INTERIOR

General Care Tips

• Dust frequently. The Guardsman Fine Furniture Dusting Cloth is treated to attract and hold dust and leave furniture spotless.
• Use a quality furniture polish such as Guardsman's Furniture Polish. It will lessen your chance of expensive refinishing jobs. Polish approximately once a month.
• Clean up spills immediately. Use a blotting action rather than a wiping action.
• Use a soft, lint-free, absorbent cloth for cleaning and polishing. The Guardsman Polishing Cloth is ideal for this purpose.
• Avoid placing furniture in direct sunlight, as sunlight causes fading.
• Avoid extremes in room humidity. Too high or too low humidity can cause wood to warp or the glue lines to fail.
• Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Arrange furniture away from radiators, registers and air-conditioning units.
• Rotate accessories on furniture so they do not sit in the same spot all of the time.
• Avoid placing plastic or rubber objects on a wood finish, as their ingredients react with those of the finish.
• Use pads, cloth or felt to protect the furniture surface from plastic, rubber, hot dishes, beverages, bookends, flower pots and vases.
• Use a protective pad when writing with a ballpoint pen.
• Lift and place objects, do not drag them across the furniture surface.
• Make minor repairs while they are still small.
• Use the proper materials or professional help to repair badly damaged surfaces.
• Avoid wax polishes. Regular use of wax polishes may result in the build-up of wax film on the surface of the furniture. This build-up may then pick up dirt, smoke and other pollutants in the air, which may result in smudges and streaks. Used long enough, this may cause the finish to soften, requiring expensive refinishing work. Wax build-up over time hardens, making it difficult to remove from the furniture's finish.
• Avoid silicone polishes. Silicone oil is an ingredient used by many furniture polish makers to create a high degree of shine. Silicone seeps into even the most lacquered finishes, making it difficult to remove. Should it become necessary to refinish a piece of furniture, silicone makes it a very difficult process, even for a professional refinisher. Most furniture manufacturers recommend using polishes that do not contain silicone.

OUTSIDE

Wood Care

The day you finish installing a deck or other structure is the day trouble can start. Morning dew, rainwater and melting ice or snow are quickly absorbed by unprotected wood, causing it to soften and swell. Direct exposure to the sun's heat causes drying, which makes wood shrink. Continuous cycles of wet and dry, swelling and shrinking, cause wood to warp, split, crack and check - all of which lead to premature wood degradation and expensive repairs.

Unprotected wood is also subject to surface graying caused by constant exposure to the sun's ultra-violet rays. Persistent moisture exposure creates ripe conditions for the growth of mildew, mold, algae and other fungal organisms that feed on wood, eventually spreading across and staining the surface. Termites and other wood boring insects also use wood for a food source, causing ultimate wood rot and decay.

Preserve your wood's beauty and structural integrity

Once you've built, installed and protected your new wood structure with a water repellent coating, make sure to clean the wood and re-apply the coating every two to three years. Daily exposure to UV rays and precipitation will eventually wear away the coating's surface layer, thus making it necessary to re-apply periodically. To determine if that time has come, splash water on several sections of the wood, and observe how the droplets react. If they bead or puddle, repellency is still active, if they absorb rapidly, another coating is recommended. Generally speaking, the more water and sun exposure, the more frequent the need to re-apply, but you can count on a minimum two seasons of water repellency on horizontals, and up to 4 years of repellency on verticals with all WOLMAN brand coatings.

What is involved in protection?

After cleaning, you should apply a clear or tinted water repellent sealer, pigmented stain, or a wood preservative coating, depending on the level of protection and the look you want to achieve.

Why is it necessary?

Without protection, wood that is exposed to outdoor weather will eventually warp, split, rot and decay from water absorption, and gray from UV exposure. To stop this degradation, apply a protective coating fortified with water repellency and UV resistance. Non-pressure-treated wood is also vulnerable to rot and decay from fungus and insect attack, but can be protected with a wood preservative. Once coated, your wood will better withstand the elements, look beautiful, and give you many seasons of outdoor living pleasure.
What products should I consider?

These coatings prevent water and moisture absorption, so that structural damage like cracking and warping are minimized. Some water repellents are also made to protect other porous surfaces, such as brick, concrete and masonry. Select one of the following, depending on the substrate to be waterproofed, and the desired look you want to achieve.