Exterior wooden door - varnish, other protection?

[rossyl]

Hi All

I've got an exterior wooden door on a garage that sees a lot of weather.

I used Sadolin Classic Wood Protection and frankly wasn't impressed:
- the door would get wet and swell.
- the door also darkened with what looks like almost mouldy finish.
So it went from a deep dark wood colour, to a mix of grey wood and blacker areas. I wasn't impressed with Sadolin Classic Wood Protection.

So what should I use instead?

It sees a lot of rain.
It's North East facing, so a bit of sun, but not loads.

Any product recommendations?

Thanks

[Fallingup]

Yacht varnish?

[Mr Pointy]

Frankly the door is made of the wrong material for your environment as wood swells & shrinks so any finish will crack & let water in.

You're fighting a losing battle.

[Simpo Two]

For the best looking result, sand it all back to good wood and give it 2-4 coats of yacht varnish (proper stuff for boats, not water-based st).

You'll have to recoat it every few years

[Square Leg]

On smooth planed timber, Sadolin Classic isn’t a finish coat, it’s a base coat.
Need to use Sadolin Extra over the top for longevity and protection.

[Rough101]

Square Leg said:

On smooth planed timber, Sadolin Classic isn’t a finish coat, it’s a base coat.
Need to use Sadolin Extra over the top for longevity and protection.

This is true, although I gave up with timber doors years ago, and they were not that badly exposed.

Nothing controlled the swelling and shrinkage, although good products could leave it looking OK.

[theboss]

Rough101 said:

This is true, although I gave up with timber doors years ago, and they were not that badly exposed.

Nothing controlled the swelling and shrinkage, although good products could leave it looking OK.

I'm in the process of giving up on mine and the place is only 12 years old. Granted they were probably all ste quality. Alu-timber composite should hopefully last a bit longer.

[Steve Campbell]

The best external wood treatment I've used is Osmo. It was for a fence paneling across the top of a wall but West facing and 5ft up so gets all the rain / sun / wind all year and it's stayed remarkably clean and good looking over quite a few years. No idea which Osmo product suits your scenario but worth a look. Osmo is reassuringly expensive :-).