Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

What's all this talk about a vanishing house deck. How in the world can a
deck vanish? It's so big and heavy, it can't even hide except at night and
even then a full moon would not allow it to vanish completely. Perhaps
creatures from outer space could make a deck vanish but they could make
almost anything vanish, including the house. I don't think it is possible
to make a deck van.......

Never mind.


"Ignoramus26420" wrote in message
a.com...
We have hired a company to refinish our deck. When they sent us a
proposal, they specified two coats of their sealant. When workers
came, they acted all surprised when I requested that they come again
to put the second coat. I had to talk on the phone to the "manager"
who tried to convince me that I do not need two coats, that it was a
mistake etc. Their sealant, upon close examination, appears to be an
oil based stain diluted with solvent such as mineral spirits. They
said that second coat of that product will not penetrate and the deck
will forever remain oily.

My general and limited woodworking experience suggests that for a 20
year old and dry weathered wood, it will absorb an additional coat. I
requested that they leave a little bit of their sealant and tried
applying it again today, and alas, it was absorbed by the wood after I
wiped off the excess. I am sure that a second coat will make the
treatment last longer.

So I do want a second coat. Any thoughts on my decision making
process?

The color that they applied is called california cedar, but is more
reminiscent of baby ****. That's to say that it is brown and not very
transparent. But it looks not so bad and it was our choice.

What I am thinking about however, is VARNISHING the deck on top of
coating. Both the treatment and varnish would be oil based. I will
thusly benefit from their sanding of the deck, and their treatment
will allow me to use less varnish. I tried varnishing one rail with
captain's spar urethane, and it looked frankly pretty good. Has anyone
varnished a weathered deck? Is that a crazy idea? Maybe I should
varnish rails only?

Thanks!

i

Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

"Emily Lattella" wrote in message
. ..
What's all this talk about a vanishing house deck. How in the world can a
deck vanish? It's so big and heavy, it can't even hide except at night
and
even then a full moon would not allow it to vanish completely. Perhaps
creatures from outer space could make a deck vanish but they could make
almost anything vanish, including the house. I don't think it is possible
to make a deck van.......

Never mind.

where in the subject line or the post's you provided does it say vanish?

Punch




"Ignoramus26420" wrote in message
a.com...
We have hired a company to refinish our deck. When they sent us a
proposal, they specified two coats of their sealant. When workers
came, they acted all surprised when I requested that they come again
to put the second coat. I had to talk on the phone to the "manager"
who tried to convince me that I do not need two coats, that it was a
mistake etc. Their sealant, upon close examination, appears to be an
oil based stain diluted with solvent such as mineral spirits. They
said that second coat of that product will not penetrate and the deck
will forever remain oily.

My general and limited woodworking experience suggests that for a 20
year old and dry weathered wood, it will absorb an additional coat. I
requested that they leave a little bit of their sealant and tried
applying it again today, and alas, it was absorbed by the wood after I
wiped off the excess. I am sure that a second coat will make the
treatment last longer.

So I do want a second coat. Any thoughts on my decision making
process?

The color that they applied is called california cedar, but is more
reminiscent of baby ****. That's to say that it is brown and not very
transparent. But it looks not so bad and it was our choice.

What I am thinking about however, is VARNISHING the deck on top of
coating. Both the treatment and varnish would be oil based. I will
thusly benefit from their sanding of the deck, and their treatment
will allow me to use less varnish. I tried varnishing one rail with
captain's spar urethane, and it looked frankly pretty good. Has anyone
varnished a weathered deck? Is that a crazy idea? Maybe I should
varnish rails only?

Thanks!

i

Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

Punch [line] wrote . . .

where in the subject line or the post's you provided does it say vanish?

Aw c'mon Punch, it was in the message posted by Rosanne Rosannadana, can't
see how you missed it.
:)

Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

On 16 Jul 2003 00:29:18 GMT, Ignoramus26572
wrote:

Thanks, it makes sense. The varnish I applied was in a small shaded
area, so I am sure that it will not ruin the deck.

I was however under impression that varnish, being oil based, would
stick fine after oil treatments.

i

Not an unusual assumption. There is, however, a whole lot of
chemistry going on. Not all varnish is oil based, not all oil bases
are the same, and I could never recommend putting a "varnish" finish
over a fresh sealant of "unknown origin". :o)

I don't mean to be mean. I just didn't want to see (hear) you get
into a mess.

First- get your money's worth. If the guy proposed two coats, then
you either get another coat, or he cuts the price.

Second- let it weather for a while. If you can find out exactly what
base product they use, that will help you to decide what future action
to take. A "homebrew" could be linseed oil, which is OK, but it takes
a while to cure (dry). You can base future treatment on what was used
this time around.

Third- enjoy your deck. :o)
noah

Courtesy of Lee Yeaton,
See the boats of rec.boats
www.TheBayGuide.com/rec.boats

Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

Thanks Noah. I checked out Cetol, and found it way too expensive at
$50 per gallon.

I wonder why there is no cheap good oil based deck finish
available... I mean finishes that dry to a hard film.

i

In article , noah wrote:
On 16 Jul 2003 00:29:18 GMT, Ignoramus26572
wrote:

Thanks, it makes sense. The varnish I applied was in a small shaded
area, so I am sure that it will not ruin the deck.

I was however under impression that varnish, being oil based, would
stick fine after oil treatments.

i

Not an unusual assumption. There is, however, a whole lot of
chemistry going on. Not all varnish is oil based, not all oil bases
are the same, and I could never recommend putting a "varnish" finish
over a fresh sealant of "unknown origin". :o)

I don't mean to be mean. I just didn't want to see (hear) you get
into a mess.

First- get your money's worth. If the guy proposed two coats, then
you either get another coat, or he cuts the price.

Second- let it weather for a while. If you can find out exactly what
base product they use, that will help you to decide what future action
to take. A "homebrew" could be linseed oil, which is OK, but it takes
a while to cure (dry). You can base future treatment on what was used
this time around.

Third- enjoy your deck. :o)
noah

Courtesy of Lee Yeaton,
See the boats of rec.boats
www.TheBayGuide.com/rec.boats

Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

Ignoramus26420 wrote:
We have hired a company to refinish our deck. When they sent us a
proposal, they specified two coats of their sealant. When workers
came, they acted all surprised when I requested that they come again
to put the second coat. I had to talk on the phone to the "manager"
who tried to convince me that I do not need two coats, that it was a
mistake etc. Their sealant, upon close examination, appears to be an
oil based stain diluted with solvent such as mineral spirits. They
said that second coat of that product will not penetrate and the deck
will forever remain oily.

My general and limited woodworking experience suggests that for a 20
year old and dry weathered wood, it will absorb an additional coat. I
requested that they leave a little bit of their sealant and tried
applying it again today, and alas, it was absorbed by the wood after I
wiped off the excess. I am sure that a second coat will make the
treatment last longer.

So I do want a second coat. Any thoughts on my decision making
process?

The color that they applied is called california cedar, but is more
reminiscent of baby ****. That's to say that it is brown and not very
transparent. But it looks not so bad and it was our choice.

What I am thinking about however, is VARNISHING the deck on top of
coating. Both the treatment and varnish would be oil based. I will
thusly benefit from their sanding of the deck, and their treatment
will allow me to use less varnish. I tried varnishing one rail with
captain's spar urethane, and it looked frankly pretty good. Has anyone
varnished a weathered deck? Is that a crazy idea? Maybe I should
varnish rails only?

Thanks!

i


Varnish is probably not too good a choice. There must be clear poly
products for decks. I know that there isa paint category called deck
paint. It is harder than varnich and stands up better.

Rick

Varnishing a house deck? [deck refinishing]
 

Try the Cabot's Decking Stain products; they work very well in my
experience and are top rated by a well-known consumer magazine. I
just did my 22x24 PT deck with 2.5 gallons worth of the stuff and
expect to not do it again for 2 years or more.

http://www.cabotstain.com