This log home is a 1994 Hiawatha Log Home. The orginal finish that was on the home was Sikkens Cetol 1 and Cetol 23 in Natural. There was over 16 years of coat build up and the color of the log home has definately darkened due to this coat build-up. There was also a problem with mildew growing beneath the finish on the North wall. 
This could have been due to improper techniques being used during the original finishing of the log home or because Sikkens products do not allow the logs to properly breathe which allows for moisture to become trapped beneath the finish causing mildew and eventually rotten logs.
What originally started as a simple log home maintenance call ended up in a complete log home makeover to provide the homeowners with a higher quality product. Using Perma-Chink products will actually save them money in the long run due to a much easier clear coat maintenance system which prevents coat build up and darkening of the logs as well as allowing the logs to breathe which helps battle moisture and rot issues.
We had to completely remove the existing finish from the logs, fascia, porch posts, cedar entry-way, window trim, and porch soffit. We used a mixture of methods to remove the existing log home finish. We ozzied (sanded) all of the log walls, fascia, porch posts, and porch soffit. We also used Smart-Strip on the cedar entry-way and all of the window trim since the homeowners wanted to maintain rough sawn texture of the wood. Once all of the exisiting finish was removed we then washed the entire building using Log Wash.
When the log home was dry we applied a glycol based borate preservative treatment to the logs to protect them from insects, mold, mildew, and is a great rot preventative.
We choose to use Shell-Guard RTU since it is premixed and any leftover borate can be poured back in the container for use at a later date. Once the logs were below a 15% moisture content we applied the first coat of finish. The homeowners chose Perma-Chink Ultra Lifeline II - Oak. All of the caulking between the logs and around the windows also had to be re-caulked since it was damaged during the stripping process. Once all of the caulking was finished we applied the second coat of colorant and followed that up with 2 coats of Perma-Chink Lifeline Advance - Gloss. We followed up by washing all of the windows and installing the railings on the log home. This log home restoration project was a great success and the homeowners couldn't feel better about their log home.
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