Will shortly be installing an Indonesian hardwood deck. Trade name Merabu. The literature says to “seal it” on all 4 sides with a recommended oil-based preservative with UV inhibitors.
I would like to let the wood weather to its natural patina, but yet “seal” it. The deck receives full sun. I have only seen transparent stains marketed for this wood, and after a one season, the deck looks like awful.
The latest issue of FHB has a hardwood deck installation, and the author uses a similar product, made by Flood. These products last about a season or two, and then fail, and then need to be reapplied.
I was thinking of using a clear wood sealer, but not sure what product to use on hardwood decking. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Replies
Go to the web sites for Penofin or Sikkens. At my Ben Moore store they had sample packs of their products ( Sikkens )
Messmers is another one recommended by hardwood deck installers.
http://www.messmers.com/p_messmers_uvplus_hardwood_deck_stain.html
"These products last about a season or two, and then fail, and then need to be reapplied."
Not sure what your definition of 'fail' is here, or of "looks like awful"
Penofin has a good tropical woods formula with UV protection that will do the job, but it does need re-application every couple years. It is an oil, not a film finish
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Not sure what you mean by letting the wood weather to its natural patina, yet seal it.
If you want to let it weather to its natural patina but don't want it to look awful, then skip the sealer all together. I've worked wit Ipe, Garapa, and Massaranduba and they all go nicely from beautifully sanded to silvery patina.
If you insert the stain into that equation then at some point there's going to be the transition from stained wood to natural wood, and that always looks bad for a while until all of the finish has been weathered/dissolved off. (IMO)
But I definitely second or third the advice for Penofin if you're going to seal it. It works the best of the ones I've seen (though I haven't tried Sikkens yet, but heard it's good)
Paul
http://www.pauljohnsoncarpentry.com
I was thinking of not even sealing the deck boards, but I was worried about cupping, especially since the deck is at ground level. It sounds like you have installed these hardwood decks without sealing them.All of the hardwood decks I have seen have either been never sealed, or the owner just gave up on sealing them after the installation coat. These decks are not at ground level though.I would definitely love to avoid sealing the deck.
I do a lot of IPE on sleepers over EPDM roofs for decks, and seal with Penofin after it is done. Never seen any cupping. I face screw with SS trimheads
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I'm with Piffin, I face screw my decks with SS trim head screws. The only big cupping I've seen is with some of the hidden fastener systems.That Ipe definitely wants to move as it dries out, and it certainly could want to cup, but face screwing it seems to hold it in place just fine. I just finished a curved Ipe deck where I wrapped the skirt with 5/4" x 6" decking that I had bandsawed down to 1/4"- thickness. After about 1 week of being cut and installed each board has already shrunk about 1/16" in width and tried to curl up at the edges, but 3 SS screws per at 16" centers are keeping it nicely held down.If you do want to clear seal it though, I would definitely trust Joe's advice. That fine craftsman knows his Ipe and decks!Paul
I went with the Sikkens Dekfinish. I want to thank everyone for their input.
Regardless of what you do to the sides and edges it is best practice to seal the ends (end grain) to prevent checking. There are a number of products out there, they dry clear.
Just remember the key word in these oil finishes(which are the best for exotics) is "accumulating" product. That means up front you will apply more and as time goes on the frequancy of applications will lessen. my expereience is a couple times for the first couple years then every 18 months or so(in New England). If you get a good system it does not take long to apply a coat. I can do my 800 sqft. mahogany deck in about an hour, assuming i clean it the day before which probablt takes an hour. Well worth the look compared to greying or synthetics in my opinion. We all no if you ant something beautiful, it will need to be maintained.
I usually like my ipe to silver out, so I don't use a UV type oil base stain/sealer. I do like to seal the wood though, to help minimize checking, and water staining. What I have been using for the last few years was New Wood Defender (earlier it was called Seasonite) but they stopped making it. http://tinyurl.com/nl7xey It was waterbase, very thin like skim milk, soaks in and almost disappears. In a few weeks it's gone from the surface.After a long search I finally found a similar product, AquaSeal II
http://www.monopoleinc.com/catalog/index.php?action=viewprod&num=52
Just used it yesterday on an older deck of mine and was very impressed.http://woodsshop.com/