Deck Staining?

[Andrew Longman]

Well not staining. The wife doesn't want a tint, so clear preservative it is .

It is going to be good weather for the next few days so now seems to be the time.

Any suggestions? Any recommendations for the type/brand of preservative?

It is a new deck, finished about a six weeks ago, so the wood has dried and seems ready to accept treatment. It gets blasted will full Southwest sun for much of the day.

Pressure treated decking and mahogany railings with black aluminum spindles.

I plan to do a light sand to knock down the sharp edges and any splinters then treat the railings, then the deck.

Also, it is a "second story" deck so I could treat the underside. Is that worth it?

Plan to do it all over again in the spring and then again until I get full penetration.

[dando]

I've always used Thomson's for treating concrete and wood.

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

When we were doing the same thing, we were told that the Thomson's one sees in TV ads is not the same as what is sold in good ole enviro-friendly California. That explained why it had not worked very well for us in the past. The problem is that I never could figure out how to tell the difference between the stuff that works at Niagra Falls and what is so poor here.

Travel Guy uses Superdeck Brand Products: Professional grade exterior transparent stain and sealer. Comes in different colors. It doesn't work all that great either. He has to redo the redwood fence every year. Not sure it comes in clear. I tell you this so you don't consider it.

Do they still sell spar varnish?

I should think you'd definitely want to do the bottom to keep the moisture from wicking up through the boards.

[KLang]

Thompson's has the two top spots at Consumer Reports for clear finish. As TravelGal suggested, once you start with the stain, you will likely reapplying most years. Might want to get a sprayer if you don't have one.

[cameraman]

Mahogany railings? Seriously? Granted mahogany is rot resistant and pretty but it runs about $16 a board foot:eek:

For the railings you need a marine oil with serious UV protection. I would recommend using a non-plastic oil based finish. I would use an exterior tung oil on the railings. An oil finish is repairable, you simply clean it with ammonia, lightly sand with a 400 grit paper and recoat it every year. It isn't a classic hard finish that requires scraping and can craze, crack, peel and otherwise be an absolute nightmare to repair. I have used it on cherry trim that is exposed to the weather and it looks great and lasts.

I use Sutherland Welles exterior polymerized tung oil sealer for the first couple of coats and their medium lustre exterior polymerized tung oil for the top coats. It is very easy to apply and yields a furniture grade finish that you can maintain for years without killing yourself.

http://www.sutherlandwelles.com/products/tung-oil/exterior-polymerized-tung-oil/


As for the pressure treated stuff you want a clear finish that is meant to be reapplied. Again an oil type, absolutely no pigments but with ample UV blockers.

[Andrew Longman]

Thanks!!!

I used the tung oil as suggested and it looks and feels fantastic. That is my most definitely preferred way to finish furniture but I had no idea there was exterior formulas. Definitely the way to go.

BTW, I used the mahogany, at the recommendation of a friend who helped me build the deck and does this for a living, because it is much less likely to warp and go to crap. Same for the aluminum spindles. Costs a lot more but lasts a lot longer if you care for them. Pressure treated, no matter how you treat them, the railings and spindles are usually the first warp and look like crap.

Double BTW, I talked to my friend last night about the tung oil and he said, "Sure. That's stuff is great. I use it all the time. That's what I would have told you to do"

Funny, for some reason I think first to go to this group of yahoos here for the best advice on bacon, smoking, tech support and wood preservatives. :gomer:

[TravelGal]

Funny, for some reason I think first to go to this group of yahoos here for the best advice on bacon, smoking, tech support and wood preservatives. :gomer:

And every other thing you (I) can think of.

Glad to know the tung oil worked out. When I read the suggestion, I remembered my days in OhHiYA, with 0000 sandpaper and tung oil. Like you, I had no idea there was an exterior version.

[Andrew Longman]

Update:

I needed to hit the deck with another treatment. I loved the tung oil but it need refreshing already.

And because I was having trouble finding tung oil in anything larger than a quart I went with this stuff. http://www.cabotstain.com/products/product/Australian-Timber-Oil.html

http://www.cabotstain.com/images/component/products/Australian-Timber-Oil_120x144.png

I used the Natural stain. It has a slight tint, but only to give more UV protection. It has tung oil in it along with some other oils. When dry it just brings out the natural wood beauty. I liked on the mahogany so much I bought another can an used it on the pressure treated pine decking. Fantastic. Even some parts of the deck that were getting some UV damage look fully restored.

Geebus is this stuff great. Goes on very easily with a pad (or spray) and requires no buffing.

Looks just gorgeous.

Unless it doesn't last, I can't say anything about it needs improvement.