Wood stain colours to protect and elevate your home

Many homes across Aotearoa showcase the raw beauty of timber, incorporating timber cladding and other wood elements both inside and outside of the home. 

With a desire for these timber elements to look as natural and untouched as possible as part of the biophilic design trend – a movement of incorporating natural elements in the built environment – it’s important to protect timber in New Zealand’s harsh climate. 

While other areas of the world can sometimes leave timber untouched when used as a building material, New Zealand’s high UV radiation means all timber surfaces need to be properly protected by robust products.

Typically, to achieve a natural look, it’s recommended to apply a stain colour as close as possible to your timber colour; sometimes even a clear coat only might be applied. However, the Resene technical team does not recommend this as it can leave timber prone to consequences such as early degradation, colour change, flaking and complete system breakdown. 

Resene Woodsman Cedar Natural Wood Oil is a solution to this – a penetrating finish that can be tinted to colours named after some of New Zealand’s most beloved national and forest parks which range from barely-there hues to bold orange, deep browns and off-black.

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“The standout feature of Cedar Natural Wood Oil, though not the only advantage, is that it can be used for both interior and exterior application allowing for seamless coating of wraparound entry spaces, timber ceilings and soffits using the same product and colour throughout and allowing the natural woodgrain to show through,” says Karmen Hoare, Resene's Auckland specifier services manager. 

“Resene Woodsman Cedar Natural Wood Oil is perfect for application on interior timber walls and ceilings, exterior timber soffits and cladding with a great range of colours available. 

“This is a great extension of colours to the Resene Woodsman stain range with the added benefit of interior and exterior application.”

Using a combination of resins, including some from renewable sources, this penetrative wood stain offers easier maintenance and a more natural aesthetic to other stain options that sit on top of the timber’s surface. The materials that make up Resene Woodsman Cedar Natural Wood Oil are also more ‘natural’ than most stains. 

While deeper colours will provide more surface protection than some of the paler shades, which may need earlier maintenance, some of the colours in the Resene Woodsman Cedar Natural Wood Oil range feature Resene’s W tinter. 

“A key benefit of this new tinter offers is that it imparts a sophisticated ‘wash effect’ with a level of transparency that a paint pigment can’t. Since most whitewash, greywash and other similar products rely on a paint pigment to get their ‘whitened’ effect, the new tinter is enticingly subtler and affords an even more natural look.”

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Designed for interior and exterior vertical timber surfaces only, Resene Woodsman Cedar Natural Wood Oil is a robust product that withstands New Zealand’s unique and challenging climate. 

By protecting the cedar and other natural timbers used in your next project with this innovative stain technology, the result will be stunning and protected, whether indoors or out.

“When there is so much more radiation bearing down on timber surfaces as there is here – particularly exterior ones – timber substrates that are not properly protected will break down quickly. Not only can this detract from the look of your project, but it can also ruin your investment. It is also a mistake to think that just because these surfaces are placed vertically, they won’t be as exposed as horizontal surfaces might, which are constantly baking in direct sunlight or getting pelted by rain, snow, sleet or hail. Vertical surfaces, both inside and out, still need adequate protection from the elements, too,” says Hoare.

“When choosing your colours make sure you visit your local Resene Colorshop to explore the woodcare stand and testpot selection. Always test your chosen colour on a representative sample of timber before making your final decision. If you are selecting a dark colour for outdoors, be sure to consider using the Resene CoolColour formula. Resene CoolColour reflects more of the sun’s harmful infrared radiation. 

“When visiting your local Resene Colorshop, be sure to discuss the application method best suited for your project.”

If you’re looking for a wood stain to protect and elevate your next project, get in touch with Resene to learn more, or order a sample and explore more Resene products and projects on ArchiPro.