Thread: Anyone tried Marine grade varnish to stop merbau leaching

Hi Mat, Ive used the marine varnish may times, on outside projects,but not with Merbau. Most timber will lech if not protected, use the varnish as a sealer on all sides, and an extra few coats on top. BTW welcome to the forum! Cheers Jason

Thanks so much Jason. I feel embarrassed that I wont be able to contribute advice (my amateur status no doubt evident from my question!) but I appreciate the help the forum offers cheers Mathilda

Have a look at Flood's Deks Olje The Flood Company Australia » Wood Care Products » deks_olje_1 much better way to seal & protect external timber & it is designed for marine applications. I have used it to seal the underside & topside of marine grade ply floors in boats for many years. The last floor I am still using 12 years after installing it.

This suggestion is a bit "off the wall" (no pun intended), but have you thought about using a decking coating? Early this year we had a merbau deck put in and used Cabots Merbau Aquadeck. We did 2 coats before the deck was installed, and 2 straight after. It really seems to cope well with the elements, and (even though they suggest it will last up to 2 years before recoating is needed) I intend to reapply every 12 months.

It is super easy to apply with either a brush or cloth or decking applicator, dries quicky, and is only a water clean-up. I suppose the drawback is that its not cheap but I suspect its no worse than marine varnish. If memory serves, it was about $100 for 4 litres and $160 for 10 litres).

Whichever way you go, good luck and all the best.