suggestions for decking oil on Tallowwood

Hi all,

My first post in this forum as new member.

I'm just finishing off a large (60+m2) dressed Tallowwood deck in Melbourne. It's looking really speccy :), and I'm starting to hone in on how I'm going to finishing it off. 1/2 of the deck will be undercover half exposed.

Oil is my inclination, and I'm leaning towards Cutek CD50 or Osmo 420 Ext Oil, but really the Osmo at twice the cost would want to be worth it ! I'd prefer the more matt finish of the Cutek, but hey I don't know everything that is out there on the market. If other options out there (Intergrain, Sikkens, Haymes, and heaps of others) but I have no way of assessing these options.

I'd love to keep the maintenance down, but hey, I've done enough work to know that I'll be re-oiling each year at least, and realise that's the price of keeping quality wood looking great.

So, I'm definitely open for opinions. .... throw them at me, please !

Cheers

I used Intergrain on a tallowwood tongue and groove front veranda. The problem is that you aren’t supposed to recoat if the surface coating is in good condition. In my case the front cops the weather and the back doesn’t so theoretically I should only coat the front but where do I stop? Will it leave a line? Should I sand the whole lot back and recoat the lot?
Personally I wouldn’t use it again.

Many thanks for your thoughts & experience Lappa.

I can see that I'm going to have the same problem, and certainly don't want to be sanding each year.
I also didn't put in the original info that I'm shying away from water-based products, and it seems like all of the Intergrain products fit that bill, but I could be wrong on that

Cheers

I will be laying a Blackbutt deck soon and plan to use Cutek with one of their tints. I prefer the natural oil look but it doesn’t hold up over time

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Originally Posted by treeroo

Cutek CD50 or Osmo 420 Ext Oil, but really the Osmo at twice the cost would want to be worth it !

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In making that assessment make sure you account for
a) the m² coverage and
b) the number of recommended coats
because it's the total cost of doing the job vs finish quality that counts. If a product is nett 20% cheaper but is not as good then....

For example if the Osmo does 25% more m² per litre then it is 60% more expensive rather than 100% (or double) more expensive. Similarly if one is 2 coats and the other is 3....

that's a vote #1

good point, and one that'd thought about. The other factor is how long it lasts. If it does two or three years rather than one, then it can be worth. it is a long haul proposition. Particularly if different compounds are not compatible

..... So, that raises a question for me around Osmo. When I was hunting for the decking material I found a supplier of Osmo for my kitchen bench, and then asked whether it would be compatible with the tung oil and wax that I've used for years. The answer was a resounding 'no', that it's chemical formulation was not compatible with anything else. Not sure if that's correct or not, but that's what the sales guy said. any comments here ??

..... A major part of my thinking is to keep my options open for how the deck matures over time. It's major investment / project & long-term proposition, but it certainly will evolve. I'd prefer the option avoiding totally commitment at such an early stage of it's evolution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by treeroo

The answer was a resounding 'no', that it's chemical formulation was not compatible with anything else. Not sure if that's correct or not, but that's what the sales guy said. any comments here ??

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And I suspect he's quite right. Osmo PolyW Raw has a different solvent to anything I've used. Smells somewhat like fly spray! It's also a quality product.

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Originally Posted by treeroo

I'd prefer the option avoiding totally commitment at such an early stage of it's evolution.

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With some finishes you have to poo or get off the pot (or get back on the pot via sanding right back if you want to use something else). That includes pretty much anything that puts a film on the job - which is the best seal, of course...and Osmo probably does that (can't comment on the Osmo product you are considering but...)

The only products that allow you to be part-pregnant are typical oil finishes, where you can use a different one for the next re-coating. Can't comment on Cutek, but Osmo is NOT a typical oil product. It is a Hardwax Oil which is different.

Thanks for that likely confirmation on Osmo, and on that the oil based approach is a bit half pregnant.

Given the durability of tallowwood, and it’s naturally oil feel, I think the oil will probably be fine. It really is such a naturally oily/ waxy wood. The test bit that I tried with oil didn’t look or feel much different a week after application, and was similarly hydrophobic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by treeroo

Given the durability of tallowwood, and it’s naturally oil feel, I think the oil will probably be fine. It really is such a naturally oily/ waxy wood. The test bit that I tried with oil didn’t look or feel much different a week after application, and was similarly hydrophobic.

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That's a very different thing to longer term UV degradation (i.e. going grey). The ONLY way to stop that is via a tint of some kind.

FF makes a good point, do you want to hold colour or go silver?

I recently did a big job with over a thousand metres of tallowood cladding and it was coated with the Cutex but the intention was to protect the timber and let it go silver
There is no UV inhibitors in the clear finish so you need to select a tint to add to it for any form of colour retention

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

That's a very different thing to longer term UV degradation (i.e. going grey). The ONLY way to stop that is via a tint of some kind.

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actually, I wouldn't mind that all ....

that was my original intent, but then realised that one 1/2 will grey off much quicker than undercover. That's why I've leant towards keeping up the oil, knowing full well that I will never keep them the same no matter how often I treat the exposed deck.

As for a tint, I'd rather go natural oil or let it grey off

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Beardy

FF makes a good point, do you want to hold colour or go silver?

I recently did a big job with over a thousand metres of tallowood cladding and it was coated with the Cutex but the intention was to protect the timber and let it go silver
There is no UV inhibitors in the clear finish so you need to select a tint to add to it for any form of colour retention

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Hell, that is a big job ! this was 600 lm, doubling that is a HUGE deck !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by treeroo

actually, I wouldn't mind that all ....

that was my original intent, but then realised that one 1/2 will grey off much quicker than undercover. That's why I've leant towards keeping up the oil, knowing full well that I will never keep them the same no matter how often I treat the exposed deck.

As for a tint, I'd rather go natural oil or let it grey off

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Well in that case take the easier cheaper option, although it will probably require more frequent recoating to feed the timber. Recoating traditional oil finish is pretty quick and easy though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Well in that case take the easier cheaper option, although it will probably require more frequent recoating to feed the timber. Recoating traditional oil finish is pretty quick and easy though.

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Yep, coming around to that idea. Maybe one year or two of a good natural oil to signify its completion / birth, and then after that just let it age gracefully.

So if I were to do that, what would be the oil of choice ? Open to suggestions. A more matt finish or low sheen finish is great. Gloss is not my thing. https://www.woodworkforums.com/images/icons/icon6.png

Treeroo what did you end up using on your tallowwood deck and how did it go? Have tallowood deck and having a similar dilemma - Used sikkens natural and its pretty orange

Any pics Rodog? I was thinking sikkens on tallowwood also but don’t want orange.

Hey mate!

Would love to know how this has aged, as I have a tallowwood deck. Approx 90m². And I used Cutek with a gold colour tone. Didn't turn out too great and it's been one year since birth and really struggling to decide what to do with it. Whether to start over and go water based or try just natural oil and let it silver off.
Such a big area requires alot of maintenance. I was hoping 12 months but with cutek it looks like I would need to do 6 months which hurts the bank a bit haha.

"I was hoping 12 months but with cutek it looks like I would need to do 6 months which hurts the bank a bit haha."

I'm afraid I have to agree. It hasn't worked out great at all. The area that is undercover wears really well, doesn't change colour much and remains hydrophobic. The area that gets the sun, mostly in the summer months since it faces south, need re-coats every 6 months or more. Actually more. It's now mid Feb, and I'd recoated in early Dec, so make that 3 months! This is the 2nd year it's behaved that way. I know it will need more coats again in couple of weeks before the cooler months.

When I was in contact with the distributor while looking at options he suggested that high traffic areas might need a top up every now and then when the hydrophobicity wanes. Afraid not. Traffic or no traffic the UV stability of Cutex Extreme is highly questionable in my opinion whether it is tinted, which i did initially, or not which is I've done subsequently. I'm not impressed at all for supposed quality product. It's really not a lot of maintenance but with increasing arthritis in my hands it is real (literal) pain.

I'd love to hear of some next steps / alternatives from folks. If you are going to use another product the manufacturer recommends sanding back which would be another really pain. Don't want to do that but I might have to :(