Official Luthiers Forum!

Well it’s spring and time for my annual deck refinishing. I’ve got a cedar deck that is exposed to the elements and particularly a lot of UV.   It seems every year I have to refinish it. When I first built it I redid it twice with Seikens which flaked off each year, then went with a Seikens substitute and for the past 5 years have been using outdoor cedar stain. Nothing seems to stand-up.

A handy man in the neighbourhood who builds decks for a living suggested that I use Tung Oil after sanding the deck down to bare wood.

Does this sound like a good idea to you folks?

Depends on what you are trying to achieve with the finish. We use Thompson's Water Seal around here on cedar and redwood. It is a clear penetrant, that gives fantastic protection. The main way you can tell it's there is smell, when new, and then water droplet formation when it's raining, and super slick ball bearing like surface when it freezes after a rain.

Great product.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

I've been using Cabotts. I have to redo it every other year but it doesn't flake off it just sort of goes away. An hour or so with a power washer and hit it with the finish.
I actually put it in a garden sprayer and soak it on good. Then go over it with a brush to drive it into the wood a bit. That's a trick I learned from a guy that does fence staining for a living.