Wood is a natural, breathable product that will go through various changes during its lifetime as a gate. Therefore, protecting your gate is crucial for not only the look, but also durability. All timber needs to be cared for, although certain timbers (such as iroko hardwood) will naturally perform better outside.

If you are planning on treating your own gate please bear in mind the following. The timber we use is all smooth planned all round which needs to be treated differently than your average rough sawn exterior wood.

Our timber is best treated with a exterior wood stain or varnish. Exterior wood paints are also good, please follow the guidance on the tin you choose to allow enough drying times between coats and ensuring the correct base coats are applied where necessary. What is extremely important is that you do not use a water based wood preserver as this will soak into our wood too much and you may experience alot of swelling and warping due to this.

Products we use and would recommend for use are:

Pine: Sadolin wood stain

Iroko: Liberon oil

Paints + Bedec paint (barn paint as it has the highest UV protection)

 

Selecting the right stain or paint:

We have tried and tested a huge range of stains and paint. They’ve undergone “outdoor” tests in all seasons to see how they act, fade etc. As such, when we paint or stain a gate, we only use tried and tested brands that performed best in our tests.

Redwood Pine (softwood)

Stain: Sadoline – most popular being there “Heritage Oak” although “Jacobean Walnut” also available. Use Sadoline Classic as the base coat then Sadoline Extra for top coats.
Paint: Elmbridge – Any RAL colour can be produced.

Iroko (hardwood)

Oiled: Osmo – provides a good UV protection and enhances the natural, deep tones of the iroko.
Paint: Elmbridge – Any RAL colour can be produced.

How to apply:

For a professional finish, follow this simple guide.

Stain:

Brush off and wipe down the gate to ensure a clean surface.

Using a wood stain brush (available in most DIY stores), carefully apply the first coat. Ensure all gaps between boards and edges are covered. Complete in sections – if its a large driveway gate, do half of one side at a time.

Before the stain dries, use a decorators sponge and lightly smooth the stained area. This removes the brush strokes leaving a flat finish.

Allow a drying time of 24 hours before applying a second coat.

Paint:

Brush off and wipe down the gate to ensure a clean surface.

If painting on a Redwood Pine softwood gate, apply knot solution to all knots. (There won’t be any knots on iroko or cedar gates)

Apply the paint with a suitable brush ensuring all areas are covered (including the bottom edge).

Before dry, use a decorators sponge to remove any brush marks.

Leave for 24 hours before applying the second coat.

When to stain/ paint your gate:

We recommend putting another coat on at 4 weeks from when the gate was fitted this allows the gates to weather naturally. After 6 months wipe the gate down with warm soapy water to remove any mould pores that may have come in contact and re-coat once again. This helps to build up good layers of protection. Once these stages have been completed you will need to wipe down and re-coat the gates every 12 months or before if its looking tired.