Red Mahogany House

[froger]

G'day all . I have a house that was built in the 40s from local Red Mahogany in the Bellingen Valley .. What I would like to do is strip off all the old external paint and preserve the boards in all their red glory with some sort of timber oil , and if so how often would I have to reaplly the oil ? Or would I be better to prime and paint them all again .. Also it is a pretty shaded area .
Any suggestions for a decent external wood oil would be much appreciated ...
Cheers
Fred

[Bushmiller]

froger

While it very appealing to imagine that natural dark red timber look, I think you would be disappointed. An oiled finish will tend to blacken the timber over time. It would be labour intensive in the extreme to maintain any satisfactory level of colour. Left untreated it would turn grey as do most timbers.

Varnish would retain the colour, but would need to be refinished at least every two years. Ask a boat builder how often they have to refinished their timber decking. Really, to my mind, only painting will be satisfactory long term. Depending on the level of degrade on the existing paint, you may not have to completely strip the boards back, but be aware this is a big job. You will need to wear PPE including dust mask, eye protection and hearing. protection. Choose the time of year to do this carefully or be prepared to melt in your boots.

Regards
Paul

[orraloon]

I can't put it any better than Paul has and I can, from my seafaring days confirm how much work would be involved. All the outside teak doors and handrails were stripped back and revarnished every year. It may have been able to last 2 years but most skippers were very house proud. Doing a whole house would be a never ending task. Finish the back then start again at the front.
Regards
John

[Mobyturns]

G'day all . I have a house that was built in the 40s from local Red Mahogany in the Bellingen Valley ..

Paint, 1940's - that raises alarm bell's - toxic lead external paint. Any paint prior to the 1970's. In situ it's not a significant risk. Start sanding it the risk changes - and frankly - well that's definitely not recommended!

Even using paint strippers will leave some paint particles about, unless you are OCD about the whole process. You may have issues with lawfully disposing of the removed lead paint.

Lead in house paint - DCCEEW (https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/lead/lead-in-house-paint)

Managing Lead Contamination in Home Maintenance, Renovation and Demolition Practices. A Guide for Councils (nsw.gov.au) (https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/pesticides/03004managinglead.pdf)