I thought mouse guards were largely to prevent the hungry wee beasties parking up in a hive at the start of winter. Winter has now finally decided to arrive but this is about the time I'd normally start to think about removing mouse guards.

As for tarting up the hives, I've been using Cuprinol Shades for a few years now. It's not technically "bee safe", but it's water based and non of my bees seem bothered by it compared to the bigger mistakes I tend to make.