This is the fifth in an ongoing series of blogs related to a wooden home project in Chiang Mai, Thailand (the capital of northern Thailand) that is being finished with TufShield™. You can refer to the first blog entry regarding this project on January 9 to learn about the project background and to see some pictures of the untreated wood and the home itself as it's being built.

In this entry, we'll showcase some of the wood after being treated with TufShield™ Top Coat Satin. In other words, these are completely finished pieces of wood!

As covered in previous posts, all wood was treated with a dark rub stain to bring out a dark, rich brown colour. The wood was then treated with 4 coats of TufShield™ Base Coat which is the standard recommended application. The final step is the use of the TufShield™ top coat which is what we'll see in this blog entry. The Top Coats are available in both Satin and Gloss and Satin was chosen for this home project.

To the right, you'll see a close up shot of the wooden sunscreen which was also shown in earlier blogs when it was untreated and bare, after the wood rub stain had been added and then when it had been coated with the Base Coat.

This is what the sunscreen looks like in its finished state with the Top Coat Satin applied.






Here is another shot of the wooden sunscreen after being coated with Top Coat Satin.

















Here is a closeup shot of a finished wooden teak window after having the Top Coat Satin applied. Earlier blog entries show the teak windows with the wood rub stain so you can see the difference after the Base Coat and Top Coat Satin were applied.















Here is a closeup shot of the completed wood screen that has been finished with TufShield™ Top Coat Satin.










For our next blog entry, we'll show some additional closeup pictures of parts of the house that have been completely finished with TufShield™.

Labels: satin, sunscreen, thailand, wooden home

This is the fourth in an ongoing series of blogs related to a wooden home project in Chiang Mai, Thailand (the capital of northern Thailand) that is being finished with TufShield™.

You can refer to the first blog entry regarding this project on January 9 to learn about the project background and to see some pictures of the untreated wood and the home itself as it's being built.

As mentioned in the first blog on this project back on January 9, we said that antique wood was used in the building of this home and in this blog, we're going to see some of the antique wood with the Base Coat already applied.

To the right, you'll see an example of an antique door being used in the new home that has been treated with 4 coats of TufShield™ Base Coat.











To the left, you'll see a set of two antique front doors that have been treated with 4 coats of Base Coat.

In a future blog, we'll see what the doors look like after receiving the final 2 coats of Top Coat Satin to finish them off.

















To the right is another antique door after receiving 4 coats of Base Coat.

The home owners particularly liked the fact that while using TufShield™ would help protect the wood from the elements, it didn't take away from the antique look of the wood such as the antique door shown here.








As an FYI, the Base Coats were drying quite quickly, in around 30 minutes, due to the warm temperature they were being applied in. Drying times will vary based on drying conditions of course and the conditions in this instance were very favourable.

To increase the drying time if the Base Coat is drying too quickly, you can always use the TS Reducer thinner to increase the wet edge, as per instructions on the product labels.

For our next blog entry, we'll show wood on the home after being treated with TufShield™ Top Coat Satin.

Labels: antique, door, thailand, tufshield

Below you'll see the "before TufShield™" teak chair on the left and the "after TufShield™" teak chair on the right from a blog entry back on May 7, 2008.


Back on May 7, 2008 we posted a blog entry showing an old weathered teak patio chair on the left and another teak chair on the right of the same design and age that had been treated with TufShield™ (the same picture is shown above). As this furniture is left outside all year, it experiences the harsh winters that we tend to get in the northern parts of North America.

Of course, the furniture will also experience some nice warm weather (and the UV rays that come with it) in the summer.

Below, you'll see a picture that shows both chairs (now both treated with TufShield™) along with a matching teak side table (also treated with TufShield™) that are currently sitting outside braving the winter elements.

EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES: A deep freeze was experienced throughout parts of North America during the second week of January.

During the week of January 12-18 when the following picture was taken, the temperature bottomed out at -26°C (-15°F) overnight and only went up to -10°C (14°F) during the day so this patio furniture experienced extremely cold temperatures for extended periods (not to mention a pile of snow on top, as the picture shows).


Check back in the spring for some close up shots of the chairs and table to see how the TufShield™ finish held up following one full year of being outside.

Labels: freezing, furniture, patio, snow, teak, winter

This is the third in an ongoing series of blogs related to a wooden home project in Chiang Mai, Thailand (the capital of northern Thailand) that is being finished with TufShield™. You can refer to the first blog entry regarding this project on January 9 to learn about the project background and to see some pictures of the untreated wood and the home itself as it's being built.

The January 13 blog entry shows pictures of the second step of the project, which involved using a dark rub stain on the wood.

The third step of the project will be shown today, which involves treating the wood with the TufShield™ Base Coat. The Base Coat is going right over top of the dark rub stain which had been previously applied. Just to remind you, all wood will receive 4 coats of Base Coat which is the standard recommended TufShield™ application.

As discussed in the January 9 entry, Thailand weather is tropical with fairly consistent year-round temperatures between 28°C-34°C (82°F-93°F). The wood will face extreme UV exposure as well as rain (especially during the rainy season) and thus mildew/mold potential too. The Base Coat saturates into the wood and forms a permanent but flexible shield - hence the name TufShield™! - which will protect against the elements.

The first picture to the above right shows one of the staff applying the Base Coat to the wooden sunscreen that we showed back in the January 9 blog entry when it was untreated so you can see the difference in colour!






Here is a second picture of the wooden sunscreen for a closer look at the Base Coat being applied.
















Here is a picture of a staff member applying the Base Coat over top of the rub stain on a teak door.

The Base Coat is obviously still wet but notice how the Base Coat helps to bring out an even richer dark brown colour.













As always, you can click on any picture to enlarge it.

For our next blog entry, we'll show antique wooden doors that are being used in the home after they were treated with TufShield™ Base Coat. In future blogs, we'll then show the final result after these same doors have been finished with Top Coat Satin.

Labels: base coat, thailand, wood home

This is the second in an ongoing series of blogs related to a wooden home project in Chiang Mai, Thailand (the capital of northern Thailand) that is being finished with TufShield™. You can refer to the first blog entry regarding this project on January 9 to learn about the project background and to see some pictures of the untreated wood and the home itself as it's being built.

In this entry, we're going to see pictures of the wood being treated with a wood stain. As mentioned in the first blog, almost all of the wood in the project is being treated with a dark rub stain to give a dark, rich looking shade to the wood.

TufShield™ Base Coat will then be applied over top of the stain once it has dried and TufShield™ Top Coat Satin will be applied as the finishing coat.

The first picture to the right shows the dark rub stain being applied to one of the doors.











Here is a doorframe that has been treated with the dark rub stain. Notice how dark the finish is compared with some of the untreated wood that we saw back in Thailand Wooden Home Project Blog #1 from January 9.



















Here is a closeup picture of a wooden doorframe that has been treated with the dark rub stain.





















Here is a picture of a teak window with the dark rub stain already applied.

In future posts, we'll see some of the teak windows after they've been finished with TufShield™ too.












Just to recap, the dark rub stain was applied to give the untreated wood a dark rich brown colour. TufShield™ products will then be applied over top of the rub stain to protect the wood. Since the house is located in Thailand, it will be subjected to a number of elements not the least of which will be the beating sun (UV rays) as well as rain (especially during the rainy season).

For our next blog entry, we'll show the wood being treated with TufShield™ Base Coat. The wood being treated is going to get 4 coats of Base Coat and then 2 coats of Top Coat Satin to finish it off so stay tuned for pictures of the ongoing progress.

Labels: rub stain, teak, thailand, tufshield, wood house, wooden home

This is the first in what will be a series of blogs regarding a wooden home being built in Chiang Mai, Thailand (the capital of northern Thailand) that is being finished with TufShield™. In this entry, we’ll introduce you to the project, show some preliminary pictures of the home being built as well as some pictures of TufShield™ being applied.

Check back frequently as we’ll be adding more pictures and updates regularly as the home is being built and finished. In future blogs, we'll include pictures of TufShield™ being applied as well as pictures of the dark rub stain being applied to most of the wood (to give a dark, rich looking shade to the wood) before TufShield™ is applied over top.

Needless to say, a wooden home built in a tropical climate like Thailand requires a wood finish that will protect against the elements, namely UV (Ultra Violet) light, humidity and rain among others.



In Thailand, day temperatures stay fairly consistent year-round between 28°C-34°C (82°F-93°F), but humidity drops from November to February and morning/evening temperatures can be between 15°C-20°C (59°F-68°F) during this time of year.

Most of the new wood being used in the project is teak, except for the floor which is made of maka. Maka is a rare wood that is considered more economical than teak and is known for its sturdiness and durability. The home also features old teak pillars on the outside which are on average between 30 - 80 years old.

The home also features a number of antique wood components all of which are also being treated with TufShield™. The antique doors are about 90 years old and the Base Coat was applied over top of not only the teak wood but also over all the iron fixtures to give added protection at the joints. It applied just fine over these areas and will no doubt protect against the weathering.















All exterior wood on the home is being protected with TufShield™ due to the extreme UV exposure, as well as rain (especially during the rainy season) and thus mildew/mold potential.

As mentioned above, almost all of the wood in the project is first treated with a dark rub stain and then treated with the Base Coat over top - to give a dark, rich looking shade to the wood.

In terms of the TufShield™ application itself, the Base Coat was applied at various times during the day and drying time seemed to be fairly consistent around 30 minutes tops. This is quite fast but given the high temperature and warm conditions during the application this is not surprising. Some parts of the house will be shaded conditions so they won't be in direct sunlight but much of the house will have the sun's rays beating down regularly.

All exterior teak was treated with 4 Base Coats and 2 Top Coats ratio which is the standard recommended TufShield™ application.

Check back regularly as we’ll be adding new pictures of the project as it’s being completed. Our next update will show pictures of the dark rub being applied to the wood prior to being treated with TufShield™.

Description of pictures in order of appearance:

1. Scaffolding including untreated wood sunscreen
2. Untreated wood sunscreen
3. Untreated outdoor teak pole
4. Untreated indoor stairs and railings
5. Untreated outdoor teak doorframe

As always, you can click on any picture to enlarge it.

Labels: thailand, tufshield, wooden home