Gday!
I’m new to beekeeping and I am starting to get my flow hive ready. I’m just looking for any recommendations on a wood finish I can paint my hive with. I want to stick with the natural wood look
Thanks guys!
Hi Kayla,
I’ve just replied to a post about Odie’s Oil which I’m interested in trying as it’s available in Australia. On my cedar hive I’ve used a 50-50 mix of pure tung oil and terpene for the first coat, followed by two coats of tung oil. It works quite well on the hive body but requires recoating annually, give or take, depending on where you live. There are numerous topics to read about it. It works well but, for me, it didn’t last long on the roof, which I ended up painting. That’s why I’m keen to have a crack at this Odie’s stuff which is available online from Sydney.
Awesome! Thanks so much. If you end up getting the Odies oil, let me know how it is!
Thanks
Hi Kayla, welcome to the forum! I wanted to keep some of the natural wood look too but it gets pretty hot here in the summers. So I use tung oil just on my Flow super (Classic, western red cedar) and light colored exterior grade water-based paint for the roof and the deep, which helps deflect heat better than the natural wood tone can.
Good luck with your choice & post us a pic if you can 
