Thread: Sikkens Or Intergrain

Hey there Bigdazza

just had all my interior floors re-done by an amazing guy who started his trade as a parquetry layer in Greece (baby on way not engough time myself). While he was there I asked him if he could coat a little entrance deck I had re floored with yellow belau and he absolutley swore by the Intergrain product and applied three coats and it came up a treat. He said he had done an entire deck at a hotel 5 years ago and it was just starting to look a little shabby and need a re-finish. I too had used Sikkens on the casement windows and was happy but he would not have a bar of it on a deck. I reckon if a pub deck can take five years mine should take it least that if I don't spill too much...

The intergrain product seems less viscous than the Sikkens one

My two bobs worth anyway

Thanks for the advice Brisben.

I am thinking that intergrain will be more durable paticularly against abrasion and general wear and tear. As I said before my brother used it with very good results and I was going to use it as well until my local paint shop man tried to talk me out of it.

The deck is covered and north facing, if I could get 5 years out of it I would be rapt.

BTW a mate of mine used it with very poor results....applicator error mostly I suspect.

Hey Dazza,

I've just put one coat of primer itergrain and a further 3 coats (3 cans) of DWD on a western red cedar skylight to the awning - almost certain it says on the can not to be used for foot traffic areas

Okay - I have now just managed to get to the shed and see the Sikkens and DWD cans I have and find the Sikkens can says not to use on foot traffic areas and the DWD can says it is good for decks outside furniture etc.

The sales people at the paint shop recommended the DWD as it was used throughout Kingfisher Bay resort on Fraser Island and has worked fine there in an agressive environment - I did see the resort and it looks nice. I only moved away from Sikkens cuz the primer isn't clear but tinted and I didn't want to add a tint to the cedar finish. Having said that and having used the DWD it is far from clear in the finish coat - yes it has a tint in there but looks fine. If you use either Sikkens or DWD ensure you use the prep coat or conditioner coat to get it to last otherwise it will last only a short while.

Personally for a deck wearing surface I would use and oil (such as tung-oil) and recoat as necessary - it is far easier to just apply another coat of oil than to prep the surface for more DWD with sanding etc. To apply the oil you can even use a little hand pump. My 2c worth anyway.

Cheers

Originally Posted by bigdazza

I was going to use it as well until my local paint shop man tried to talk me out of it.

I'll bet your local paint shop man dosen't sell it.

Only this morning I had an instance of that on a different product. Went into my local computer shop to enquire about a particular brand and model of DVD burner (Rated by users reviews as one of the best) only to be rudely told that they were junk and they didn't sell them. He promptly tried to sell me one of the lowest rated burners for about 60% over the going price.

Isn't it marvelous how many times you are told "such and such" is junk and then you find out they don't stock it.:mad:

Hi Dazz,

I used DWD (over a prep coat of their Dimension 4 product) on my spotted gum deck. In short I'm extremely disappointed with the finish. It looked great when it went on, but didn't wear well, and recoating looked quite poor owing to patchy remnants of the original finish.

Even though you'll need to recoat often, I'd strongly recommend oil. At least the follow-up coats will go on well owing to the oil being evenly absorbed.


Cheers,


Justin.

bigdazza

I used Sikkens for our cedar windows and in short will never use a Sikkens product again. Haven't used intergrain so can't comment. I saw someones deck the other day and he used "Aussie Clear" an oil fininsh.I was very impressed with the finish.

Woodcutta

We used both Sikkens and Intergrain on our back deck - see pics and details here:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=15049

Both are wearing well, although the Sikkens looks like it could use a fresh coat on the exposed edges. The Intergrain DWD seems to stand up to the weather well, although I agree with others that it may not re-coat as well.

It seems the argument between oil and acrylic is mainly a personal choice; I've used Intergrain DWD on 3 decks and have been really happy with the finish.
The only time i've had a problem, is where i tried it on a deck that had been down for 10 years or so that had never been coated. Even after scrubbing with oxcalic acid to get some colour back, the whole thing came up pretty ordinary.
But it seems to me if you're not keen on re-coating, then Intergrain is the go.

look, I do it every time there is a post like this so why stop now? As an alternative to both the fantastic products Sikkens and Intergrain, have a look at the spa-n-deck product. I have used it on decks and believe it is equal in the wear stakes and superior to both in the ease of application.

CHeers
Michael

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

In answer to your comments; my local paint shop man sells both Intergrain and Sikkens but has seen a lot of disasters with people not getting the DWD application spot on. Both products require careful preparation and the timber must be fully seasoned.

My brother is a complete perfectionist and got a great result with the DWD (been down three years and still looks good), my mate is slap happy and his DWD deck looks like absolute ##### (I would call it a disaster actually).

As my deck is north facing and covered I may just backtrack and go with an oil product after all. I should only have to regularly touch up the northern edge that cops a bit of sun and not the whole deck. Much cheaper too!!!

Cheers!!!

Just another thought.

Has anyone used Lanotec? A lanolin based clear wood finish. Just interested as an alternative.