We are grateful to all of our customers for yet another successful year at Perma-Chink Systems. Growth was a little tougher to achieve in this past The exceptional quality of Perma-Chink Systems’ log home maintenance and restoration products has always been vibrant, and now the company has launched a line that takes that philosophy quite literally.

Lifeline Accents, the newest addition to Perma-Chink Systems’ extensive interior/exterior stain product line, boasts a variety of features that everyone from professional applicators to the do-it-yourselfer will find irresistible, and the most obvious is color. Bold hues such as jade, garnet and midnight catch the eye, while more traditional tones, such as sand, umber and charcoal, round out the 18-color palette. Each vibrant color is designed to allow the wood’s grain to emerge, so the color complements the wood, rather than covering it. And unlike many other tinted stains, the color endures, meaning fewer touchups over time.

“Our new Lifeline Accents high-performance semi-transparent stains are designed utilizing our proprietary technology to highlight and protect both interior and exterior surfaces,” said Richard Dunstan, the founder of Perma-Chink Systems. “The combination of exciting colors and ease of application will expand choices and add value for both homeowners and applicators.”

As a leader and innovator in wood-finishing products, Perma-Chink Systems offers a complete line of specialized sealers, stains, finishes, preservatives and cleaners made for the unique needs of log, timber and wood-trimmed homes. For more information about Lifeline Accents visit our Web site.

Benefits

• High coverage rate
• Excellent UV protection
• Low maintenance
• Long lasting color retention
• Creates a wonderful accent for your wood trim, interior and exterior walls, millwork, timber, furniture and other elements of your home.

Handrails around your deck or porches should represent an attractiveness of craftsmanship and features of your home. Take a good look when you walk into your house. The craftsmanship of the wood railing often reveals the storyline of quality for the finished carpentry work. Here are a few things to consider regarding finishing your handrails.

As the handrails dry, cracks and fissures will develop on the surface. There is no way to prevent this from occurring. If a finish is applied before these open up, once they do open they provide a path for water to soak into the rail behind the finish. When the sun comes out and the rail heats up, the water turns into vapor which may exert enough pressure to actually push the finish right off the wood. In winter months the water in the wood will freeze and expand and that too can pop the finish off the surface. However if a finish is applied AFTER these cracks and fissures have developed, the finish will get into them during the application process essentially sealing them and preventing any rainwater from soaking into the wood.

We strongly recommend that handrail be allowed to dry to less than 20% moisture content before doing anything to them. This may take two to six months depending on how green they are and the diameter of the rails.

First, let's differentiate between the upper and lower horizontal rails and the vertical posts, spindles and balusters. Once dry, vertical surfaces like posts, etc can be finished just like a log wall. They rarely need to be sanded and one or two coats of pigmented stain as well as Advance Topcoat may be applied to them without a problem.

The horizontal rails are a somewhat different story. Although it may not be absolutely necessary to sand the lower rail it is always a good idea, especially if they are showing signs of splits and fissures. But it's the upper horizontal rail that requires the most attention. Once dry they need to be sanded. You don't want to sand them slick, you need to use 60 to 80 grit sandpaper or a medium sanding pad and just scuff them up a bit. This will remove any cambium or glaze on the surface and give the finish something to hold onto. After sanding, wash them down with Log Wash. It's not necessary to use a pressure washer, just apply the Log Wash with a sprayer, sponge or rag and rinse it off with a garden hose.

When the surface is dry you can apply the finish. We recommend the application of only one coat to start with. If you are using Ultra-1 or Endure, one coat is all that you'll need. In the case of Ultra-2 or Exterior it's better to apply the first coat then wait a few months before applying the second coat. That way the application of the second coat will help seal any cracks and fissures that may appear. Under no circumstances should Advance Gloss or Satin be applied to the top handrails. They can be applied to any vertical posts, spindles or balusters but not the upper or lower horizontal rails.

The main thing when dealing with the top rail is to avoid building up multiple coats of finish. The more coats you apply the more susceptible it becomes to peeling. That's one reason why you should not apply a topcoat to the horizontal rails. Since the top rail takes the most beating from the sun, wind and rain it will probably need some maintenance every year or two. One thing to look for is any large checks that open up. If the width of a split or check exceeds 1/4 inch, it should be sealed with Check Mate 2. That will help prevent large amounts of water from getting into the rail.

ver the past two years we all experienced the impact of economic turmoil. While many companies reduced their investments during this time, here at Perma-Chink Systems we believe brighter days are coming. We have continued to invest in new and exciting technologies for your home. Our new Lifeline Accents is just one example of our investment (see pages 1-2).

This year we are also introducing four new colors to our already industry leading 5-year warranty wood stain Lifeline Ultra-2. These additional colors expand our available pallet to 16 wood tones for your exterior. Between all the exterior colors we have a pallet of 43 unique colors to protect and distinguish your home.

In the area of Perma-Chink sealants we have developed a new acrylic-based product, Woodsman. This product is a high performance elastic sealant for general use around your house. Woodsman tightly adheres to all materials, including wood, metal, glass, concrete, brick, masonry, porcelain, tile, marble, glass and plastics; and stretches to maintain a tight seal. And lastly we are happy to introduce a powerful wood stripper, Smart Strip. This product removes the most stubborn finishes, paint, dirt and any other residuals to prepare your wood surface for staining.

In the area of customer service we are always adding more to serve our customers better. You can now connect with Perma-Chink Systems experts on Saturday from 8 to 5 pm to discuss your projects, get help with product applications or any other questions you have. For those of you with internet access we have developed easy-to-use webinars prepared by our experts. See a note from our webinar team on page 2 for more info.

You can reach us 24/7 and place your orders using our state-of-the-art shopping cart on www.permachink.com. When you are on our website please be sure to sign up for our monthly e-mail distribution to receive special discounts and coupons. This year we expanded our highly-popular workshops by adding more dates and more locations. Our mobile workshop van has allowed us to get closer to you. See page 8 for the workshops schedule or visit our website for up-to-date events. "At Perma-Chink Systems we are dedicated to the advancement of Wood Care technologies that are eco-friendly, easy to use and of the highest quality. We have more experience in formulating highly specialized products for log homes than anyone in the industry," says Rich Dunstan, company founder.

Just as clear coats are vital to the performance of today's automotive finishes our Lifeline Advance topcoats are an integral part of all of our exterior finish systems. Not only do they extend the life of the color coats but they do much more. They significantly improve the look of the finish by enhancing the color, clarity and depth of the finish. In other words, they make our finishes the most beautiful log home finishes in the world. Second, they help keep the surface clean. The very nature of a pigmented stain makes it susceptible to dirt pick-up through adhesion or impregnation. Since we have designed Lifeline Advance to form a smooth, strong film it makes it much more resistant to dirt. In addition, the smooth surface makes it easy to clean off any dust or pollen that may accumulate on the surface of the logs. A simple wash down with Log Wash and a garden hose will remove the dirt and grime that may be hiding the beauty of your home.

Another feature a smooth topcoat provides is greater resistance to the growth of mold, mildew and algae. In addition to water these organisms need something to grip onto. If the spores land on a tough smooth surface that rapidly sheds water they won't have an opportunity to germinate and spread. So the surface of your logs stays free of unsightly mold spots and patches of algae.

Of course the best feature of Lifeline Advance topcoat is the perfection it provides to the color containing stain. Years ago cars left the manufacturer with a coat of paint. More expensive cars may have had several coats of paint but no matter how many coats were applied after a few years on the road the paint turned dull and started to flake off. Then car coating experts discovered the benefits imparted by clear topcoats. Today's car finishes remain shiny and last longer than ever thought possible all due to the application of clear topcoats. What is there about topcoats that contributes to this improvement?

The most performance enhancing feature of a clear topcoat is that it reflects sunlight. Sunlight is composed of several components including ultraviolet (UV) light. It's the UV that is responsible for fading colors and, in the case of wood homes, damaging wood fibers through a process called photo-oxidation. The more UV light that's reflected off the surface the slower the color coats will fade and less the wood fibers will be exposed to photo-oxidation thus extending the life of the entire finish system. Although satin finishes reflect a significant amount of sunlight, gloss topcoats reflect more which is why car finishes are shiny. The same holds true for our Lifeline exterior finish systems. Lifeline Advance Satin reflects most of the sunlight, but Lifeline Advance Gloss reflects even more, which is one of the reasons that log home gloss finishes are becoming more popular.

An additional benefit of a clear topcoat is the protection it provides to the color coats against degradation by airborne contaminates like sulfur dioxide, ozone and particulates. Even natural contaminates like tree pollen and bird droppings can damage or discolor the color coats by chemical reactions or supporting mold growth. Our Lifeline Advance topcoats provide a barrier that prevents this from occurring. These are some of the reasons why Lifeline Advance topcoats play a key role in the performance of all of our exterior finish systems.

Perma-Chink Systems, Inc. has been one of the most environmentally responsible manufacturers of Wood Home Care products for almost 30 years. We have always tried to lead the industry in innovative long lasting log and wood home care products that are safe for you and the environment and we’re still doing our part!

Our complete system of products is designed to work together to help you maintain and care for your investments while having minimal impact on the environment. From our restoration products to our finishes and sealants we strive for quality, longevity, and environmental responsibility. All of our finishes and sealants are low in V.O.C.’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), water based, environmentally friendly solutions for your log and wood home care needs. When you choose to use our products you can rest assured that you are purchasing quality products made in America by a company that focuses only on Log and Wood Home care needs, and you can be sure that our system will do what you’ve purchased it to do; help you protect and maintain your log or wood home.

Some of the recent additions to our system of products include Smart Strip a revolutionary finish remover that is safe for the user, the substrate, and the environment. Smart Strip is pH neutral, contains no methylene chloride, caustic or V.O.C., and is 100% biodegradable. It is a water-based stripper and it will not burn your skin! Smart Strip is easily applied using a brush, roller, or airless sprayer.

Over the last year we have switched from Corn Cob Media to New Age Blast Media, a recycled crushed glass media used for finish removal in log or wood home restorations. New Age Blast Media is environmentally responsible because it uses 100% recycled crushed glass. While it is not biodegradable it is safe to rake out and after a few rainy days it will sink into the ground. It is also better for the user as it contains no crystalline silica like other kinds of blasting media including sand, so there is no chance of getting silicosis from using it. Proper safety equipment is still advised! Lastly, New Age Blast Media is about half the price of a bag of corn cob grit and you will need significantly less of it to strip a wall. We have also switched all of our 30-oz and 11-oz sealant tubes to post-consumer recycled plastic tubes.

You can be sure that in the future we will be keeping our eyes open for even more ways to be an environmentally responsible company. Continuing the tradition that started almost 30 years ago!