Aspen Bibliography

Weathering Performance of Finished Aspen Siding

W.C. Feist

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Forest Products Journal

Volume

44

Issue

6

First Page

15

Last Page

23

Publication Date

6-1994

Abstract

Roughsawn and smooth-planed aspen (Populus tremuloides) siding was finished with several finishes and exposed outdoors on vertical test fences facing south in southern Wisconsin, southern Mississippi, and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Transparent, penetrating finishes protected roughsawn surfaces for up to 36 months in Wisconsin and 24 months in Washington, but only 7 months in Mississippi. A semitransparent oil-based stain gave better performance than the transparent finishes, two coats of stain protected roughsawn aspen surfaces for up to 10 years. Accelerated weathering studies on unfinished aspen predicted that transparent and semitransparent finishes would have good performance. Solid-color stains also protected roughsawn wood surfaces for up to 10 years at all three locations; smooth surfaces were protected for 5 years. The best finishes for aspen were acrylic latex paints. Even after 10 years of exposure at the three locations, two coats of acrylic latex paint over an acrylic latex or oil-based primer provided very good protection and appearance to both roughsawn and smooth-planed wood. All finishes evaluated always performed better over roughsawn surfaces than over smooth. Except for a solid-color oil-based stain, two coats of finish were always better than one, and three were better than two. The results show that aspen has finishing and weathering characteristics similar to those of softwoods like ponderosa pine, fir, hemlock, and spruce. Good construction and finishing practices are required to ensure good finish performance and protection against decay.

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