How do you stop Jarrah from fading?

[Geoff2005]

Hi PPL

I have a Jarrah board that is normally attached to the front of my house with some brass numbers on it that denote my street address. The board is under eaves facing south so is never exposed to direct sunlight.

It was originally finished with "Sanding Sealer" and satin "Estapol".

It has been up for probably 8 years and I have taken it down to polish the brass and refinish the Jarrah. The Jarrah is still a nice red colour where the brass numbers covered it but the rest was severely faded. I have sanded it back to almost original colour (a bit left to go).

Are there ways to reduce the Jarrah fade with a different finish?

Geoff

[joe greiner]

Probably not. About the best you can do, I think, is to use something like Spar Varnish, with specifications including UV stabilised, or similar terminology. Most timber will change colour even in indirect sunlight. Some get lighter, some get darker. Some go the extreme end of either range. Red cedar goes grey; purpleheart goes brown; cherry goes dark red; etc.

Perhaps someone will chime in with a magic potion for Jarrah, of course.

Joe

[cellist]

Hi PPL

I have a Jarrah board that is normally attached to the front of my house with some brass numbers on it that denote my street address. The board is under eaves facing south so is never exposed to direct sunlight.

It was originally finished with "Sanding Sealer" and satin "Estapol".

It has been up for probably 8 years and I have taken it down to polish the brass and refinish the Jarrah. The Jarrah is still a nice red colour where the brass numbers covered it but the rest was severely faded. I have sanded it back to almost original colour (a bit left to go).

Are there ways to reduce the Jarrah fade with a different finish?

Geoff

Joe's right. UV is the enemy. I built a boat and used jarrah extensively for such things as the gunwales, hand rails, and a few other items. What I did in that case was to coat the timber (the whole boat, actually) with West Systems epoxy - 2 coats- and then about 5 of marine varnish. The jarrah looked as healthy as the day it got coated some 15 years later with only a couple of light cut-backs and replacement of the marine varnish.

Worked a treat on the wandoo cleats as well, and the brightwork sides stayed lovely hand clear too. Hope that helps.

Michael

[Master Splinter]

I second that for the West Epoxy and varnish route. Probably the best solution you'll find for any timber exposed to the elements.

[Geoff2005]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll chase up the West Systems epoxy route

Geoff