Question about Cedar

[alexjokic]

quick question about cedar decks, is there any sealant or protectant that will prevent it from the cedar turning grey? I would love to keep the natural colour and grain texture of the cedar, but know that it will splinter and rot and turn that ugly smoke grey colour is not properly maintained, anybody know what works to keep that soft red colour?

cheers

[Don Phillipson]

First you must consider how long you want the cedar to retain its appearance when new. At a certain future date (10 to 20 years ahead) it would be cheaper to replace the surface than refinish it. Deterioration varies with exposure to sunshine and rain.

The single best protection of cedar planks is a smooth (sanded) surface. Colour lasts longer if you use a semi-opaque stain in the original colour of the wood, renewed every three years or so.

[Rick]

Consider what pigmented stain will look like after 10 years. I used it on a new cedar deck and it soaked in well. The finish wore away along the traffic path, and later applications of pigmented stain soaked in the traffic area well, but laid on top at other areas. After 5 applications, the stuff builds up, but worse, the cedar color had faded to an unsightly purple. At that point, we painted the deck our house colors which helped. When that wore thru, I put a small piece of in-outdoor carpet which finished the cedar for good. Ripped the deck apart 3 yrs ago and replaced it with Trex. Now I enjoy the deck instead of trying to maintain it.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Penofin makes a good oil with UV protection. I've used in and after two years on wood it is still in good shape. I don't know about very long term though, for any oil finish.

[Steve]

I have a cedar deck that was built in 1977, it is still in excelent shape. I use PENOFIN preservative, somewhat expensive but works very well. You got to clean the deckwith a powerwasher first, then let it dry out good before applying PENOFIN. Steve