Decking Guide: Protecting your new deck

In this week’s post in our decking we are looking into the different ways to protect your decking whether it’s new or weathered and whatever finish you are looking for.

Protecting a brand new deck

In almost all situations we would always recommend treating a brand new deck with a specific new wood protection such as Owatrol’s Seasonite new wood protection. This is because new wood is particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of moisture transfer during its first year. If allowed to weather naturally with no protection it is likely to take on and release moisture at an extremely rapid rate which can lead to warping and splitting. In contrast, if new wood is treated immediately with the majority of wood protection treatments then they will not be able to fully impregnate the wood and therefore will not be able to perform at their best. This is because new wood is coated with a hard, shiny substance known as mill glaze which prevents a finish from entering the wood.

Using Seasonite on your new wood is the best option for maintaining the longevity of your wood and after 6-12 months of weathering with Seasonite your deck will be ready to finish in any way you choose. Seasonite is incredibly easy to use – you simply apply it in a single generous coat using a brush, roller or garden sprayer. This will then protect your new wood against damage caused by UV rays and excessive moisture transfer during the first year. At this point you can then treat your deck with whatever finish you choose by following the process as for weathered decks. Please don’t be tempted to leave your deck to weather by itself as this could lead to lasting damage due to moisture transfer which is difficult to recover.

Immediate protection and finish for new decks

There is one notable exception to the necessity to use Seasonite on your new deck and that is if you plan to use Deks Olje D1 to finish it. D1 is specially formulated for use on both new and weathered wood and is a saturating wood oil which replaces the lost oils in your decking. It is a saturating product which means that its place is within the wood and not on the surface. This means it doesn’t leave a film on the surface and therefore will not peel or flake. D1 is a clear oil which gives a matt finish enhances the natural beauty of the wood. It enriches and stabilises the wood to protect it against damage by UV rays and moisture.

In order to use Deks Olje D1 on a new deck you do, however, need to remove the mill glaze to enable the D1 to penetrate the wood. To do this you will need to strip it away using Prepdeck, our professional high grade stripper which can remove old stains, grade stamps, other surface contaminants but also mill glaze.

Preparation

To use Prepdeck to remove mill glaze you need to wet the surface of the deck and apply the Prepdeck (easiest with a synthetic brush) and allow to work for 20 minutes. Then scrub the area with a stiff brush or use a pressure washer working in the direction of the grain and rinse with copious amounts of water. After rinsing the surface should be neutralised with Net-Trol and then allowed to dry completely before the Deks Olje D1 is applied. For more information about how to apply Deks Olje D1 please see the directions for use on our product page.

Next week we’ll be discussing how to treat and protect your deck after it has weathered with Seasonite or how to treat a deck if you haven’t treated it with anything before.

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So, there we have it – how to go about protecting your new deck!

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