Decking Treatment

Decking oil should be applied after the deck has been thoroughly cleaned.

Wood is made up of a honeycomb of microscopic cells. Whether softwood or hardwood, the cells are there, empty and waiting to be filled in by dirt!

Deck boards are different in one main respect to other timber structures outside. Deck boards lay horizontal not vertical like walled structures so dirt and dust is not readily washed off. It simply lays on the deck until it finds a home. If it is larger than the cellular structure of the wood, then it will eventually wash off. If it is dust-like and smaller than the cell structure, then it will fill the available cell!

This cell structure can be 'capped' by using Decking Oil.

The fact that your deck has been pressure treated in the manufacturing stage, does not mean that it requires no further treatment to alleviate stains and grey coloured decks.

Ordinary deck stain, simply colours the surface area of the timber. It does not fill up the cells, so dirt is still able to fill the spaces. A Deck Sealer is required to do the job, usually by way of a decking oil.

Decking oil is a special treatment/preserver, that whilst applied as a liquid has a high potential 'solids' content, so that when it dries it solidifies thereby filling the pores/cells. Deck oil has high penetrating properties, so that it can enter and then solidify in the individual cells. Some deck stains simply coat the cells, still leaving room for the dirt to accumulate.

Penetrating oil finishes are much better for deck maintenance than polyurethane or varnish type finishes. Oils do not crack as the timber expands and contracts with the varying weather patterns. Deck oil treatments actually improve the structure of the timber, for once dry, the solids are stronger than the individual wood fibers that they bind together. Decking oils actually replace the natural oils and resins that get lost over time with deck timbers.

Dapper decking cleaning and treatment service, will not only revive the tired look of your deck. More importantly it will help protect it form the elements and prolong the decks lifespan.