Sikkens VS Oil

[Larry McCully]

I am a big fan of a good high quality Deck oil. The reason is that oil will absorb into the timber over a time and preserve it. As it needs re oiling, all you do is brush on a coat in the areas that look dry . Most decking products will last about 12 to 24 months before it will need touching up. Any top coat system will require a sanding back. But oils only need to be re coated. Sikkens and intergrain are excellent products, and i have used them both, But i personally would choose Feast Watson Deck oil.

[Larry McCully]

The other factor to take into consideration is that over a long period of time , i found that a top coat system started to deteriorate and looked shabby, With the oil, the timber went dark like all timber does, but it still looked fresh with no coating flaking and delaminating. On decks that are subject to high exposure to sun and rain, the traffic areas faded and the non used areas around newell posts and along the wall did not wear with the rest of the deck and looked untidy. With oil it all seemed to blend and with wear came a character to the timber.

[Larry McCully]

I have also seen 15 year old decks that were coated in 7008 polyurethane, That deck looked awesome, It worked because the deck was under cover and had no sun exposure on it, any rain exposure was fine , I would coat my deck in a poly if it was sufficiently protected from the Sun. The grain stayed visible all through out that length of time, The deck also looked prestigious. Look at your application environment and do some sampling while you are waiting to do your deck. Each coating precess has a different look to it.

[Larry McCully]

I just read your post again and saw that the floor sander said it was not worth sanding. That contractor is not worth considering his opinion. Sanding a deck is a common procedure with floor sanders and it is also possible to get it flat and smooth. Keep ringing around , you will find one that will do the job for you. If that other sander knocked you back, then he is not a tradesman and would have stuffed up your deck. Get it sanded, you will love the results.

[SIMONLEWIS]

Hi Larry,
Yeah I have now made the decison to use the Feast watson decking oil - seems like the sensible thing to do. The deck does get a lot of sun even though it is undercover. So you would recommend definately getting it sanded?
How do I know when the tannins have all leeched out? I have washed it a few times and it seems like its just dirt thats washing off.
If I use the floor sander and then use the deck cleaning product and then finish with feast watson - does this seem like the perfect soulution?
What will happen if i dont wait for tannis to fully wash out?
Cheers for all of your help mate

[Larry McCully]

Just getting it sanded will be fine without using a deck cleaner. As soon as you get it sanded then it needs to be coated . You will love the outcome. When you apply the deck oil it will seal it and you wont get tannin leech. If you are able to get under the deck and seal it that would be good also, but if you cant then thats OK. Sealing the underside helps in containing the tannin. Feast Watson is a good choise. Have fun

[Ragin]

Wow Simon you are going through everything that I went through on my Deck.. http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=36164 .. I still would like a Semi gloss finish although I really do not want to have to re sand my deck every year.. I used the feast watson jarrah on a light colour wood.. Would be interested in seeing some pics of yours.. Good Luck!

[Extracare]

Larry,

two questions with the sanding.

Should the sanding be done with the belt sander or the large rotary (progress/canterbury)?

Presumably 80/100 grit would be the go?


Cheers

[SIMONLEWIS]

I'm having a great deal of trouble finding a person who will sand a deck in mildura. :mad:
What will be the difference in the end product if I didnt sand the deck before oiling - or is it worth hiring a sander and doing it myself - is it something that anyone can do, or is there a knack to it????
Cheers Guys

[silentC]

For what it's worth, I'm not going to sand mine. There are two, or probably three reasons (although two of them are really the same).

1. The edges of the boards are arrised and I have arrised all the ends of butt joins. Sanding all the boards to an even thickness will remove the arris from many of the boards.

2. You have to punch all the nails before sanding.

3. I'm too lazy (see reason 2).

I'm sure it looks great but reason 1 is enough to stop me doing it, given that my decking varies in thickness quite a bit.

I hired a floor sander to sand the joins in my particleboard flooring. It cost about $70 for the day plus a few bucks for the belts. Not hard to handle but I guess there's a danger you could dig it in if you're not used to it.

[Larry McCully]

I would use a belt floor sanding machine. If it is a new deck i would grain in (sanding length ways) starting of with either a 80# or even a 100#. To get under the bottom rail of the balustrade , use a long noise hand belt sander. If yo wanted to polyvac it with a 150# that will be fine. It will present it better. Make sure you punch down all the nails first at least 3mm below the surface. You dint want to hit any of them with the sander or you will get sanding lines. You want a piano top finish. This sanding procedure will only needs to be done every 10 or more years apart. The end result is a prestigious Finnish and your deck will look superb.

[Larry McCully]

By the way . dont attempt to do it your self. get a contractor in . to save your self some money, get him to sand only. Specify the grit for him to finish of with. 100# and 150 or 180# on the polyvac. Dont worry it wont be to smooth that you will slip on the surface. Nabob has slipped on a gloss finish ploy floor. You do the coating. If you use oil you wont need any machinery to sand in between coats. With oil all you do is vacuum between coats.

[Larry McCully]

I'm having a great deal of trouble finding a person who will sand a deck in mildura. :mad:
What will be the difference in the end product if I didnt sand the deck before oiling - or is it worth hiring a sander and doing it myself - is it something that anyone can do, or is there a knack to it????
Cheers Guys

Where is mildura

[SIMONLEWIS]

Hi Larry,
Mildura is about 4 hrs from adelaide and 6 Hrs from melboure on the border of NSW and VIC. At the top of VIC.

[Extracare]

Thanks Larry for the sanding schedule. I'll post some pics of before and afters once I do it.