Graying of Ayous wood
Just like other types of wood, Ayous also grays. Due to weather influences such as wind, rain and sun, the color of the wood changes to a beautiful silver-grey tone. With Ayous, this happens pretty quickly. On the south side of a facade that is exposed to full sunlight, the wood can turn completely gray within just a few weeks. If the entire house is covered with Ayous, it will turn completely gray within a few months.
Below you can see two pieces of Ayous, one of which was kept indoors and the other left outside exposed to all the elements for 12 weeks. Here you can clearly see how the wood naturally grays. The grain and drawings in the wood remain beautifully visible.
Ayou’s graying after a week
Ayou’s graying after 12 weeks
Even graying; this should be considered for eaves, balconies, and ceilings.
Under overhanging parts of the facade, wood significantly grays slower or not at all. Where the sun doesn’t shine, the wood won’t gray either. For instance, if you install it on the ceiling of an addition or a canopy, the wood’s brown color will remain untreated. If it’s a balcony or a protrusion, the facade directly beneath it will not gray, and there will be a color difference between these areas and the rest of the facade. To avoid this, careful consideration should be given to the choice of wood cladding during the planning phase.
How quickly does Ayous turn gray?
The speed at which it grays depends largely on the conditions. The orientation of the facade in relation to the cardinal direction is an important factor; the north side will gray much more slowly than the south side. As explained above, an overhang will also slow or even completely prevent the graying of the wood.
Treatment of Ayous wood?
If you want to treat Ayous cladding, you have three options:
Pre-graying of Ayous: The wood is already treated with a semi-transparent gray stain or oil, which means that the facade is already uniformly gray. In principle, this imitates natural graying and is therefore very suitable for facades that have a lot of overhangs.
Preserving Ayous Color: If you want to preserve the color, the wood must be treated with an oil or stain.
Treat Ayous with an opaque layer
For more information, see: Treating Ayous Wood
