retain its beauty, structure and natural color for long. And its lifespan will be much smaller. This applies to open terraces or verandas.

The thing is, wood deteriorates under the influence of sunbeams, moisture, temperature changes and bio-corrosion. That’s why it needs protection. But the question is, what to use for coating a wooden veranda? You’ll find the answer in this article.

Using Exterior Paints and Lacquers For Wood

Throughout history, people wanted to preserve the structure of wood in the form it was created. For this purpose, the tree was coated and covered with fat-containing products. These are:

• Beeswax
• Vegetable oils
• Animal fat

Apart from that, people used pine pitch, tar or salt solutions. All these things protected wood. But today, thanks to the development of chemical industry, we have affordable coating agents that protect wood. They are an ideal choice for protecting an open wooden veranda or terrace.

NB! Coating wood with special anti-moisture and anti-decay impregnations should be done at the construction stage of this or that object.

Nowadays, a lot of different products of chemical production are available, which are conventionally divided into 3 groups:

1. Enamel paints and varnishes
2. Varnishes for wood
3. Wax products and oils

Here we mention materials that are used only for exterior use, or universal means for coating wooden things which are used in adverse weather conditions. This is exactly what applies to an open wooden terrace or veranda.

According to the manufacturers, such products are recommended to use along with aggraded primer. It is a special impregnation for wood, which:

1. Partially whitens it and provides fire-resistance abilities.
2. Gives wooden surface an equal degree of absorption.
3. Prevents wood damage by fungus, mold and insects.
4. Reduces the amount of applied finish coating, i.e. its consumption.
5. Prolongs the service life of wood finishing coating.

To begin, let’s look at the special enamels that are used for coating wooden terraces and verandas.

Enamel As a Means Of Protection For a Wooden Veranda

Enamel is a multicomponent tinted mixture. After its application and drying, a strong protective layer is formed on the wood that also has a decorative effect. Enamel won’t only protect your veranda or terrace, but also make it prettier.

There are several variations of enamel that are produced on the basis of such components:

1. Natural modified and mineral oils. The result is a well-knows oil paint, which has good weather and wear resistance, has a high level of adhesion and can be used not only for wood, but also for metal and concrete.
2. Solvent-based. This composition is time-proven. It is known as nitrocellulose paint, that can be used even in places with high humidity (near water: lakes, rivers, seas). After the application, a smooth glossy layer is created, which is highly durable. Such paint is toxic, but it is does not matter in case of exterior use, as the smell disappears in a few days.
3. Of polymer resins. To coat a wooden deck on the veranda, you can use a whole range of products that have a “for the deck” mark. This range of products is huge. It includes alkyd paints (universal and narrow directions), urethane-alkyd compounds, polyurethane-acrylic, etc. They all are divided into acetone containing compositions and water-based. Water-based ones practically don’t have any smell, are safe, have high spreadability and durability. Acetone containing ones have a high light and shock resistance and are abrasion-resistant. Enamel based on the solvent is thicker, has a pronounced odor, which disappears rather quickly.

Practically any manufacturer has a range of alkyd, urethane-alkyd, cellulose-ether or polyurethane-acrylic enamels for wooden flooring. They are good for coating verandas and terraces.

As you see, there is a huge number of options for coating an exterior wooden terrace or veranda. All you have to do is to choose one and start working. It is worth noting that you should read instructions on the package carefully before coating the planks on the veranda with enamel. The main rules are the following:

1. Wood should be smooth, dry, polished, without defects, rot and mildew.
2. Coating is performed with any painting tool: brush, roller, sponge or spray gun.

Stains For Covering Deck On The Veranda Or Terrace

If you ask, what is the most demanding composition among all the paintwork materials, it is surely a stain. It is a complex transparent or semi-transparent solution that has a film-forming resin, solvents (organic and inorganic), other additives and pigments in its composition. Deck stains are used if it is necessary to emphasize the beauty and texture of the wood, highlighting its pattern and design.

To coat the deck, you can use only polymer-resin based stains: polyurethane, alkyd, polyurethane-acrylic, urethane-alkyd ones. Only high-quality compositions from proven manufacturers are suitable for using on exterior wooden decks of terraces or verandas.

Wax And Oils For Wooden Deck

Well, we’ve come to the most popular products for coating wooden deck on the terrace or veranda. Oil and wax is an affordable and simple material that can be found anywhere. It is a multicomponent mixture consisting of organic and synthetic components with fat content. The basis is vegetable oil of flax, canola, sunflower or soy, as well as beeswax, candellia or carnauba wax.

Oil and wax are applied on the wooden planks by rubbing-in method, due to which the composition is absorbed in the pores. It protects the wood and gives it natural beauty and shine. There is no film after the treatment, the wood just becomes oiled. Thanks to such impregnation, wood won’t be afraid of water and moisture, dirt and abrasion (partially). The compositions might be colorless, tinted and pigmented.

As for the coating of veranda, terrace or mooring, there is a special lineup of products, that has special additives in composition. They make the surface of veranda’s wooden deck frost-resistant, non-slippery and resistant to bacteria and other microorganisms. This will make boards keep their color longer, not darken or crack. Thus, you can prolong the service life of planks on the veranda.

Advice! The oil on the board can be applied with the help of special pad. It is very quick, good and convenient. Wood-coating work on the veranda is done quite effortlessly.

When choosing wax or oil for wood, take into consideration the type of wood that is used on the veranda or terrace. The packages often contain information on whether the product can be used for resinous or exotic woods. Apart from that, there is indicated an approximate consumption of compositions and the recommended method of application:

• Sponge
• Rags
• Brush
• Pad
• Scotch-bright

Before making purchase, don’t be shy to ask the consultant for a sample of material on the wood. It will help you to choose the right product and its shade. Also pay attention on the price of the product. Don’t try to save money on this matter, as the result may be quite sad, but don’t buy the most expensive material also. Again, you can ask the consultant for an advice.

In Conclusion

In this article, you learned which products can be used for protecting exterior wooden veranda. It is a special place where it is nice to spend warm summer days. To make it even more long-lasting by protecting wood and making it nicer, you can use protective impregnations, enamel, or oil with wax. They have all the needed properties.