As I understand it, cedar is supposed to uphold very well in outside weather. Therefore, when using it to build something, is it still necessary to use a stain or finish and if so, anything specific?
Thank you
I know about Western Red Cedar. It is a good all weather wood. Not so much for submerged situations but full on weather exposure is fine. They use it for shingles.
It will sunburn at first and get a little darker. Then it will start to fade towards white. It will turn silver/gray after it has been wet and sun exposed few times.
You can use a penetration oil stain to set the color and hold it longer but it will fade and gray eventually unless reapplied at least every year.
About the only thing I've found that will last for any length of time.
I don't use cedar but my wife recently inherited a cedar log house built in
1996. The second story was sided vertically with board and batten Western red cedar which had never been sealed/stained/painted.It is true that cedar heart wood is resistent to rot; however, it will turn an ugly grey-black; it will warp; it will split; it will check. We are ripping off all the battens and installing vinyl. Would that I could do that to the lower story logs too.
I would paint or stain your "something", preferably paint.
The logs were cleaned (oxalic acid) and pressure washed. Will have a clear seal.
The upper story is vinyl because the boards and bats - especially the bats - were in horrid shape. Leaked like a sieve too but that was mostly from the improperly installed windows and that portion (windows) was corrected. However, given the condition of the upper siding, I wasn't about to chance additional leaks from the cedar siding. I prefer vinyl to leaks.
I can put you in touch with over a dozen people with a garage full of Sikkens products sent to replace the product applications that went wrong.
Don't use their products on cedar on a horizontal surface. Of course it is always YOUR improper application fault but free product is sent regularly.
Absolute garbage. Don't trust a surface coating on cedar. Get a regular old oil product that breathes and doesn't chip off with UV exposure. You will regret it. This problem has not been corrected since the late
70s. The usual excuse is unsatisfactory ventilation underneath the deck. The warranties are not collectible or honoured.
About the only thing I've found that will last for any length of time.
What Swing said about Sikkens Cetol. I have successfully used Cetol products (Cetol 1 & Cetol 1-2-3 or Cetol Windows and doors) on 42 cedar windows I made. We (actually Marilyn did most of the work) finished them in 2005 or so (3 coats) and they are still fine, no need to refinish them yet. This is for a south-facing solarium in the Yukon which experiences a temperature range of -50 (outside) to +35 (inside) degrees Celsius.
I also tried water based exterior Varathane on two doors. The stuff started peeling after a year, so I stripped them and refinished them using Cetol.
As far as other products: Oil finishes only last about a year, Thompson water seal only a few months on my greenhouse windows (waste of money IMNSHO).
Behr Super liquid Rawhide also worked even better on the cedar and spruce solarium structure (still looking great after 13 years, with only one additional coat added in 2005 when I installed the windows) but it is no longer available because of some class-action lawsuit in the US --- the fungicides in it apparently did not work well in the humid climate of northern California & Oregon. However, this product did not dry hard like the Cetol & still retains a "leathery" feel" and I did not want to use it on windows for fear of them sticking.
This is my experience, but as with everything YMMV.
Luigi
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