Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
I have a balcony constructed from cedarwood decking. When the decking
was originally laid, about 3 years ago, it had a wonderful lustrous reddish-brown colour, which has gradually faded until now its usual colour is a silver-grey. But the odd thing is, when it rains, the water seems to bring up the original vibrant colour, which stays until the wood dries again, when it goes back to grey. Does anyone have the explanation for this phenomenon? Might it be possible to retain the original colour even when the wood is dry - without using a stain? Ken |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
wrote in message ups.com... I have a balcony constructed from cedarwood decking. When the decking was originally laid, about 3 years ago, it had a wonderful lustrous reddish-brown colour, which has gradually faded until now its usual colour is a silver-grey. But the odd thing is, when it rains, the water seems to bring up the original vibrant colour, which stays until the wood dries again, when it goes back to grey. Does anyone have the explanation for this phenomenon? Might it be possible to retain the original colour even when the wood is dry - without using a stain? Ken Varnishing from new helps preserve any moisture already present in the wood, which is what gives it its original colour. There is also the question of bleaching by UV light, which may or may not be a separate issue. When unvarnished wood becomes wet, the wood swells up, and water gets into the vessels on the suface* and mimics the effect of the original moisture. It might be possible to reproduce this effect by pressure injecting the timber with super-thin varnish but this would be totally uneconomical as compared with staining. And wet clothes are also darker in colour of course. Although quite what this has to do with wood I'm not sure. michael adams * but only to a limited extent, as the vessels are horizontal of course. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
wrote in message ups.com... I have a balcony constructed from cedarwood decking. When the decking was originally laid, about 3 years ago, it had a wonderful lustrous reddish-brown colour, which has gradually faded until now its usual colour is a silver-grey. But the odd thing is, when it rains, the water seems to bring up the original vibrant colour, which stays until the wood dries again, when it goes back to grey. Does anyone have the explanation for this phenomenon? Might it be possible to retain the original colour even when the wood is dry - without using a stain? Ken have a look at this http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...9846.Ch.r.html |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
wrote in message ups.com... I have a balcony constructed from cedarwood decking. When the decking was originally laid, about 3 years ago, it had a wonderful lustrous reddish-brown colour, which has gradually faded until now its usual colour is a silver-grey. But the odd thing is, when it rains, the water seems to bring up the original vibrant colour, which stays until the wood dries again, when it goes back to grey. Does anyone have the explanation for this phenomenon? Might it be possible to retain the original colour even when the wood is dry - without using a stain? Ken Oil maybe ?? Two American sites which might be of use.... http://www.cedar-deck.org/why_real_cedar/overview.htm http://www.fairharbor.com/home_deck_faq.htm#Necessary Jenny |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
JennyC wrote: wrote in message ups.com... I have a balcony constructed from cedarwood decking. When the decking was originally laid, about 3 years ago, it had a wonderful lustrous reddish-brown colour, which has gradually faded until now its usual colour is a silver-grey. But the odd thing is, when it rains, the water seems to bring up the original vibrant colour, which stays until the wood dries again, when it goes back to grey. Does anyone have the explanation for this phenomenon? Might it be possible to retain the original colour even when the wood is dry - without using a stain? Oil maybe ?? I think it's too late to regain the colour. Ken should have used it at the beginning. We've constructed almost everything by ourselves in and around our house. The thing to do now is enjoy the silver colour and clean the decking with pressure water. We've used western red cedar on one of our buildings (175 flats with exterior wood panelling and a bridge). It's now all silver and is very beautiful. When it rains it goes darker and once it's dry goes back to silver. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
La Puce wrote: I think it's too late to regain the colour. I've checked some photos I took when the decking was originally laid. The change in colour I've observed is definitely back to the original colour, not just darkening of the grey. If the temporary change back to the original colour is something to do with the wood fibres temporarily retaining the water, then maybe the answer lies in finding a treatment which will enhance the water-retaining properties of the fibres. Ken |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
|
#8
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
wrote in message ups.com... La Puce wrote: I think it's too late to regain the colour. I've checked some photos I took when the decking was originally laid. The change in colour I've observed is definitely back to the original colour, not just darkening of the grey. If the temporary change back to the original colour is something to do with the wood fibres temporarily retaining the water, then maybe the answer lies in finding a treatment which will enhance the water-retaining properties of the fibres. Ken That might introduce the possibility of fungal growth, algae etc. When the timber was originally felled, the mositure content was sap, water taken up through the roots, mixed with various compounds, such as the gum you get seeping out of wounds etc. That sap is probably resistant to fungus, whereas straight water isn't. You could always paint a small square with a weatherproof yacht varnish*, let it dry and then compare that with a wet section. The conventional wisdom states that you'll simply get a darker tone of the weathered colour. Same as would happen with oil, once it had dried to the touch. michael adams * If only it was possible to buy small tins of it, that is. For experimental purposes any clear polyurethane varnish would probably do. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
|
#10
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
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? I'm off to view your paintings in Didsbury on Monday .... ) |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
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 |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
Snip
To retain the darker "wet" appearance you would have to fill the pores of dry wood with some non-evaporating substance, such as wax. Snip Fantastic. So you'd apply wax once it's dry? Outdoors: Not sure how wax would cope with our weather . . Snip You might need to sand the surface first in order to get rid of the bleached wood, or has the lignin in the very surface layer been removed by water or was it a bit of each? If you stop the water with wax how are you going to stop the UV? Sun block!!!? I reckon you'd better leave it. Geoff |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
"La Puce" wrote in message oups.com... 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? I'm off to view your paintings in Didsbury on Monday .... ) hi Jiri, Your site does not seem to be working but I noticed elsewhere that you are an organic gardener:~) Jenny |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
why does wood change colour in the rain?
"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............ Perhaps varnish might be a better idea, but only if the wood is 100% dry. Jenny |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
RAIN SOUND RAINING RAIN RAINY RAINING SOUND RAIN RAINY | Gardening | |||
Rain, Rain, Rain | United Kingdom | |||
Rain, Rain, Rain | United Kingdom | |||
Rain, Rain, Rain | United Kingdom | |||
Rain...Rain....Rain | United Kingdom |