Thermopine® is the new black!
Over the years, black timber cladding has become a prominent trend amongst customers and architects, and Russwood has long been perfecting this contemporary aesthetic without compromising on performance and maintenance. After extensive research and testing, we are proud to offer high-performance timbers with a factory-coated paint finish for achieving the black cladding look.
How is the black coating achieved?
At Russwood, we use an in-house factory controlled coating process with paint to achieve an opaque matte black finish (RAL9005, Jet Black or RAL7021 Black Grey). This high-performance paint ensures a true matte appearance, avoiding the glossiness often seen in black coatings. The film coating is machine applied on all sides to achieve a consistent surface coverage which provides an extended coating performance.
Our testing revealed that significantly improved performance of dark coatings can be achieved on Russwood’s Thermopine®. This timber has very low levels of seasonal shrinking and swelling, is free from resin, and therefore acts as a superb substrate for dark coatings. The maintenance cycle for Thermopine® is reduced due to it’s stability and is easy to carry out on-site using brush application. By contrast, the longevity of a charred finish is difficult to achieve and maintain. The testing Russwood carried out in the Scottish Highlands showed that on South and West facing elevations, charred surfaces can start to degrade after just a couple of winters, while dark coatings on Thermopine® last for years and are easy to maintain when required.
To demonstrate the unique design possibilities of our blackened timber cladding, Russwood’s product development team came up with a multitude of black cladding arrangements using different profiles, section sizes, surface finishes and fixing options. The cladding was installed externally on the flooring showroom building on Russwood’s main site in Newtonmore and has been gaining a lot of attention from visiting Architects, Designers and Self-builders.
Thermopine®: surface finishes
Thermopine® is a highly stable and durable timber, made by thermally modifying Scandinavian-grown Scots Pine using just heat and steam. This process enhances the timber’s resistance to movement, meaning that paint coatings last up to three times longer compared to non-modified timbers. The result is a significant reduction in maintenance and overall lifetime costs of the product.
Russwood offers Thermopine® in three distinct surface finishes:
- Planed – planed timber with a smooth surface finish
- Wire-brushed – sculpted surface finish showing accentuated natural figuring
- Microtex® – A fibrous surface finish designed to provide optimal performance of coatings
In contrast to Thermopine®, which has more-rustic features, dark-coated Accoya® timber creates a sharp and crisp appearance, free from knots or other characterful minor imperfections typically found on other timbers. Accoya® is incredibly stable, straight and offers the best coating performance of all external timbers. In contrast to Thermopine®, which has more-rustic features, dark-coated Accoya® timber creates a sharp and crisp appearance.
Key Points
Thermopine® is an ideal substrate for black coatings due to its dimensional stability.
Our specialist Teknos paint system delivers a highly sought-after matte finish, which is difficult to achieve with black coatings.
Paint coatings offer superior longevity compared to charred finishes and are easier to maintain.
Inspiration Gallery
Interested in black timber cladding?
If you’d like to find out more get in touch with us.
