NUMATIC FINISHING CORPORATION 3132 C Street NE Auburn, WA 98002-1730 Office (253) 939-2391, Toll Free (800) 847-5489, Fax (253) 939-2597 Web: NumaticFinishing.com Contact: [email protected]
Woodwork and Finish Exterior Care & Maintenance
Exterior 1. Proper Cleaning and Maintenance of your Woodwork & Finish (This is very important and needed to maintain the beauty and duration of your finish)
You can accomplish this by establishing a bi-yearly maintenance program for the exterior woodwork and a once-a- year program for the interior woodwork.
The exterior exposure of your doors and windows is quite severe. Good cleaning and maintenance must be performed to keep airborne contaminates from causing premature deterioration of the finish or wood.
Numatic Finishing recommends the following steps:
• Lightly spray a solution of water and white vinegar in a 50/50 mix onto the wood. This will dissolve most contaminates, and lets you wipe off any salt, dirt or airborne contaminates. (Do small section at a time, to ensure the cleaner does not dry prematurely and never perform this in direct sunlight).
• Wipe the wood moving in the direction of the grain with a soft clean cloth. Terry cloth is not recommended because it can leave lint or strings that can damage or tear parts of the wood or finish. Soft rags purchased at most paint stores works best.
Clean using a soft cloth always going with the grain.
• If the wood is extremely dirty, you may need several cleaning processes to remove all contaminates.
• After cleaning, you need to protect the finish and wood with a good quality, non-wax, lemon-oil or polyurethane oil, such as Daley’s Seafin or Watco teak oil.
Apply the oil to a soft rag and wipe the wood liberally and evenly, once applied, wipe clean with the grain of the wood.
Apply a clear coat to the wood using circular motions. This will push the coating into the wood pores resealing any cracks, dents or fractures of wood or finish. Let the finish stand for just one or two minutes, then wipe the excess clear coat off with the grain.
Never use a wax type cleaner, some waxes will turn white under these severe conditions.
Following the above instructions will help keep your woodwork and finish clean for years to come.
Improper maintenance or damage which will void your warranty:
The following items will adversely affect the appearance of your woodwork and VOID your warranty.
• Consistently watering of the woodwork with automatic sprinklers or regular hand held sprinklers or washing down the walkways without protection to the woodwork. • Cutting the sealed wood without proper re-sealing.
NOTE: The woodwork and wood finish is of exterior quality; however, no wood or wood finish can withstand continuous cycles of watering. The woodwork should be wiped off and not be allowed to have standing water.
• Any wax type product applied to the finish may turn white with exposure to salt, water or high humidity. Do not use any wax type products on your woodwork.
• Any harsh chemicals used to clean metal, stone or glass may deteriorate the finish and woodwork. The woodwork must be wiped cleaned after each glass cleaning and no standing water or cleaner left on the woodwork.
2. Yearly Maintenance on Interior Woodwork
These maintenance steps are the minimum, you may need to renew your finish more often depending on the exposure level, if your exposure has been explained to you as severe. You must understand that your woodwork and wood finish must be maintained from the harsh sun, salt, and weather.
This is accomplished by proper cleaning and yearly maintenance. You should schedule set times for maintenance and follow them consistently.
Never maintain the woodwork when the sun is in direct contact or at the hottest part of the day, this heat will have ill effects on the chemicals and finish.
Mask windows, hardware and surrounding areas needed. Touchup any nick’s or scratches as described below in section 3.
You are now ready to apply the renewing coat of lemon oil or Polyurethane oil to the wood. The coatings recommended are made for wiping onto the woodwork with soft rags. This slow dry material will not leave brush or wiping marks if instructions are followed.
Apply the clear coat to the wood using circular motions. This will push the coating into the wood pores resealing any cracks, dents or fractures of wood or finish. Let the finish stand for just one or two minutes, then wipe the excess clear coat off with the grain.
Once the woodwork has been entirely recoated and wiped clean, inspect to insure you have covered all areas of the woodwork. After completion, let dry, then inspect to see the entire wood piece has been coated properly. Note: some severe areas may need two coats of Polyurethane coating done bi-yearly if there has been severe exposure.
The above process needs to be done and repeated every year or as deemed necessary. Your warranty will be void if proper maintenance is not followed. Records must be kept to ensure timely maintenance is done properly.
3. Repair of nick’s or scratches
If your woodwork becomes damaged in ways that cause the bare wood to be exposed, the following steps may be needed to fix and maintain your woodwork.
1. For scratches, take a small sample of the woodwork to your local paint store and have them match the color in a stain.
2. Clean the area and sand lightly in just the damaged area using #320 grit sandpaper. Remember to always sand with the grain of the wood. Stain the scratch with a small brush (#6 artist brushes work well) wipe any excess away. If the scratch blends, then after it has dried apply several coats of the Polyurethane using the same method.
3. If a nick occurs you can also purchase putty sticks in many colors at most paint or hardware stores. Pick one or two that match your color. Clean the nick, and then over-fill the nick using the putty stick. After filling lightly scrape away using a plastic putty knife, wipe the area clean and check your fill to see you have completely filled the nick.
If any major damage occurs to your woodwork, you may need to call in a local woodworker to replace or fix the damaged area with a more solid piece. If you have any further questions, please call us directly at Numatic Finishing, 1-800-847-5489.