For many, the idea of slathering paint over a beautiful piece of mahogany, rich in red color and unique in characteristics, is enough to make any wood lover cringe. However, in some instances, there is a need to paint wood, but it is important to find the right species, for an interior and exterior project, to paint, as well as the right grade.
In order to protect wood with a sealant or paint, much prep work is needed. Many species that are naturally resistant to weather have oils that will interfere with the oils of primer and paint, making it difficult to paint. For many species, such as a Mahogany or a Western Red Cedar, the product itself is so beautiful that a paint should not be used to cover up the natural characteristics. Instead, a high quality, Grade A lumber free of defects and knots with a consistent color and grain pattern should be sealed with a clear protectant to not only protect it from the outdoor elements, but also to highlight and showcase the natural beauty of the lumber.
For those who understand the “clear” yield of wood, you know that for every board foot of clear wood, you will end up with 2-3 board feet of less than perfect appearance wood. There is nothing necessarily wrong (structure wise) with this wood. However, appearance wise, it may have knots, sticker stains, inconsistent grain or color, or even sapwood mixture that makes it less than desirable for a clear coating protectant. In turn, this wood ends up set aside in the shop as a by-product necessary in order to yield clear wood.
This byproduct could become the next best thing for your exterior painted project. While you will still have to do much prep work to paint an exterior wood project, it becomes extremely necessary in order for the finish to last for years. While it may take time and money, priming, filling, and sealing your product will prevent an unsightly, uneven finish that will need to be refinished in perhaps just a year’s time. If you are planning to paint an exterior wood anyway, why spend top dollar for Grade-A clear yield that will be covered up anyway? Instead, the byproduct that may have just some physical appearance variations but provides the same structural purpose will provide the same product for less money.
If you are planning to paint the exterior product, it is extremely important to let your distributor know so that they can provide you with the appropriate product. It would be a waste of money and clear product to purchase a Grade-A clear product that deserves to shine with a clear coat and instead, you paint over it. J. Gibson McIlvain Company does not necessarily market a “paint grade” product but can steer you in the right direction to help you complete your exterior painted product in a cost-effective, beautiful way.
J. Gibson McIlvain Company
Since 1798, when Hugh McIlvain established a lumber business near Philadelphia, the McIlvain family has been immersed in the premium import and domestic lumber industry. With its headquarters located just outside of Baltimore, the J. Gibson McIlvain Company (www.mcilvain.com) is one of the largest U.S. importers of exotic woods.
As an active supporter of sustainable lumber practices, the J. Gibson McIlvain Company has provided fine lumber for notable projects throughout the world, including the White House, Capitol building, Supreme Court, and the Smithsonian museums. Contact a representative at J. Gibson McIlvain today by calling (800) 638-9100.
The same quality that you’ve come to trust when it comes to hardwoods and millwork from J. Gibson McIlvain Lumber now extends to softwoods, including high-end products such as tongue-and-groove Yellow Cedar and Red Cedar bevel-edge siding. These specialty products are dried, moved, stored, and shipped with the specific needs of softwoods in mind. While you can almost certainly find construction-grade softwoods for framing needs available at your local big box retailer, you just as surely will not find the kind of carefully milled and cautiously handled quality that our premium millwork and other softwood products reflect. We at McIlvain firmly believe that we are the nation’s best choice for hardwoods, plywoods, millwork, and now softwoods, too.
Early in our softwoods extension, we learned the hard way that we would need a different process and even a separate space reserved for softwoods in order to cater to their unique needs. We added a new softwoods dedicated facility in order to accommodate the needs for more careful handling, and now we take steps like the following to ensure that these more easily damaged lumber products make it to your jobsite in pristine condition:
Alaskan Yellow Cedar excels in durability, in part because of its high resistance to damage by termites, fire, rotting, and chemicals. Long used in marine applications, this strong wood species can be used structurally for applications like bridges, while at the same time boasting workability and tight grain patterns that also make it ideal for decorative paneling and cabinetry. With 50-60 annual rings per inch, Yellow Cedar is often used for carvings and other specialty applications.
Illegal wood is a problem that affects all of us. As a buyer, you need a way to know that the wood you are purchasing is, in fact, legally harvested. FSC certification once provided that guarantee, but recent events have caused people to wonder.
Because we want to be aboveboard, J. Gibson McIlvain looks for suppliers that offer more than just the FSC guarantee. The Timber Legality and Traceability Verification (TLTV) is one of these. This certification is overseen by the Societe Generale de Serveillance (SGS), and through regular audits and continued monitoring, the SGS verifies a company’s wood production and also its tracking information. This is so thorough that it literally tracks everything a lumber mill does, and this easily weeds out illegal practices. Basically, TLTV takes over in verifying the legality of the wood once it leaves the forest and the protection of FSC oversight.
We also pursue wood with Verification of Legal Compliance (VLC). This looks at the way in which the tree is harvested and makes sure that it is legal. VLC takes into account state and local laws about forestry, which helps to ensure that valuable hardwoods continue to thrive. In most instances, wood with VLC certification is harvested in a low impact way.
For exotic hardwood lumber aficionados, African species are part of a bad news/good news scenario. The bad news is that as the available supply of popular South American lumber species such as Genuine Mahogany continues to dwindle, the prices tend to skyrocket. The good news is that several comparable African species are comparatively plentiful. Realizing the problems with the South American lumber market actually makes the African market preferable in many ways.
While African exports are generally managed by Europeans, McIlvain Company directly imports the lumber that we sell. If, as with other lumber suppliers, your order has come from Africa by way of Europe, it will have been marked up by each of 3 or 4 middlemen, increasing the price you pay. What this translates into is lower quality lumber for the same price you could pay for the premium lumber supplied through a direct importer like McIlvain. Because we refuse to accept sub-par lumber, you won’t find the least expensive boards at our lumber yard; you will, however, find the best lumber for your money, dollar for dollar and board foot for board foot.
Concerns over dwindling supply and unethical practices have prompted many woodworkers to shun exotic species. Instead of saving forests, however, decreasing demand for exotic lumbers by avoiding their use actually leads to repurposing of the land. The people who sell their exotic lumber need a market for their trees; even the most noble forestry management enterprise cannot afford to continue in the forestry business with continually decreasing lumber values.