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Over the past 20 plus years, Silva has developed an expertise in exterior wood coatings.
Many of our employees have travelled to North America to participate in an intensive training workshop to understand the ‘science’ behind wood coatings. Few companies in the industry have worked as hard to develop this extent of knowledge. This investment has enabled Silva to become the go-to company for factory coated exterior wood.
We are proud to have worked with the biggest names in architecture and would love to show you what we can do for you.
Since 2013 Silva has operated an in-house factory coating department, which now incorporates three specially designed state-of-the-art coating application machines.
Silva’s factory coating team can coat a range of timber products, including cladding, boards, fence/screen components, shingles, and shakes. The coating is applied to all sides of the piece, making it ready to install at any time of year regardless of weather or temperature.
* Samples are provided free of charge plus delivery costs and are limited to three per customer.
** Colour matching and custom colours are typically only available for larger orders. Please contact us to discuss your requirement.
Wood scientists have proved that the proper application of a suitable coating to exterior wood will significantly improve its performance, longevity, and appearance.
Long term research, conducted by the US Forest Products Laboratory, has shown that coatings applied to the wood before it is exposed to the weather will outperform coatings applied after the wood has been exposed (applied on-site after installation). Not only that, but the wood itself will also last considerably longer. The published study found that Western Red Cedar boards coated before being exposed to the weather were almost perfect after 20 years of exposure.
By applying the finish in ‘ideal conditions,’ we can eliminate the variables that affect the quality of a site applied finish. Weather, temperature, the humidity will affect finish quality, and keeping the wood clean, dry, and out of direct sunlight before applying the coating will have a positive effect on performance. Maintenance will be less frequent, saving both time and money.
SDF Precision Coat is a robust, effective penetrating stain for wood cladding. It allows the texture of the wood surface to show through, giving it a more natural look than traditional film-forming finishes, which tend to look 'plasticky.'
A collection of popular natural and opaque colours which are in constant demand, and often available from stock. Take advantage of economies of scale and benefit from lower prices and a shorter lead time.
Trend Series Natural is a range of semi-transparent colour tones specially created to complement the natural colour tones found in specific wood types.
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Light | Medium | Dark |
The Trend Series Opaque range comprises five stunning solid colours that offer maximum protection against UV and longer intervals between maintenance (than transparent or semi-transparent finishes).
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Rich Cedar | Cashmere Grey | Coniston Grey | Anthracite | Solid Black |
Whether you choose from the range of penetrating transparent finishes or from the collection of solid hide colours, Sansin Enviro Stains deliver exceptional beauty that lasts. The transparent finishes – available in a range of tones from Naturals to the powerful Ultra-Saturated range – are renowned for their ability to enhance the character of wood with remarkable clarity, depth, and crisp, clean colour. The solid hide colours have exceptional UV and fade-resistant qualities.
Sansin has harnessed the power of nanotechnology to create colour as you’ve never seen before. An innovative process atomizes the highest quality pigments into tiny particles. These incredibly fine particles combine with the protective oils and resins in Sansin Enviro Stains on a molecular level. Once applied, Sansin’s penetrating stains carry the pigmentation down into the wood for vibrant, uniform, and long-lasting colour.
Even if you prefer your exterior wood to weather down to a natural silver-grey colour, it is still essential to protect it from the damaging effects of moisture.
Sansin Wood Force is a low-VOC (volatile organic compound) water-borne penetrating sealer that aggressively repels water while allowing the wood to breathe. Over a short time, the wood will weather uniformly to a beautiful silver-grey tone. Wood Force provides exceptional protection and will not break down with exposure to sunlight, retaining its water-repellency and protecting against weathering and wood rot. Because it erodes gently with time, maintenance is easy – just apply a fresh coat of Wood Force
Wood Force easily surpasses the ASTM 4446, the US standard industry benchmark for water repellency. Test results show that, on average, one application of Sansin Wood Force reduces water absorption by 84% and swelling by 72%, helping keep wood dimensionally stable.
Our colour lab can create specific colours to match your requirement. Want us to tone the colour down a notch? Or amp up the intensity of the colour up to make it more vibrant? We can do that.
Want us to match your corporate colour? We can do that too.
For this project, a massive steel structure at the back of the Broadcast Centre from the 2012 Olympics was repurposed to create space for local creative businesses.
Silva was involved in two of the twenty-one freestanding studios. The individual structures each have a unique facade that pays homage to Hackney Wick pioneers and industry from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Swizzels is a confectionery manufacturer that began on a market stall in Hackney in the 1920s and operated a factory in east London until 1940. As one of Swizzels' most popular products is Refreshers, architects Hawkins\Brown chose these colourful sherbet sweets as the theme for one of the facades.
Silva's job was to create vibrant pink, green, and yellow colours, which were then applied to Western Red Cedar boards by Silva's factory coating team. The architects wanted a particular colour vibrancy level, so it took some back and forth to achieve the final colours. As you can see from the picture above the end result was amazing.
If you are interested in this service, please get in touch to discuss your requirements.