Decking oil home made

[Marc]

Does anyone know a formula for decking oil home made?

[DaveInOz]

Its the same as baby oil - except you have to squeeze the decking a lot harder
:rolleyes:

[Robert WA]

Dave.

Don't you boil it down first?
The hardest of all is castor oil. You have to boil those castors for weeks to get the oil out.

Marc.

I have used linseed and turps 50/50 for outdoor structures. I don't know of anything that lasts very long so I opt for cheap.

[ozwinner]

Well how do you get engine oil then? :rolleyes:


Al

[rodm]

Get lot of engine oil when your pist'n'broke :D

[Marc]

Considering that decking oil cost over $25 per one litre and $120 per 10 litres, more than premium quality paint, I thought that it makes sense to try to make something up, home made.

Is the alchemist still among the posters?

I have to treat a large treated pine deck that has never had a lick of oil, so I assume I am up for some 20 litres or thereabouts. It is all under cover, but the edges get wet occasionally.

(I did try to boil some castors with no success; I guess I used some skinny specimens with no fat on them)

Linseed oil and turps? Well that is a start.
Anyone has any more elaborate formulas that do not include squeezing timber or boiling wheels?

[glenn k]

Why do you want to oil treated pine?

[RETIRED]

Marc.

In my opinion you are making a rod for your own back.

Contrary to the claims of most manufacturers you will be oiling every 6-12 months.

Leave it to go grey and age gracefully.

My .01 cents worth. Cheap but not easy:D

[Neil]

's right...... It's treated pine for goodness sake. It's already finished and supposedly rot proofed etc. Putting oil onto it will only make it accept dirt and other marks more readily and help it to attract moisture etc. Leave well enough alone.

Cheers - Neil :D

[Marc]

Hey guys, thank you for the suggestion not to oil treated pain decking, perhaps you are right, that does not mean I have the choice not to oil it.

I was wondering if anyone had any further suggestion as to how to formulate a cheap home made oil. One suggeted linseed oil thinned with turps. Is there any other possible improovement on that?

[journeyman Mick]

Marc, I was given this recipe by my paint supplier, one of the old time builders up in the Torres Strait uses it on all his work (government contract ATSI housing) and has done so for years. It's not bad, but it's a bit slow drying and won't give as much UV protection as a good commercial brew.

Damn, just went and looked in my note books and I can't find the recipe. From memory this is close:
First coat: linseed/turps 70/30 plus add some terebine to speed drying (can't remember how much terebine)
2nd coat: linseed/turps 90/10 plus terebine
3rd coat: linseed/turps/polyurethane 80/10/10 plus terebine.

Mick

[David L]

Marc
Last year I was talking to a Bloke at a market who makes hardwood outdoor furniture he told me he uses linseed oil, turps,vinegar. 40+40+20 The vinegar is supposed to stop mold on the L S oil.

My experence------L S oil on a step tread and out door table,------- it went black and attracted heat, not the place to be on a hot day

Quote from young lady at paint store ( very knowegable, much respected ) "OH NO !!! NOT linseed oil "

David L

[bitingmidge]

Leave it to go grey and age gracefully.

I have been reading too many of Mick's arty farty books of late I think::D :D :D

Have just finished STAINING a treated pine deck - (Wattyl deckstain colour :Silver Birch) after first bleaching it with Oxalic Acid. Wiped most of the stain off to make sure the grain was visible of course!

Then one coat of the usual expensive Wattyl deck oil.

Now here's the logic:-

After a year, the deck was still looking like treated pine, that lovely green colour that is just fine on copper domes on public buildings but not so good on timber decks which one wants to look gracefully aged.

After the next year, the deck oil will be gone, the stain will have started to go a bit powdery and we will have instant graceful age about it. If necessary I'll re-oil every couple of years years to stop the timber drying out too much and going too brittle.

In the meantime it actually looks not too bad- quite "beachy" which was what we were trying to achieve.

To borrow someone else's slogan - I guess I let it age disgracefully.;)

Cheers,

P

[Cliff Rogers]

G'day.

Not a deck but....

I did up some old timber office furniture about 20 years ago & the old codger I was talking to at a 2nd hand place recommended using the linseed oil, mineral turps,white vinegar mixed up in equal quantities rubbed on with scotchbrite to clean it up & then 2 parts linseed to 1 part mineral turps with a bit of rag to keep it looking nice.
Those chairs looked great & still looked great 15 years later when I sold them. BTW, they didn't get very much attention after the first 3 coats but weren't out in the sun either.

[Marc]

Thank you guys, I already have the boiled linseed oil, (had to make quite a few phone calls before I found someone who did not laugh at the boiled bit, but that is another story. One said that their linseed oil was quite fine and not spoiled at all).

Now the vinegar is intriguing, since it is mostly water, so how do you mix oil and water? Mm must try a little bit first. By the way, Mick finding boiled linseed oil was adventurous enough, finding terebene proved more elusive for now. Must try somewhere else.

About the bleaching with OXalic Acid, wouldn't this attack the nails in the deck? mine are galvanaised and not stainless steel.

[journeyman Mick]

Marc,
I'm so glad I don't live in Sydney anymore, I'm sure you can get anything in Sydney, only trouble is it may be right at the other end. The paint section of my local hardware store has both BLO and Terebine (and Oxalic acid). The terebine was in a Feast Watson tin, so any DECENT stockist should be able to get it in for you. Oxalic acid is not that strong, so it shouldn't affect the gal nails. If in doubt mix some up and throw in a couple of nails. I would be inclined to use a mould retarding paint additive rather than vinegar as it would be easier to mix in. Any decent paint store should have it, it's called mouldguard or mouldchek.

Mick

[Robert WA]

Why boiled linseed oil? That stuff is sticky and takes forever to dry.
Has anyone considered the fact that deckings should be regularly coated with beer. What is the point of a deck if you don't spill beer on it.

[SteveI]

Marc

The oxalic acid appears to be quite good for removing rust, but I don't think it harms plain metal - maybe there are chemists around who can answer - but it seems to attack oxidised material (hence the name oxalic??)

I'm not sure it bleaches the timber, but attacks the "oxidised' - ie grey/weathered timber, leaving the sound timber (read - timber that still has colour left)

See this in relation to safety and its use for stain removal

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tuscany/deltrex/products/s145.htm
and
http://www.uwi.com.au/pdf/pap_oxalic_acid.pdf

[bitingmidge]

Mark and Robert,

1)

Oxalic Acid does bleach the timber quite nicely, I'm guessing because of the manner in which it reacts to the tannins, which is why it is a VERY effective stain remover for hardwood stains on concrete etc. There is a brochure available from one of the timber advisory boards, if I can find more details I will post same.

I don't believe it has any real effect on the metals mentioned, and it can also be used effectively to remove rust marks (surface) in stainless steel.

2)

Boiled linseed oil is indeed sticky stuff, so thin it with turps to make it more workable, and add the terebine as a drying agent.

You'll find you have a much more workable brew on your hands.

Cheers,

P

[Dion N]

I have used linseed oil a fair bit for finishing. The following "recipe" comes from a bottle of Diggers brand Pale Boiled Linseed Oil. (note that PBLO is suitable for inside applications, outside you should use raw LO)

1st coat - 400ml of Turps to 1 L of LO
2nd coat - 250ml of Turps to 1 L of LO
Kero can be substituted for Turps
Terebene can be added at 1 part in 50 to speed up the drying times

You can obtain all the ingredients at a certain hardware chain that starts with "B", but whose name I dare not mention here....

[bitingmidge]

Finished the last bit of "Aging" on the deck yesterday, looks a treat, but not home made oil I'm afraid, so therefore wayyy off topic!

Having lived with bare treated pine decks for years, this looks clean and doesn't absorb red wine or coffee. I have demonstrated that less than twelve hours after finishing it!

For the curious, the boards are "speed deck" 140 x 35 cca pine on hardwood joists @ 600 centres and fixed with stainless steel batten screws.

The picture does look a bit "blue-grey" on screen, in reality, the stain is quite translucent.
Cheers,

P

[chiso]

just been readin through a few ideas about homemade deck oil, i'm in the same boat with a 5yr old pine deck....... it's very dry and exposed to weather, what is the best thing to use, because deck oil is so bloody dear to buy ....... can u help ???

[woodsprite]

I would also go for the linseed/turps spread. This timeof the year it will dry quickly enough, especially if you add a bit of terebine. Years ago when I made my verandah - decked with pine floor boards - I coated it in the summer with the above mix and it worked brilliantly. Topped it up every second summer and it kept the boards looking good, the rain just ran off it, and it kept a nice low sheen. And it was CHEAP!
But if you feel the need to go commercial, use Sealeys Weatherproof Oil - it is a re-formulation of linseed and turps. I have been told for big areas and good economy get a 2 litre can of Sealeys, add a litre of turps and a litre of linseed, and away you go - 4 litres of good oil for about $50.00.

Have fun!
Jeff

[mako]

I just biult a new fence with redgum post, hardwood rails and 25 x 25mm hardwood stakes as palings (with a 15mm gap between them). They are all a nice red colour at the moment, especially the redgum, and dont really want it all to go a depressing grey like i see most similar fences go after a few months. I want to know what sort of oil i could apply to slow down this greying? I know i will have to keep re-apllying it but i consider it a small price to pay for my fence looking good. I was wondering about a home recipe and spraying it on. It was suggested to me to use vegitable oil and kero? I just want to try and prolong the WET look of the timber. Any suggestions for a home made oil for redgum/hardwood?
cheers.

[Barry Hicks]

I am not a fan of deck oil!!!!
After receiving instructions from the 'logistics manager' I built a couple of privacy screens out of local red stringy bark 100x100 uprights and some brush box (Indonesian) slats which I believe are decking boards.
As the timber looked pretty good, I decided to use decking oil to preserve the timber look and slathered the stuff on.
After 5-6 months a few grey patches appeared so on went a second coat, again following the instructions on the 4l. tin.
To cut a long story short, the 2nd coat didn't last as long as the first coat. I bought the stuff from a reputable paint shop for a heap of $'s and I just bought some paint to end the saga.
BTW if you live in the vicinity of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, there is about 2lt of free deck oil for the asking.

Barry Hicks

[billbeee]

Marc
Paint supply places sell raw linseed oil. You can thin oil based paints with it, (it's what they are made with). It helps to keep the shine on full gloss, where turps does't.

Boiled oil is a lot more concentrated so you need more thinners. Otherwise it takes longer to dry.

I have never used turps as a thinner.

I used to use raw linseed oil and kerosene. 50/50. No doubt about it being a good preservative. All the old joiners used linseed oil on their wooden planes, mallets etc.

I stopped using it on decks because it soon went dark, and also seems to pick up mildew. Maybe the vinegar is an anti fungus.

I also used creosote once years ago, to preserve the floor joists. Cheap as chips, burns like hell on exposed skin. Never used it again.

Regards
Bill