Finishes & Coatings for Timber Cladding

Weatherboards can be painted, or coated with penetrating oils or stains as required. Coating the cladding systems will dramatically improve the appearance, performance and durability of weatherboards. We can pre-coat or pre-prime your weatherboards in the factory prior to site delivery.

Dark Colours:

We do not recommend dark colours, stains or paints on Radiata Pine and Cedar weatherboards. Dark colours attract more heat and this exacerbates drying out, shrinkage and swelling and undue movement of the timber. Although dark colours are fashionable, they do not enhance the life of the cladding.

Accoya® Wood:

Accoya® may be painted, stained, oiled or left uncoated, however for optimal paint system performance, like all conventional wood species, Accoya® wood performs best with an application of a breathable paint system. This summary guide provides key recommendations for coating and staining Accoya®.(Download Accoya painting guides here).

Western Red Cedar:

ITI Timspec recommends that all faces (hidden and exposed) should be coated with a minimum of two coats of a suitable approved penetrating oil or stain. All cut ends and any exposed timber should be coated with a further two coats. Refer ITI Timspec Installation Manual for details. 

Radiata Pine:

Despite the fact that a stain finish on H3.2 treated Radiata is acceptable under the current NZ building code, ITI Timspec does not recommend the use of any semi-transparent solvent or water-borne stain or penetrating oil finish on treated Radiata Pine weatherboards, as unacceptable aesthetic and performance issues can occur even on light colours and even if relatively onerous maintenance requirements are followed.

ITI Timspec recommends a minimum four coat paint system with an LRV of 45% or higher, comprising a primer, undercoat and at least two exterior grade top coats, to be used on treated Radiata Pine weatherboards.

The paint manufacturer's maintenance schedule for the selected paint system, must be strictly adhered to. Our advice is that, we do not recommend oil and or stain finishes on Radiata. If done it is on an "all care and no responsibility" basis. We need written acknowledgement of this being agreed prior to supply. 

	Sawn This is a finish supplied from the sawmill, it can be band sawn or a circular sawn finish. Not necessarily accurate or consistent and will contain a higher number of machine or handling marks, and natural defects.
	Bandsawn This gives a depth of grain and texture to the surface of the timber and allows better adhesion of stains or oil coatings.
	Dressed This is processed to a smooth dressed finish using a planer moulding machine. Accurate and consistent. Ideal for paint finishes.
	Sanded Sanded finish is deemed to make paint and coat finishes adhere better to the a dressed surface.
	Painted We can pre-prime (commonly done on Radiata Pine) and or apply more than one coat of the top coats of paint, stain or oil. Colour and paint types cost can vary.
	Penetrating Oils Penetrating oils can be either water or solvent based and are used where forming of a film over the surface of wood is considered unsuitable or if you desire to be able to closely see the grain and timber features after finish. Typically penetrating oils do not last as long as a painted surface and there is no film formation over the surface. However, there are options available where penetrating oils can be slight film building type.
	Film Building Translucent Stains Some stains such as Sikkens are translucent and film building so, they can be seen through to a large extent.