FAQ

For new buildings use Natural UV Extra. For slightly weathered buildings, use the Natural Brown Restol Oil, to bring the Cedar back to life.

For stables and animal housing - use Stable Coat. For Shiplap or Feather Edge cladding use Eco Shield (for a matt finish) For Shiplap or Feather Edge cladding use Clear Tough Coat to get a thin covering over the top of the timber (with a slight sheen finish)

Shed & Fence is a wood stain with a wax additive. It has the same colour range as the Eco Shield, however the Eco Shield uses nanotechnology to provide a waterproof finish. To get the same result you would need to add Clear Tough Coat over the Shed & Fence to achieve the sameresult.

The Royal Exterior range is a high grade, eco friendly, timber paint system that is created using organic pigments. The unique formulation is a water-based acrylic and alkyd hybrid that incorporates a polyurethane dispersion based on linseed oil - a renewable resource. It provides exceptional protection to the timber by providing a rich paint covering that quickly dries, thus creating a naturally breathable and protective barrier.

Our products have an in can shelf life of 2 years if stored sealed and protected from frost. Pigments and raw materials will settle out over time so will need to be throroughly shaken & stirred prior to use. A handy tip for re-mixing is to use a cheap hand blender as this mixes the components back in thoroughly and quickly with minimum effort.

Shedcare wood stains aren't classed as toxic or hazardous but we do supply safety data sheets on request for information purposes.

We think they do as we use water as the carrier meaning that then they dry it is water that evaporates off, not an oil or white spirit. This also gives our products a low VOC rating and low odour. Our resins are a unique blend of acrylics, waxes, polyurethanes and alkyds sourced from renewable resources wherever possible. We also use a biodegradable fungicide to minimise environmental impact. All of our products are manufactured at our factory in the UK and we continually strive to improve the efficiency of our processes. Our packaging is made from recyclble material and we recycle as much waste as we can from our factory and office.

All of our wood stains are water-based, comply to EN71-3 and are deemed suitable for use around pets, plants and children. Once dry the wood stain won't cause any harm to your animal although we can't guarantee against any particular allergies that your animals may have if they ingest anything by nibbling. However in nearly 30 years we haven't heard of a single case so you should be fine.

None of the products we manufacture have been tested on animals however some of our raw materials may have. In order to obtain some of the data that was necessary to bring some of the active ingredients to market, at some point in their history they could have been tested on animals. As a company it is our policy to obtain the most sustainable and environmentally ethical products we can that are available to us.

No, none of the wood stains contain animal products and so they are suitable for use by vegetarians and vegans

A couple of coats of a dark Shed & Fence stain such as Nut Brown, will tie in new to old in a uniform colour. For best results or when trying to match up dark to light we would recommend you use Wood Protector or Royal Exterior as they create solid colour coatings.

Wood preserver chemicals are used to protect timber against rot and fungi attack. Pressure treatment chemicals do not offer any protection against the weather so you need to apply a top coating to protect your timber from damage caused by rain and the elements

Please refer to our Winter Weather Advice sheet for information and advice on applying wood stains in bad weather conditions.

The pressure treatment chemicals won't prevent knots from bleeding resin out so we would advise you apply knotting agent to knots if you don't want any resin bleeds to stain the coating.

Our products are designed to work most effectively on a 2 coat application basis. On rough sawn timber one coat is usually enough, unless you are treating a building in which case a second coat will improve the waterproofing. A 3rd coat will enhance the solidity of the coating and depth of colour. Further coats may de-stabilise the coating as coats will start sticking to each other rather than the timber and could lead to premature peeling.

Yes, we use acrylics and waxes that leave a microporous coating that allows timber to breathe.

If your timbers have been freshly pressure treated the industry recommend that it is left to weather and settle down for up to 12 months before applying a stain or coloured top coat. This is for 2 reasons; (i) there may be salt residue from the preservation chemical on the surface of the timber that needs to come off. If you apply a coating on top of these salts the coating won't be able to adhere fully to the timber and when the salts come off, they could take the coating off as well. You could help speed up this process by rinsing off the surfaces then allowing them to dry. (ii) depending on what preservation chemicals have been used, there may be waxes that need to weather off as they may block new coatings from adhering fully to the timber. Again this could be speeded up by washing surfaces with water and detergent. You can check with the manufacturer to see whether the preservative used on the timber has wax additives.

No. Our wood stains are designed to be flexible and move with timber as it expands and contracts. It will not freeze the timber solid so when new timber is drying out the movements can be quite extreme so timber may split causing the coating to split too.