The deck is nearing completion

Hi !!!First visit to this forum.:roll: Our deck... well it's been the January project and is 11 x 7 m.All the boards are laid and screwed down.:oo:
Lovely spotted gum with bloodwood posts for the rails etc .We are very pleased with our handiwork and are in the "what do we finish it with dilema:? "... Intergrain DWD was top of the list but after reading some more and scanning some of this sites forum we are thinking oil...Sounds like we need to leave it for a while, buy some napisan scrub it down ,wait a bit longer then finish it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:rolleyes:

Sorry, I can't really help you, but :worthless:, well not really, but it would be nice to see your handiwork. :)

Here it is - a husband and wife work of art and we are still talking!!!!:U

Wow, that looks great! It's huge.

You've still got a bit of work in front of you, staircase, footings under that overhang? And if that drop is over a metre you should have a handrail as well.

Yes the hand rail is a definite - this photo was pre the posts being put on. With three children we definitely have rails!!! The stairs are still in the planning stage - sourcing the timber at the moment..all an adventure!!!:;

Dear Nabs,

Congratulations on what appears to be an outstanding deck construction and well done on staying happy with your other half. The decision on what protective coating should be used can be very controversial and confusing. We all want to achieve the best possible outcome with the least hassle. If you are swayed by all of the advertising hype it can drive you crazy. If you break it down your greatest challenge is to block the UV from the sun which is the cause of timber greying and the blocking of water damage. There are so many products on the shelf which will promise the world but every product will need to be reapplied and it is just a matter of time before each product has given up. I don't want to publicly list the products that I have examined and removed from decks but there are some that are much better than others.
You need to remember that no clear product that exixts can block the suns UV so the timber will start to grey off in several months. All of the coating companies are looking for that clear holy grail but it is still alluding them. You will need to allow the timber to just naturally weather for a good 3-6 months to allow the timbres natural oils and tannins to rise to the surface. Once this has taken place you can clean back the oils, tannins and dirt with 50 grams Napisan( active ingredient Sodium Percarbonate}/1 litre of warm water applied over a wet deck. Leave it for some 10-20 minutes and it wil draw out an amazing amount of oils and dirt. Make sure you rinse off thouroughly. After you have cleaned off the timbre I would follow up with a mixture of 10 % oxalic acid and water and coat the deck for another 10-20 minutes. After all of this you will be ready to coat.

I am using an 100% water based acyrilic product and achieving nice results. If you would like to see some before and after please go to my website www.restore-a-deck .com.au The first two befores and afters were both 5 month old new decks that just required cleaning with sodiun percarbonate. There are many products on the market and all have their good and bad points. It is a question of reading about and discovering which ones out perform the others.

Good luck,

Jim J

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimj

Dear Nabs,

I am using an 100% water based acyrilic product and achieving nice results. If you would like to see some before and after please go to my website www.restore-a-deck .com.au The first two befores and afters were both 5 month old new decks that just required cleaning with sodiun percarbonate. There are many products on the market and all have their good and bad points. It is a question of reading about and discovering which ones out perform the others.

Good luck,

Jim J

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Yep, Flood Spa-n-deck is what I've been trying to tell people here for a while is an excellent product. Have been using it for a few years now. Long wearing and easy/fast to apply.

Cheers
Michael

Hi Nads

Thats a awesome deck cant wait to see some pics when its all finished, great work :2tsup:

Nabs, that looks awesome mate. Keep the pics coming there mate as it will be great to see the finished product.:2tsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John99

Hi Nads

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Shouldn't that be "Go Nads" ??

Thanks for all the thoughts so far - I've been reading many other threads and have some specific Spa-n-deck questions
1> This product doesn't need sanding back at time of resealing?
2>Could this product peel as some others are reported to do?
3> Is this product slippery when wet? Half the deck is to be covered but the other will be in the elements

This is a great site :2tsup: to admin!!!! I'm learning a lot!!!:U

Ive just finished my deck with Spa and Deck and it looks great (if I must say so myself). It wont peel, and where there are enough coats the water sits on top and is not slippery. Where there aren't enough coats the water penetrates a litter deeper and it does get slightly slippery, but nothing outstanding.

Cheers

What Namtrak said, plus the first couple times it gets wet it might fell a bit slippery until the surfactants in it wash away.
doesn't need resanding
Cheers
Michael

Dear Nads,

Nice to see that you are researching the variou pros and cons of the coatings available for decking. The others are correct in the fact the Floods Spa & Deck will not peel, blister, bubble, crack up are go black.With three coats it will dry with a nice satin sheen. Over time of say 5 months this sheen just dulls. When you think it needs recoating no sanding is required. Just shift out of the way any furniture. Hose off any surface dirt and if needed give the more trafficked areras a gentle scrub and then just recoat. I have found a 9 inch pad applicator on a pole by Shurline available at most hardwares works great. It will be touch dry in 20-30 minutes. If it needs another coat it can be applied in 2-3 hours. I would think that you will get a good 18 months before anything needs to be done.

Good Luck,
Jim J

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimj

Dear Nabs,

I would follow up with a mixture of 10 % oxalic acid and water and coat the deck for another 10-20 minutes. After all of this you will be ready to coat.

I am using an 100% water based acyrilic product and achieving nice results. If you would like to see some before and after please go to my website www.restore-a-deck .com.au The first two befores and afters were both 5 month old new decks that just required cleaning with sodiun percarbonate. There are many products on the market and all have their good and bad points. It is a question of reading about and discovering which ones out perform the others.

Good luck,

Jim J

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Hi everyone .......new to this site!!

Jimj where are you sourcing neat oxalic acid??? and at what cost

Cheers Ute Mad

Dear Utemad,

I am not using pure oxalic acid but a commercialy prepared solutuion. There are probably 6 or so products on the shelves where the decking coating products are sold. If you look at the containers you will find they are made up of 10% oxalic acid and water. I use Flood Spa&DEck prep which is oxalic acid. I use this as the last step in the cleaning process before coating. I hope this will be of some help

regards,

jimj

Hi Jim J,

What is the time period you would allow between cleaning the deck with your suggested napisan mix and oiling? I've been told you should allow for atleast 2 days drying time. Is this correct?

cheers,
Tom

Dear Tom,

I would agree that at least 2-3 days would be needed to feel confident that it is dry. One of the nice aspects of Flood spa&deck is that it can be applied immediately after the cleaning process is finished as the first coat is applied to wet timber. Sometimes this works out and other times after I have cleaned time runs out or the weather won't let me coat. Sometimes I can't coat for several days and when I return the deck is dry and I have to apply water to the timber to start the first coat. There are always pros and cons to each scenario and product.

Jim J www.restore-a-deck.com.au

G'day

A good deck cleaner is "Marine Clene" by Septone (www.septone.com.au) - it contains Oxalic as well as Phosphoric acids at the same concentrations as the paint company products. I recently bought 20 litres for about $70.

Cheers

John

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jimj

Dear Nabs,

Once this has taken place you can clean back the oils, tannins and dirt with 50 grams Napisan( active ingredient Sodium Percarbonate}/1 litre of warm water applied over a wet deck. Leave it for some 10-20 minutes and it wil draw out an amazing amount of oils and dirt. Make sure you rinse off thouroughly. After you have cleaned off the timbre I would follow up with a mixture of 10 % oxalic acid and water and coat the deck for another 10-20 minutes. After all of this you will be ready to coat.


Good luck,

Jim J

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From one Jim to another, how do I apply the cleaners?? Do I just let them sit or do I need to rub or scrub them in?? My deck has weathered for over 18months basically due to my lack of motivation to get te project finished. Will I be able to restore some youth back into it??

Cheers
JB

hi
with my experiences with deckings as a painter i would usually just wash it down with oxalic acid( found in paint shops ) granules mixed to the recommendations, then once dry, coat with a weather proof oil. every 3 months for the first 2 years then every 6 months after that. i like this method as all you are doing is substituting the natural oils. any kind of clear coating shall break down over time and if it gets away from you its a nightmare to fix.
should just add that if you miss oiling the deck and it starts to look a bit s*#t just wash it back down, oxalic acid it again and start again.


thats a great looking deck, keep the pics coming

To Jim Beam,

I find that byusing a product that is based with sodium percarbonate you will loosen and draw out a large amount of dirt, tannins and oil. I wet the area down that I can keep damp. So if you have a large area divide it into parts. I spread the mixture with a pad applicator, you could use a mop, brush or pumpup sprayer. I like the applicator as it is fast and spreads the detergent quickly. I find the trick is to not be in a hurry to get it off but let it dwell for a good 30 minutes or longer. If it starts to dry lightly hose over and you will see some suds reappear. You should see if there is a lot of oil the soap will start to turn brown. Depending on your deck you could now scrub. A STIFF brush on a pole is great and hard work. I use a scrubbing machine but I am on decks daily and the novelty of hand scrubbing is well and truly gone. After the scrubbing let your eyes tell you the story. If you see stunning timber with fresh water only then you are on your way. if thee are remnants of small grey streaks or patches you may be able to get them off with high water pressure. If not then I would do the deck as mentioned then redo the process over. This week I just had a deck 3 years old that was totally undercover. It had originally been coated with Feast watson decking oil. A year ago the owner reapplied a very liberal coat of the same oil. The deck was a yucky brown colour. I used the detergent scrubber and water blaster to 1800psi/15l/min and still had remnants of the oil in the board. I redid the whole thing again and this time it came out however in some zones I needed to go up tp 2500 psi which is the max I will use on good sound hardwood. After I had the entire deck cleaned back to good CLEAN wood I then use oxalic acid. This will brighten the wood,reneutralise the surface of the timbres PH and tends to open up the pores of the wood which is good for the coating to sink in a little. I let the oxalic acid dwell for 20-30 minutes and scrub and rinse. I use Spa&Deck and the 1st coat goes on wet wood. Flood have just released a 2 year guarantee from cracking, peeling or blistering. I have found most people don't want to recoat that often. I know that in full exposed sun the product will stand up easily for 18 months. I do encourage the home owner to lay a 4th coat in full sun for a little more longevity. I hope this helps with your question.

jimj www.restore-a-deck.com.au