Best way to protect my beehive?

[amzar123]

I just wondered what people use to protect their beehives from the elements?

Anything special or just outdoor paint?
My hive is ceder and I quite like the colour it is already

 

[Beauhawk]

Cedar weathers very well due to the natural composition of the timber. I did oil mine which helps to protect and shows of the grain of the wood.

 

[amzar123]

Does that mean I don't need to do anything?

 

[Beauhawk]

Does that mean I don't need to do anything?

You can put them outside happy in the knowledge that they will last for many years without doing anything to protect the wood.

 

[Davelin]

Trouble is cedar looks lovely for the first summer and then not so good after the first winter. It will last years though if you don't mind it looking old.

I now paint all mine with cuprinol woodshade; a nice shade of cornflower blue.

 

[enrico]

Some of my thirty year old roofs are just beginning to rot!
Never treated!
E

 

[Skyhook]

Difficult to keep it looking new, but when I got 2 new cedar hives I treated one with 50:50 boiled linseed oil and beeswax, and l;eft the other. 2 years later the untreated one is grey, the treated one a nice rich brown.

.

 

[amzar123]

I quite like the way it looks now, how can i keep it looking like that? is everything bee safe as long as long as its on the outside? I know not to put anything inside

 

[amzar123]

I'm thinking : cuprinol wood preserver

 

[AugustC]

I use raw linseed oil and if I am feeling like I can be bothered I melt some beeswax into it first. I try to keep it natural, in this case it also keeps it cheap.

 

[Davelin]

I'm thinking : cuprinol wood preserver

Look for a low volatile label.

Let it dry and air thoroughly, no problem

Bees survived in creosote treated hives for years (and some still use it!!)

 

[PaulCarroll]

I like linseed oil, easy to apply, natural and enriches the cedar. Obviously need to ensure whatever product you choose has no harmful impact on the bees and not all products carry warnings in this regard, hence why I choose a natural product!!

 

[Skyhook]

is everything bee safe as long as long as its on the outside?

No. Read the tin, some products are insecticidal.

 

[leonotron]

I recently put together a new cedar hive. I put a coat of Rustin's Outdoor Danish Oil on it and then added some wax to the oil and put another coat on it. Anyone I spoke to said it's a good idea to protect a cedar hive rather than leave it to the elements.

 

[Luka22]

Difficult to keep it looking new, but when I got 2 new cedar hives I treated one with 50:50 boiled linseed oil and beeswax, and left the other. 2 years later the untreated one is grey, the treated one a nice rich brown.

I am getting really confused, some say boiled linseed oil, others say only use raw linseed oil, which one is the better one?

I have used boiled linseed oil with beewax last year, but I have boxes which are still sticky or look black because they seem to have hold all the dirt in them. When I scrape the layer off, I get the nice looking color again. What did I do wrong? I want my Cedar Hives in that nice brown color (a bit like Pine color) and I hate it when they turn grey. How would I reach that? raw or boiled linseed oil with beewax or maybe Danish oil? And how would I use it to make sure it's not sticky?

The bottle with the boiled linseed oil says that it should only be applied on wax free wood, if I want to re-apply that on my "old" Hives which were treated with wax, how do I do that?

All confusing, if you want to keep the would looking nice natural, brown wood color and not any sort of paint or grey from a sunburn....

Will linseed oil really protect the wood from turning grey?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bees survived in creosote treated hives for years (and some still use it!!)

All conventional hives in Africa are given the creosote treatment

 

[Roola]

Difficult to keep it looking new, but when I got 2 new cedar hives I treated one with 50:50 boiled linseed oil and beeswax, and l;eft the other. 2 years later the untreated one is grey, the treated one a nice rich brown.

.

linseed leaves cedar a really nice colour and preserves it well.

 

[Edwardking]

Trouble is cedar looks lovely for the first summer and then not so good after the first winter. It will last years though if you don't mind it looking old.

I now paint all mine with cuprinol woodshade; a nice shade of cornflower blue.

I've done mine with cuprinol too.