Treatment for PT pine decking?

[AngryOldWhiteGuy]

I'd appreciate suggestions for what to apply to the wood of my newly built deck after it dries in a few months. I know that the wood will turn gray eventually, and I'm fine with that - I'm not interested in any kind of a colored stain, just something that'll help to postpone the wood cracking and deteriorating - something I can apply easily with a mop or something low-tech - I don't wanna have to get a pressure washer. Ideally, something that I'd only have to apply every few years, if that, would be great.

If it matters, I used the 5\4 x 6 decking from HD.

I'm in Texas - the deck gets full sun most of the day - brutal 100+ degree days most of the summer - no shade at this point . . .

Thanks!

[Smitty Two]

The only things that withstand the elements worse than wood, are all the things people put on wood to protect it from the elements.

You have two choices:

1. Leave it alone. It's wood. It will be fine all by itself out there in the wild.

1. Put something on it that you're going to have to f*ck with every 2 years, not to protect the wood, but to restore the appearance of the thing you put on that doesn't stand up to the elements as well as wood.

[Smitty Two]

I'll rephrase that, if I may: None of the things people put on wood to protect it from the elements, stand up to the elements as well as wood.

[nestork]

It's exposure to the UV light from the Sun that causes wood to turn grey and fuzzy.

It's absorbtion of rain water and snow melt that causes wood lumber to split at the ends of each board.

If it wuz me, I would simply use a deck sealer on your wood, and apply it with a paint roller sleeve using a paint roller frame and a 5 foot threaded pole.

My experience reading and answering posts in these DIY forums is that most people prefer Cabot or Olympic deck stains. I've not heard much praise of Thompson's Water Seal. I think deck sealers would not only prevent absorbtion of water into the wood, they'd also probably have some UV blockers in them to protect the wood from UV light as well.

And, considering that lumber absorbs liquids through the end grain 15 times as fast as across the grain, I'd also use a brush to paint the exposed end grain of any boards in your deck as well.

[hrhofmann]

Has Consumer Reports any fairly recent info, they did a study several years ago, I believe, but son't know what is new.

[83LowRider]

hrh mentioned in this thread about an older CReports article. If it was the same one I read it mirrored your response. Cabot and Olympic were top performers, Thompson's was rated as poor. Their recommendation was that none of them" worked" for more than 2 years.

On those suggestions I've been using Olympic for the last

5-6 years and and treating every other year. I've tried almost everything to apply, all have their drawbacks. If doing it over, it would be synthetic instead of wood for me. At least for a very large area.