Padauk is an exotic wood species that is very suitable for laying wooden decks. It is used extensively in contemporary homes because of its aesthetic appeal. In this article we will tell you about the characteristics of padauk and then explain how to maintain a new or greyed padauk deck.
What are the characteristics of exotic padouk wood?
Padauk is an exotic, pinkish-brown wood from Africa. It is the most colourful wood you can find. It can sometimes be known as "Coral" in reference to the colour of the wood. Padauk exotic wood can take on a slightly purplish-brown tone as it ages.
Padauk wood is class 5 and is very durable (20-25 years). It is very water-resistant and can therefore be used without concern around swimming pools. Padauk is characterised by its high stability. This means that deformations of the wood due to moisture are very limited.
With a padauk deck, the risk of splinters is very low.
Although ipe is still the best-known exotic wood, padauk can be a competitor. The main attraction of padauk is its aesthetic originality.
SHOULD PADAUK TERRACES BE MAINTAINED?
Apart from preserving the colour of your padauk deck, treatment is not compulsory as padauk is a class 5 wood which is therefore very resistant to damage (insects, fungi, termites, etc.). If you do not protect your padouk terrace, it will turn grey over time under the effect of UV rays. This is known as the greying of the wood. The ageing of a padauk deck is quite normal, this grey appearance occurs on all woods when they are not protected.
In the case of an untreated terrace (conservation of the grey aspect), the maintenance of the padouk terrace will be limited to a cleaning with water.
Protecting a new padouk deck
If you wish to preserve the original colour of your padouk decking, we advise you to protect your wood with a saturator after the installation of your deck. We advise you to wait a few weeks of exposure before applying the saturator to your padouk deck. The aim is to wait for the pores of the wood to "open up" in order to facilitate the impregnation of the product into the wood. To saturate this exotic wood, you can opt for a saturator for padouk and exotic woods such as the Exotic Wood Saturator SBE600 in our range. This saturator is easily applied in layers and should be applied every year or two to maintain the beautiful colour of the padauk.
Protecting a grey padouk terrace
If you have waited for your padouk deck to turn grey, you will need to apply a stripper such as Degreaser DG105 to remove the grey haze that has formed on the surface. Indeed, to ensure a uniform result, saturators such as Exotic Wood Saturator SBE600 cannot be applied to greyed wood
