Maintenance on gates.

[scooby1]

Two years ago I had some drive gates made out of iroko timber. The chap covered them with Osmo oil and they looked good for a while. But I had to get him back after 12 months because they were starting to "weather" badly. I now think he just sanded the bad bits and coated them again with Osmo. They now look very bad in places, principally where the weather (sun ?) has been able to get at top surfaces. Photos. below.

I have reached the conclusion that I need to strip them back to bare wood and start again. I think I need to use Sikkens Cetol HLS Plus light oak stain followed by 3 coats of Sikkens Cetol Filter 7 plus light oak. But my question is, do I use an orbital or a belt sander to get back to bare wood ? I already have a Bosch PSM 100A multi-sander for the fiddly bits but I think I need to buy either an orbital sander or a belt sander. Can anyone advise me which tool would be most suitable please, what grit, etc. ?

TIA for any advice.

 

[ntb]

Belt sanders with a coarse grit and high speed remove material rather aggresively. They are also quite heavy and unwieldy.

You would be better served with an orbital sander for this job. I wouldn't go any coarser than 80 grit to start with and then again with 120. Possibly once again with a finer grit depending on the finish you want.

 

[SammyInnit]

Two years ago I had some drive gates made out of iroko timber. The chap covered them with Osmo oil and they looked good for a while. But I had to get him back after 12 months because they were starting to "weather" badly. I now think he just sanded the bad bits and coated them again with Osmo. They now look very bad in places, principally where the weather (sun ?) has been able to get at top surfaces. Photos. below.

I have reached the conclusion that I need to strip them back to bare wood and start again. I think I need to use Sikkens Cetol HLS Plus light oak stain followed by 3 coats of Sikkens Cetol Filter 7 plus light oak. But my question is, do I use an orbital or a belt sander to get back to bare wood ? I already have a Bosch PSM 100A multi-sander for the fiddly bits but I think I need to buy either an orbital sander or a belt sander. Can anyone advise me which tool would be most suitable please, what grit, etc. ?

TIA for any advice.

View attachment 121597

Don't leave it 12 months before re-applying next time.

 

[scooby1]

Belt sanders with a coarse grit and high speed remove material rather aggresively. They are also quite heavy and unwieldy.

You would be better served with an orbital sander for this job. I wouldn't go any coarser than 80 grit to start with and then again with 120. Possibly once again with a finer grit depending on the finish you want.

Very helpful. Thank you.

 

[scooby1]

Don't leave it 12 months before re-applying next time.

Thank you but are you saying that these gates will have to have protection applied to them every 12 months ?

 

[SammyInnit]

Thank you but are you saying that these gates will have to have protection applied to them every 12 months ?

Personally I'd do it as every season changes but certainly wouldn't leave it to change from summer to winter without protecting. Dare I say those gates cost you a few quid. What's the cost in comparison of a few hours on a Saturday afternoon and a decent can of oil or varnish.

 

[Chud]

Thank you but are you saying that these gates will have to have protection applied to them every 12 months ?

Yup - Osmo is good stuff but needs renewing, any oil will be the same - you may find the osmo deck reviver will help before you attack them with a sander.

 

[Chud]

Once you've got the colour back to how you want it you should probably give them a coat of http://www.osmouk.com/sitechaptern.cfm?bookid=Products&chapter=82&page=262 at least once a year.

 

[lostinthelight]

I had hardwood windows and conservatory made at my last property and used HLS followed by cetol filter 7.
This combination was recommend by the old school carpenter that made them as being the best he had ever used .
We had them in for twenty years when we moved and they still look superb but we did refresh them every three years or so.
What we found was not to sand too fine or the HLS tended not to soak so well and maintenance consisted of scrubbing the surface with washing up liquid and plastic scourer, when dry restain and faded areas then slap the filter 7 on...filter 7 is or did have uv protection.
litl

 

[^woody^]

I would use an oil like Osma, and not a stain like Cetol.

A delta sander or a multi tool with the sander pad will give a great finish efficiently. Not a belt or orbital as that risks taking too much off, and will be unweildy.

 

[dishman]

I am about to do the same on similar (well slightly less expensive) farm style gate and plank style fencing. I came to the conclusion that, as per above, anything other than an oil would be a mistake. A stain will end up peeling and looking awful whereas an oil will just wear and loose it's sheen and protection over time.

I often find some stain colours far too heavy and ruin the natural looks of a wooden gate.

I was looking at something like Sadolin's Decking oil, but the Osma mentioned is probably the same/similar.

Mine have not been refreshed in many years. So they are a bit weather beaten and dry. Luckily they have been installed well and not painted in any non-permeable paints so the wood has been able to breath and dry naturally.

The worse case scenario is where a thick non-permeable (usually oil gloss) is used. If not carefully maintained, water gets in, then can't get out and the wood will just rot from the inside out and the paint ends up becoming like a shell holding the gate together.

 

[scooby1]

UPDATE.

Today I borrowed an orbital sander with an 80 grit pad and a belt sander (quite coarse) from a friend and tried a small patch on the back of one of the gates. I have discovered that I am never going to get back to the original wood like this. It just wouldn't be possible. And so I have found myself with a problem that I don't know how to remedy and indeed it may not be possible. The gates were made for me, by a small local business, only 2 years ago. They were coated with an Osmo product at the time and because I queried the breakdown of the finish last year only 12 months after manufacture they were taken back and allegedly sanded and Osmo was applied again. And yes, they were very expensive gates. I have wondered if the Osmo can be removed chemically and if anyone has any knowledge of that I would be grateful to hear it.

I would like to thank everybody for their help with this but, understandably I believe, I am not best pleased with the situation. I thought that we were doing the right thing by commissioning a pair of gates of this quality but frankly I am now regretting the whole exercise.

 

[dishman]

Was it just gumming up the sander pad? The layer of stain/varnish does not look too thick. What was the actual issue?

 

[scooby1]

Was it just gumming up the sander pad? The layer of stain/varnish does not look too thick. What was the actual issue?

It wasn't "gumming" up as such. It just seemed to be reducing the covering to powder, albeit very slowly. The problem is that the Osmo has penetrated the timber to such an extent that, in my opinion, it would need planing to get back to bare wood.

 

[dishman]

Odd, a sander with a good pad should get back to the bare wood quite easily. The stain has not gone too deep as demonstrated by the worn areas.

Maybe the sanding pad was a cheapo pad. Abranet sanding pads are very high quality if you wanted to try another.

I sanded some velux which has a similar colour varnish on with a low powered detail sander and it came off in seconds with a normal 80grit pad.