Refinishing a weathered cedar deck?
Question:I had a cedar deck installed a year ago and was told by the contractor to wait a year before applying a finish to the deck. Now, I've been told that it should have been finished right after construction. The deck has now turned grey and there is some mildew and I've received conflicting advice on how to get rid of it. Some say to use commercial wood brighteners, others to use 3-1 ratio water to household bleach. Anyone have any experience using household bleach?
Some say to pressure wash, others not. I have heard that pressure washing will damage the wood. Is pressure washing OK, if, what PSI to use?
Also, can you share your experience with wood finishing products? What are some names of good wood finishing products on the market, and, also which ones ones to stay away from? I would like the deck to have a natural wood look, the way the wood was when it was delivered.
I would appreciate any advice and thank you for your time.
Answers:
Depending on where you are will depend on if you are familiar with both the products I'm going to mention.
As for doing your deck when it was new - yes you could have done it then before it got grey now - but you can get that fixed.
As for the pressure washing.unless you really know how to use one of these - even the experts in the field say no. It can damage your deck and it also drives the water down into the wood taking it longer to dry out. I just had a customer today that came in today complaining that he used one on the weekend and damaged his deck after being advised to use one for cleaning.
My advise is to use a Deck Wash for the greying and if its just mildew - that will restore the natural look. Thompsons makes one. If you have mold as well you will need to use the solution of bleach and water to kill the mold (the Thompson's doesn't say it kills mold).
As for finishes after for that *natural* look and if you are not going for a stain - then look towards Olympic Maximum in the blue can - it has a 2 year guarentee and is clear with the following benefits....Penetrating oil formula for our best protection ,
WaterGuard® Plus 2-way waterproofing protection,
Advanced SunBlock® U.V. protection ,
Exclusive ScuffGuard® formula ,
Creates our best mildew-resistant coating,
Guaranteed to prevent water damage and graying for a minimum of 2 years on decks
There might be other products available in your area but that is the one I am familiar with.
Hope this helps
clean with bleech and water..let dry,then apply a
house siding stain, full body,not transparent.deck stains are semi transparent stains, they will not last a year. apply with
small broom and work in well....will last one year before it begins to soak up water again.
i would use the water seal varnish made esp. for outside decks like that my father is a carpenter and i have dealt with many decks in my lifetime i feel that would be safe. with water seal u can buy many colors or even get just a clear like u said u wanna keep it tht color i wouldnt mess with power washing although i would mayb do it after putting on the water seal although its very contradicting me myself i wouldnt do it but if thats wat u wanna do then thts up 2 u
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