Black Butt Decking - When to Stain and Finish?

[Gate 41]

Hello

We are in the final stages of having a new outdoor (uncovered) deck built in Black Butt and after visiting Bunnings today and speaking to the paint section, they advised that we should not stain/finish for atleast a month.

Can anyone confirm this is correct? Our builder has mentioned nothing like this at all. I did see on another posting that someone mentioned if the Black Butt is Kiln Dried it was ok to proceed, but I am not sure if our timber is as such.

Also, we are newbies to deck building and would love any advice on the best stains and finishes.

Thanks

[Lumnock]

Hi there.

I work at Bunnings in Belconnen/ACT, and agree with what they've said about leaving wood to dry out. I'm not very familiar with Black Butt so someone more knowledgeable will have to confirm this for you, but if it is a very tannin rich timber such as merbau (very common in decks) then it's best to leave it for 3-6 months. You should also periodically lightly hose the deck to help the tannins come out of your timber. However, if indeed your timber has ben kiln dried, then you should be fine to proceed much faster than 3-6 months. Calling up your timber supplier should give some insight into this.

As far as top coats go, I would recommend Sikkens top coats. They have a bit more of a sheen to the finished deck than a standard decking oil, but they offer greater durability from weather and traffic abbrasion. If you are more inclined to use a standard decking oil because you don't like having any lustre to your deck, then I would recommend finding Organoil (hard to find now) decking oil, or Integrain if you can't find Organoil.

Just my amatuer thoughts anyway.
Hope it helps!

[orraloon]

Blackbutt is not bad for tannins but it is good to let the wood stabilise for a bit first. I am a fan of oil finishes for decks as it is easy to repair scuff and scratches. The choice of coating is yours depending the look you are after. When I built my deck I laid out the boards on the frame and oiled the back of them the day before fixing. The top of the bairers got a lick too in an effort to prevent moisture lurking between the timbers. This may be overkill but made me feel like it will last longer. You can then leave the top for a spell if you like before finishing.

[Colourland]

Quite a simple answer.

If the timber is a hardwood and is dark in colour then 6 to 8 weeks weathering before coating.

If the timber is hard and light.. 2 to 4 weeks.

If the timber is soft.. 1 week.


If in doubt... throw 1 coat of the cheapest, nastiest decking oil you can find on the timber .. that will retard the possibility of the timber warping (especially if they are wide boards) whilst not being enough to complicate the matter of using the final coating you desire (remember.. many coatings are incompatible with each other).
Regardless of the timber or the coating.. it MUST be washed properly before a main coating is applied or it will void that products warrently (thay always ask about the preperation) and you will run the risk of other issues( not always the case but better to be safe than sorry)

[titojordie]

Without a doubt the state of the art Deck stuff is Cutek CD50. No cure time waiting required, in fact you can coat and stack your material before cutting which is ideal, if you've experienced that missed sides of boards look. Your boards can grey off quite a bit in the curing window, particularly if it's really sunny. Trust me it's the bomb, no build up on surface like spa and deck or sickens, it behaves like magic. I got mine from the guy that sells "Prestige no nails" deck fasteners, which are another cool product, though time consuming. I know that "shiver me timbers" in Williamstown, Vic sell it as well. I know it seems to defy all of the common rules of cure time, but thats how it works, Looks fantastic. All the best.

[Colourland]

Without a doubt the best Deck stuff is Cutek CD50. No cure time waiting required, in fact you can coat and stack your material before cutting which is ideal, if you've experienced that missed sides of boards look. Your boards can grey off quite a bit in the curing window, particularly if it's really sunny. Trust me it's the bomb, no build up on surface like spa and deck or sickens, it behaves like magic. I got mine from the guy that sells "Prestige no nails" deck fasteners, which are another cool product, though time consuming. I know that "shiver me timbers" in Williamstown, Vic sell it as well. All the best.

Unfortunately I have to disagree there.
Cutek is very poor .. UNLESS you choose a colour ..
I have done comprehensive tests of Cutek against other products and if you read the back of a CLEAR cutek can - it says.. "Allows timber to achieve a natural grey colour"
Now if you choose a colour... then that is different and refer to my sunhat paragraph in my posts.
90% of builders/painters, etc. that have been into my store and used Cutek had not realised it would allow the timber to grey and have been very dissapointed.. referring to it as similart in life to Intergrain Dimension 4 (3 months- which is a temp pre treatment).
Cutek is being pushed mainly by architects, which is resulting in it being specified on worksites. This is how most new products enter the market - by a company getting a product specified.
If you can convince a product to be specified, then the appilicator has very little choice in using it but it does not mean it is the best product for the job.

[titojordie]

Fair enough, true and cutek specify using a color (pigment) as UV protection. I failed to mention that. UV's , to my understanding, will kill the natural surface color in any wood eventually regardless of the product. I am not a chemist but have worked with a lot of products as a professional painter. This stuff goes on like an oil but sort of stays suspended on the surface soaking in for days. Grab a liter and check it out, really nice if you want a stabilized oil type finish without a build that will flake and be a mess. Cutek have a prewash which is basically Oxalic acid and whatever is in napi-san. They also have a harsher wash which will restore color to old timber(careful the garden 8) ) If you have new timber , it does not need to be washed, thus the beauty of Cutek CD50. Not sure about the politics of Deck products.