Deck sealant

Hello gents,

Looking for recommendations on a deck sealant for red cedar planks. We will wait a little longer before getting it done, but want to start the research aspect. And to make sure the product is still readily available.

TIA,

FDR

I’m in the process of redoing my dock with cedar decking. I’ve used Sikkens SRD deck stain on my other cedar decks over the past 20 years. I’m using the Sikkens again. It has been rated pretty good in the past. I don’t think there is a silver bullet for deck stain/sealant. The places that are in the sun seem to require restaining about every 3 years. The shaded decks I have last several years before they need to be redone.

I have a cedar deck.
Been through a butt load of sealants.
I tried Australian Timber Oil 2 years ago and by far the best stuff I’ve ever used. Usually by 2 years it needs to be done again. It doesn’t need it.
Couple spots where the pooch keeps drooping her bone but the rest is still solid.
I would check it out.
Menards carries it

I bit the bullet and built our new deck with composite decking from menards. Looking forward to not having this problem

Built a 16×38 deck on the lake place two years ago now. It gets the south sun so I’m going to seal it next year. I’ve heard good things about Behr and Minnwax sealers. I’m going to use a pad with the ridge in the middle so it gets sealer in between the deck boards as well. I purposely did not put railings on the deck to avoid having to deal with tedious job of sealing them and saved a lot of money at the same time.

I’ve had good luck with TWP on a fence and a deck.

READY SEAL- order it from Amazon, it is by far the best out there to work with and it holds up well. horizontals every 2 years and verticals every 4. Best part is just a quick was and you can reapply right over the top. I worked for a very large restoration company and that is what we used. You could train a monkey to use it.

blackbay wrote:

I’ve had good luck with TWP on a fence and a deck.

This!!!

I carve chainsaw carvings and use TWP on them 80% of the time. I also use it for my fence and deck. I only use the clear, cedar tone and honey tone. If you prefer a light finish and want the UV protection you can mix the clear with cedar or other tones. This is by far the easiest product to apply!! They sell this at Fleet farm. 40.00 per gallon but I still by a pile of it every year.

I do use Cabot timber oil also. That is a semi transparent finish meaning it will color over the wood grain some. It also applies thick and will dry fast so you have to keep after it when you apply. It is a good product but you will get different results in the look of the finish vs TWP or Sikkens.

Behr is water based I believe?? I could be wrong but everything we ship in our trucks from Behr is water based and I cannot comment on the long term results. I just dont trust water based products on outdoor applications. This applies more like paint when we have seen it applied to carvings. I have seen it applied and does look good if you want that solid color finish.

I refinished my redwood deck and my cedar fence with TWP. I used the pecan color. Turned out great. Available at Fleet Farm or order online. With all semi transperent stains the horzontal surfaces need to be cleaned and redone every two years.

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buschman wrote:

I do use Cabot timber oil also

I’ve had good success and seen great reviews of the Cabot Australian Timber Oil as well. While I will never have a cedar deck again(hate the maintenance)I do have some cedar clad pillars on my front porch that I use it on. Looks great!
I do have a cedar fence surrounding my backyard that was there before I moved in(would have gone PVC if I had the choice) and will likely go with Thompsons simply because that is what my neighbor used on his and would rather keep that look going.

Duckback Superdeck tinted is the only thing I’ve found that lasts. Horizontal surfaces (floor, railing tops) 2-3 years, vertical surfaces 3-5 years. Only stuff I’ll ever use until I rip off the cedar and replace with maintenance free!

The key to long term with cedar is to stain all sides. Just like cedar corner boards on a house. Every wonder why some last 10-15 years and other look like crap in two. The back sides were sealed before install. After 31 years of construction, you find some things never change.

3 products we use on cedar presides paint. Sikkens, sherwin Williams woodscapes, marine Zar clear satin

I use the Cabot stain from Menards. The key is proper surface prep. Make sure you get the boards ready to accept a stain. I tried pressure washing it 2 years ago and it didn’t remove all the old stain very well, so my new stain kinda looked like crap. This year I actually used a belt sander and that worked a lot better. Also, if you shovel snow off the deck in the winter, don’t use a shovel with a metal edge. It scrapes the stain off.

I should mention my deck isn’t cedar. Its treated lumber.

The professional painters I know recommend TWP.

gim wrote:

I use the Cabot stain from Menards. The key is proper surface prep. Make sure you get the boards ready to accept a stain. I tried pressure washing it 2 years ago and it didn’t remove all the old stain very well, so my new stain kinda looked like crap. This year I actually used a belt sander and that worked a lot better. Also, if you shovel snow off the deck in the winter, don’t use a shovel with a metal edge. It scrapes the stain off.

I should mention my deck isn’t cedar. Its treated lumber.

This is why I did not use Cabot on my deck. Cabot creates a surface color and does not penetrate well. It’s way better than paint but has that tendency. Once you loose a finished area to traffic or anything it is very visible it is hard to correct. Your best applying more to the needed areas a month before you clean and re apply to the whole deck. This will blend it nice.

Penetrating oils hides this much better. I use a penetrating oil before applying Cabot timber oil and looks a lot better on carvings. Not sure how well they would bond together on high traffic areas. Just saying that a penetrating oil like twp is always a good base. You can always apply oil products over this later but if you use a colored product that does not penetrate well you can’t go back. Cabot is great stuff so don’t want to knock it at all. Just what I have experiences with it on carvings.

gim wrote:

This year I actually used a belt sander and that worked a lot better.

Have you noticed very few companies are making belt sanders anymore?
I’ve been hoping for an M18 belt sander to get released.

jwellsy wrote:

Have you noticed very few companies are making belt sanders anymore?
I’ve been hoping for an M18 belt sander to get released.

I haven’t noticed. I actually don’t have one, I borrowed it from a friend. Its a lot of work to sand down an entire deck! I went through 2 belts, although I may have been using one with not enough grit the first time.