merbau sealer...finish

[hughie]

Hi,
I am laying about 50sqm of merbau decking outside and I am looking for a sealer/oil? finish.

What I am looking for is one that will not add much if any to the colour....its dark enough now.

The only one I have come up with so far is Floods Penetrol. It does not darken the timber.

Any better suggestions/advice/experiences etc will be most welcome.

thanks guys

[Gumby]

We've covered this topic a lot recently.

Do a search and you'll find lots of info.

Out in the sun, it will darken naturally anyway. Put a good quality deck oil on it but let it leach out the tannins first. Leave it at least 4-6 weeks.

Check out the Home Reno section for decking stuff like this.......

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f77/sanding-oiling-45040

[hughie]

Do a search and you'll find lots of info.

Out in the sun, it will darken naturally anyway. Put a good quality deck oil on it but let it leach out the tannins first. Leave it at least 4-6 weeks.

Check out the Home Reno section for decking stuff like this.......

Thanks for that, mutter.....mutter, tried a search but failed musta used the wrong search terms.

[ubeaut]

Do a search using the Google search above put the dot in the empty hole next to www.woodworkforums.com There are lots of answers to be found there. Much more thorough than the forum search and you can narrow your search the same way as you can a normal Google search.

I came up with 28 using "decking finish" as the search and 70 odd using merbau decking finish without the " "

[surfdabbler]

We did our deck with Intergrain Dimension4 pretreatment, and then 3 or 4 coats of Intergrain DWD. It's more expensive than decking oils, but lasts longer, and the colour is much lighter, and it's not sticky at all. It still darkens the wood a little, but the finished Merbau is a beautiful rich orange-red colour, and matches the Western Red Cedar doors nicely.

Our deck is 2 years old now, and has no signs of wear or weather, but it's undercover, so it has some protection.

Good luck with your deck!

[what the DECK]

Go for a transparent oil based product which will totally penetrate ( not leaving deposits of alkyd resin or synthetic polymer on the surface ) and which will bring out the natural beauty of the timber. Maintenance or rejuvenation is simple with a lambs wool applicator ( quicker than hoovering a carpet according to the wife ) and a real wood finish is achieved rather than a "pretty look".