Sealing spotted gum weatherboards

Hi all,

i have over 1000m of green spotted gum weatherboards to install. I was planning to seal the ends and front with an oil based primer and leave the backs as the original part of the house was done this way. But I’m a little concerned about literature I’m reading saying to prime all round.

Is this really necessary? If so, why do the original boards look fine after 80 years when they didn’t have the backs sealed?

If I did seal the backs, is there any reason I couldn’t use danish oil? I happen to have a fair bit of if and if goes on relatively easily.

Many thanks

Check with your timber supplier as they know the history of that timber and what it is likely to do, or not.

probably to late now but the reason the old boards were not sealed is because the timber was seasoned properly in those days.
Today everything is "wham bam thank you mam" and you have green timber, which you should seal all round preferably with oil primer, otherwise when you mount them and paint the outside they will bleed down the rest of the paint work.