JennyC wrote:

hi Jiri,
Your site does not seem to be working but I noticed elsewhere that you are
an organic gardener:~)
Jenny

Hi Jenny,

I have been gardening organically here in North Staffs for about 30 years.
Well, perhaps with an occasional resort to slug pellets when desperate!
I do read uk.rec.gardening quite regularly for the last 10 years or so,
but I do not contribute often.
Here I felt I know a bit about how surfaces change appearance when wet and
when dry, as a painter I deal with the phenomenon on daily basis.

Sorry to hear you find my site http://www.borsky.com
not working. It seems perfectly functional from my machine. I would
appreciate further advice in this respect, either here or by emailing me:
borsky(the twirly sign)dial dot pipex dot com

TIA
Jiri

JennyC wrote:

"Jiri Borsky" wrote in message
..
La Puce wrote:

Jiri Borsky wrote:
The explanation: Water and other liquids conduct light in a different
way
to air. When the wood (soil, fabric, etc) is wet, it reflects light
differently from when dry. Usually it appears darker, as more light
rays
penetrate deeper via the liquid filling the spaces and get absorbed
there.
When the liquid evaporates it is again replaced by air (with smaller
refraction coefficient) and the surface appears lighter.
To retain the darker "wet" appearance you would have to fill the pores
of dry wood with some non-evaporating substance, such as wax.

Fantastic. So you'd apply wax once it's dry?

If it were indoors, my answer would be an unequivocal Yes. Wax is kind to
wood.

Outdoors: Not sure how wax would cope with our weather and whether it
would attract airborne dirt or otherwise change its appearance? One would
need to do a bit of research into what is on the market specifically for
exterior applications.

Best wishes,
Jiri Borsky

The wax might indeed melt/cook/go hard and even whiter............

It is the last change you mention that would worry me most. Some waxes in
certain conditions do bloom. Indoors this would be simply remedied by
repolishing with a soft cloth or brush. Outdoors though...???

Perhaps varnish might be a better idea, but only if the wood is 100% dry.

Perhaps. Some varnishes can make the wood look and feel very unnatural and
plasticky. Again, my experience does not extend to outdoor materials.

Jiri