We are in the process of building a cedar deck. The cedar looks beautiful, but has a sheen to it. We decided to put Cabot’s Timber Oil (Honey Teak) on the floorboards and railing, and a different color on the ballusters. When I tried to ‘test’ the balluster color (Cabot’s SPF Cocoa Shell), the stain/sealer didn’t penetrate the wood very well. It looked “dirty” not stained.
Does the cedar need to be prepped or seasoned before it can be sealed? Can the Timber Oil be applied right away where the SPF cannot?
We have male dogs anxious to “initiate” the deck, so we would like to get it protected as quickly as possible.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Karen
Replies
I cannot answer your question but figured I offer some other advice. Cedar is a soft wood that weathers very well and will be very good against rot. But because it is so soft, be careful about anything hard that will dent and damage it. Dropping any hard object will leave marks and the worst is women with heals, they will mark it up like a golf ball. You won't have any problem with the rails though.
good luck
New lumber has what is called, mill scale. The wood pores are closed and natural oils are on the surface. Fresh red cedar is particularly prone. There are two ways to handle this. One is by letting the lumber age with the weather. The other is washing it. An ordinary deck wash of oxygen bleach will prepare the surface for accepting the stain or penetrating finish. It's a simple procedure but it involves a lot of water and a few good days to dry.
http://www.opwdecks.com/defytimberwash.htm
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Thanks for the information. I figured a washing might do it. Any suggestions on how long the wood will need to dry before we apply the oil? We have a moisture meter, so we can be pretty precise.
As far as the softness of the cedar, we plan to put a top coat/sealer on over the Timber Oil. Will that offer some protection (i.e. similar to poly on a wood floor) against dings? I got smart a while ago and don't really wear high heels anymore, but this deck/porch/terrace will be the main entry point to our house and will get a lot of traffic (both human and canine), so we want it to stand up to wear. We looked at composite and pressure treated lumber -- neither seem right on our 95 year old house. We looked at teak -- but I'd like to retire one day, so that was pretty much out.
Is there a top coat/sealer that will "harden" the cedar somewhat?
Thanks again.
Karen
Not that I know of. If the situation comes up again, look at Ipe decking, its the best material for decking and reasonable for price. Teak will not accept oil finishes, so you would have been letting it gray or using some type of shellac that would wear off easily on the floor. Good luck.http://www.ipedepot.com/compare.htmhttp://www.ipedepot.com/