Deck restoration (thinking about deck oil? read this first)

[mj62mj62]

Hello All

I want to revive my deck to make it look like new, especially as I'm getting one part of it re-built from scratch.

Here is how it went:

I used Liberon Decking Oil to get this wonderful finish on my deck:

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• mj62mj62
• 14 Aug 2014
• 1

I had applied the two coats within 20 minutes of each other, as instructed, but it was a hot day and I think the first coat had dried or maybe I used too much oil in places...

After just 1 year spots started appearing like this:

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• mj62mj62
• 14 Aug 2014
• 1

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• mj62mj62
• 14 Aug 2014
• 1

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• mj62mj62
• 14 Aug 2014
• 1

But even if I'd re-oiled every year, I would have been in this same predicament:

- If you oil over those spots, the oil just preserves the grey spots in their grey colour.
- If you oil over the oil which has survived, it makes it a bit darker.

So by re-oiling you dont get that great colour back, nor do you get consistency. You get a camouflage effect.

So why bother re-oiling as it isn't improving the appearance?

So this year (4 years later) I tried again to revive it. I scrubbed and cleaned a test area with decking cleaner, then re-oiled.

The final result doesn't look much different:

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• mj62mj62
• 14 Aug 2014
• 1

I'd love to get the deck back to that original photo. Or perhaps some kind of stain. But I'd need a way or removing all the oil first, and it's a large deck and hand scrubbing it could take a long time!

 

[AronSearle]

1. This is what you get for using an oil MWAAHAHAHAHA

2. Jet wash clean - be wary with softwoods that some jet-wash machines can be a little brutal and may cause a ripple effect to develop as earlywood and latewood layers have different densities.

3. Either let it weather to an even grey colour (not advisable if part of it is shaded by trees), or apply a pigmented stain, the level of pigmentation will affect UV resistance and so it's durability. Durability of coatings is also affected by abrasion, either by foot traffic or heavy rain. Note that dark stains may increase thermal gain, and so cause a little more shrinkage in summer.

4. Stains erode over time, so it is important to re-apply before they allow the fibres underneath to weather, otherwise you will have to repeat item 2. Typical maintaince time for stains is 2-5 years.

 

[mj62mj62]

1. This is what you get for using an oil MWAAHAHAHAHA

hahaha Lesson learned!

Thanks for your advice, I'll try to find that right time to tackle it. I think it's going to be a big job!

 

[NicKarla]

With oil being so bad I wonder how this product comes so highly rated. There are reviews that have reflected the condition after years of use, not just the initial impression. If you include at the colour variants, there are hundreds of reviews.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-timber-decking-oil-clear-5ltr/44785

 

[AronSearle]

For every handfull of people that say 'this is great and it last years', there is a bigger handfull of people that say 'this looked great for a year, now it looks like tat'.

Oils need yearly (or more) maintenence, this is no trade secret.

If you go in with your eyes open, and accept that oil's are what they are, then that probably is a great product at the price.

 

[NicKarla]

I personally don't see oiling once a year to be a chore, especially if it keeps it looking good.

 

[AronSearle]

Lot's of people are lazy though, people in the UK don't generally like doing maintenence and once a year is a dealbreaker for a lot of people.

 

[NicKarla]

There's a big difference between needing to reoil it once a year to keep it looking good and the pictures we see above that are after just one year.
From your reply it sounds as though using oil will ruin the deck rather than just be a maintanence chore.

 

[Nige F]

I Think ? you can get a powered nylon brush that spins like an angle grinder? Might be worth having a google around that kind of thing- that should clean the wood back.

 

[NicKarla]

For every handfull of people that say 'this is great and it last years', there is a bigger handfull of people that say 'this looked great for a year, now it looks like tat'.

Oils need yearly (or more) maintenence, this is no trade secret.

If you go in with your eyes open, and accept that oil's are what they are, then that probably is a great product at the price.

I don't see any handful of people saying oil looks like tat after a year, in fact the overwhelming advice on here is to oil decks over any other treatment. From your first post it suggests that after a year your deck will be ruined (the mwaahaa comment) and need fixing, then you say it's a simple case of re oiling annually to keep it looking good.

From the picture it certainly does not look like it was simply caused just by oil, rather there must have been some other factors involved which is important to state rather than just make sweeping and misleading comments such as 'that's what you get for using oil'.

 

[AronSearle]

I don't see any handful of people saying oil looks like tat after a year

There are hundreds of examples that I can point you to, as well as technical literiture, I've also seen this time and time again. But you can also google the old finishers saying about oil

once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year, Once a year forever after.

This issue is nothing new. New finishes with UV and solvent additives are better than ye old finishes, but they have been shown repeatidly to still not last more than a year on average.

It's why some of the big brands had to re-label some of their products which originally gave 3 year lives to more vauge terms such as '12x improved performance' (12X? what).

the overwhelming advice on here is to oil decks over any other treatment

Because people like oil, it is the most attractive finish.

But lot's of people don't like the maintenence, and without maintenence it will end up looking like arse.

From the picture it certainly does not look like it was simply caused just by oi

No, it is differential weathering (uneven UV bleaching of surface fibres) which has occured due to the oil not lasting.

Which is 'what you get for using oil' but not maintaining it rigourisly, rather than just letting it all weather to an even colour (because you don't need to finish decking).

 

[r896neo]

In many years working in gardens and plenty of decks under my belt i have seen far far more problems caused by stains than oils. I would never recommend a stain as it is more prone to patchy flaking in my experience.

I think if you want to apply anything to a deck it should be oil. I am and disappointed for you that the oil seemed to take so unevenly.

 

[NicKarla]

From a large amount of researching (even googling specifically for 'problems with oiled decking' etc) I have found very few problems compared to the positives people have to report. Many problems associated with staining but the overwhelming response to treating decks is to go with oil. I have read some well written articles stating that not only do decks look better with oil but they help preserve it as well. I, for one, do not like the bare, weathered appearance that untreated decks take on.

 

[AronSearle]

Oil's do not preserve timber, plenty of 'well written' articles talk utter nonsense because laymen (no insult intended) don't understand the science of fungal decay.

I do not disagree that oil's are the best for appearance, I personally have simply dealt with too many instances of lack of maintenence of oiled finishes causing exactly the issue in the OP. I have seen many examples of oils failing in less than 6 months, for too many people this is simply impracticle.

There is a reason a number of finish/oil manufacturers had to remove claims from their products packaging of having long durability.

I also personally wouldnt recomended a stain but to let it weather, but stains are much easier to maintain due to their longer life, and are more appropriate for the 'majority'.

 

[NicKarla]

Could you explain why oil does not preserve. I am a layman whose basic understanding believes oil displaces water, so therefore an oil soaked deck should reduce the amount of water a deck would take in, offering greater preserving properties.