Note:
CUTEK® Extreme CD50 and CUTEK® Wood Preservative diffuse deeply into timber and will continue to provide moisture protection and improve dimensional stability even if the CUTEK® Colourtones are not added and the wood becomes weathered and grey.
If you would like to retain the natural freshly oiled colour of the timber you’re working with, you MUST add a suitable Colourtone to the clear oil. Choose one of our 16 Colourtones which have been specifically developed to closely match many popular wood species.
For best results, select a CUTEK® Colourtone that stays close to the natural shade of the coated timber.
Important:
CUTEK® Colourtones are only to be used with CUTEK® Extreme CD50 and CUTEK® Wood Preservative. CUTEK® Colourtones are not compatible with and must not be mixed into CUTEK® Interior or any third-party product.
Understanding Colourtones
It’s important to understand that CUTEK® is a unique penetrating oil system designed to enhance the natural colour and grain of wood. CUTEK® Extreme CD50 is sold as a clear oil which can be used to protect the timber from moisture and moisture related movement such as cupping, warping and splitting. Using just the clear oil will protect the wood, providing stability and structural integrity while allowing it to naturally lighten to produce a silver weathered patina over time. The soft natural lightening and silvering of the wood represents a low care option and is becoming an increasingly popular way to leave wood in weather exposed settings.
Wood projects using clear CUTEK® oil that have silvered can easily be returned back to the wood’s original colour using CUTEK® Restore and high pressure washing followed by further applications of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 clear oil.
However, if you desire to maintain the original colour of the ‘freshly oiled’ wood then you need to purchase a Colourtone to add to clear CUTEK® Extreme CD50. It is important that the colourtone that you choose is suited to your selected wood as it should further enhance the natural colour and grain and help to maintain its “natural” colour over a longer period of time.
What to expect when using colourtone
Most wood care products on the market leave a build up of material on the surface of the wood. In the short term this provides more colour, but in the long term the finish can be prone to peeling and flaking, which requires time and money to repair.
The CUTEK® system is unique because colour is designed to fade slowly over time rather than peel or flake. New smooth timber that’s exposed fully to the weather will lighten faster over the first six months after installation than older, rougher timbers over the same time period. A follow up application of CUTEK® Colourtoned oil after the initial six months weathering period will provide much greater Colourtone build and durability as the wood becomes rougher and more absorbent of pigment over time.
How to increase colour build on new wood
New wood is milled smooth and often has a mill glaze which will greatly restrict the initial colour build of any pigment. Better results can be achieved by creating a rougher surface and preparing the wood using CUTEK® Restore in combination with a high pressure washer. Sanding the new wood to 80 grit will give even better results as it removes mill glaze and creates a much rougher surface which will enable higher colour build. Note…The rougher the surface of the wood, the greater the colour build and durability. Rough sawn or heavy brushed wood profiles will take more oil and colour so much bolder colour contrast can be achieved. The amount of mill glaze if any that is present on any job can vary significantly depending on species density, and machining method used.
Note: sanded surfaces should be vacuumed or washed thoroughly to remove all loose wood and dust.
