Deck finish recommendations

[Jim Podsedly]

I am in the process of power washing my deck. It is made with Cedar. After a drying period I will be staining. Clear.

I have used Olympic clear UV deck stain 3 years ago and not 100% sold on that.

Looking for recommendations. How is Cabbots? CWF-UV? or others?

Thanks,
Jim

[Greg Cole]

Cabot is my recommendation.
I've yet to use the "Australian Timber Oil" but I have been doing alot of exterior building this month and I would use it on the recent builds... but LOML convinced me to stain all the newly built PT stuff white. Since the house is gray with white trim & I used the "trex" style boards for the deck to match the house color.. the white railings etc will all match the house nicely and the deck/patio area will be much like an extension of the house.
Sorry for the wandering post (as usual...:cool: ).

Greg

[Hal Flynt]

Another Cabot user.

I used the "Heartwood" (transparent with an amber tint) stain on a 15 year old PT deck and it's the best stuff I have ever used. A buddy used the Austalian Timber Oil Flame Mahogony and his looks nice if you like the reddish hue.

Lowes now carries Cabot since Valspar bought them. They have sample plastic chips that are in each of the colors so you can lay them on the material to get a pretty good idea of how it will look.

[Jason Roehl]

How long are you expecting a clear sealer to last? The less opacity a product has, the less service life it generally will have. Clear can only rely on UV inhibitors, whereas stains have some pigment and paints go even further to pigments, UV inhibitors and polymers to protect itself and the substrate. My experience (as a painter) is that you're doing quite well to even get 2 years out of a clear sealer. More direct sun or rain, expect less.

[Jude Kingery]

We used Thompson's one year and didn't like it - after that - and rebuilding the deck - I've used Man-o-War Marine Grade Spar Varnish, think it's made by McCloskey. Did a real nice job, just clear, UV protectant. Best to you on your finish! Jude

[Steve Schoene]

Jason is right, clear finishes call for frequent maintenance. Oils finishes that don't build a film probably need to be recoated several times a season if the deck gets lots of sun.

Spar varnish has quite a few problems for a deck. It's so soft that it really isn't a good surface for walking on, but it might be just the thing for railings and the like that you want to look pretty. (In yachting this is "brightwork".) Teak decks even on the luxury boats that have them are generally allowed to turn grey--finishes make them slippery, not a good thing with a sea running.

There are no true marine quality spar varnishes sold in regular paint stores or in any of the big box stores, regardless of the name. There are three good brands of traditional spar varnish. They are Epifanes Clear High Gloss, Interlux Schooner, and Pettit Captains. There are also some two part clears at double the $30 a quart price of the three I listed.

Spar varnish, put on according to manufacturers instructions to apply 6 - 8 full coats will probably last a year in full sun, more if there is any shade during the day, or you are in the north. Even so, best practice is to sand and put on a maintenance coat every year. Touch up dings quickly. And, after a number of years, it may begin to lift anyway (show yellow patches) and then it is time to strip it all off and start over.

For the deck itself, painting or letting suitable outdoor woods turn grey are generally the best solutions.

[Rob Wright]

Penofin is a great finish. It comes in Transparent colors and LASTS a long time. Heard of this a few years ago and have used it on my cedar Adirondack chairs that sit outside year long in th enorth woods. It has worked great and beyond my expectations.

http://www.penofin.com/

$0.02

- Rob W

[John Downey]

is that Penofin lasts quite a bit longer than Cabots. But then, at 6800', we get lots of UV, and even the Penofin lasts only about 6 months- Cabots a little better than half that, both on ipe. Next time I plan to try out some Sikkens, though they've got a bewildering array of products to choose from, and some of their products looked like film finishes to me. Our local vendor does offer to test it on a scrap for you though, nice to try it out before buying a gallon.

Bear in mind, you'll get much better results with any product than I will though, due to location and wood type, so my experiences are intended more as an accelorated testing than the last word on any one product. You'll probably get two or three years out of Cabots or anything else you try -- excluding films.

[Hal Flynt]

A word on Cabot.

My deck is pretty much in the shade. I don’t have the uv problems that others have. I put a semi solid finish on about 6 years ago and after the second year it needed refreshing. That second coat looked like paint in order to get an even finish. I hated it from that point on. I pressure washed it the next year and used a lye based remover (much work) and pressure washed again. The next year I did spot lye remover and pressure washed. Last year I used Olympic linseed oil based treatment and it er to me. This year I did Oxygen bleach cleaning, let dry and used the Cabot’s. Now I like my deck again. I swore never to use pigment again. I just didn’t like the way it looked. The “Heartwood” color I used looks like an amber teak on some cheap “white whitewood” Adirondack Chairs my wife bought (assembled and stained at the same time and they sat outside since last summer, second coat a month ago, looking good,) The same color on new PT pine took on a more reddish side of amber hue and the 20 year old deck with a linseed oil treatment a year ago has a nice medium pecan/western cedar look. The next few years will tell the true story.

The Australian Timber Oil may have more UV protection than the Clear Solution, but the both have what they call Trans oxide/oxide pigments. Cabot makes another product that I might try next year that is specifically a UV inhibiter that comes in clear or some tones. I have not tried the Penofin, so I can’t comment on it. I first learned about Cabot on a pressure washing forum, but there were no dealers within 30 miles. Now Ace and Lowes carries it here in East Tennessee.

[Montgomery Scott]

After building a new cedar deck two years ago I first applied Behr to it; crap. We get about 48" of rain annually where I live and the stain failed after three months in the rain.

Sikkens was recommended by the local Benjamin Moore paint store. I applied it last summer and it still looks great. We get sun about five months out of the year so I don't need superior UV resistance.

[Al Wasser]

I can't tell you what to use but I can tell you that if you put on a finish late summer or fall, you greatly increase ice buildup. Yes, been there dome that - ouch. Seems as if the finish stops all moisture penetration so water sits on the surface of the wood and becomes ice and when you step on it.......:mad: Apply the finish in early summer so some if it wears off.

Gary Sullivan has a weekend radio show on home mtce. He often mentions some finish that is supposed to last for 7 yrs. You might check his web site out