DIY: How To Oil A Timber Deck With Cabot's Aquadeck

I'm thrilled to work with Cabot's again, an Australian company, that is known for their quality wood oil and stain products on our new deck and patio project.

We tried Cabot's exterior stain to stain our new treated pine patio in 'new jarrah' and today I'm sharing a DIY on how to oil a timber deck using Cabot's Aquadeck.

For our new deck we decided to use an exterior oil instead of a stain because we love the look of the Merbau timber and want to enhance the natural look of the timber which is what an oil does and to protect it from the weather and elements and also from general wear and tear.

You need to leave new wood to settle for a few weeks before oiling it (its best to check the manufacturers directions for this) - our Merbau timber was out in the weather for over 6 weeks before we oiled it.

To oil a new timber deck that hasn't been oiled before this is what we used:

• Cleaning products - 
• Cabot's Deck Clean 
• Applied with Cabot's Deck Prep brush and Cabot's Deck Hand Bucket
• A pressure cleaner hose and a vacuum 
• Oil - 
• Cabot's Aquadeck in 'Natural' 
• Applied with a paint brush and Cabot's Decking Oil Applicator with the Cabot's Deck Hand Bucket

DIY: How to oil a timber deck

1. Pick the oil - We chose Aquadeck in 'Natural' as we want to enhance the look of our Merbau timber and the Aquadeck applies a clear protective coating to the timber but it doesn't stain or change the colour.

2. Clean the deck - Preparation is the key to a successful DIY so make sure the wood surface is clean of any dirt.

We pressure cleaned the deck with our trusty Karcher High Pressure Cleaner which you attach the hose to.

Then we gave the deck a scrub clean - you need to use proper cleaning products suitable to wood and we used Cabot's Deck Clean and applied it with the Cabot's Deck Prep which was a scrubbing brush on a pole and great for getting marks off the timber.

The Cabot's Deck Hand Bucket is really handy as it shows you how far to fill the deck clean too and then how far to top it up with water so no measuring required.

After we cleaned the deck we left it overnight to ensure it was completely dry.

Lastly, we went over it with the vacuum to ensure it was clean and ready to be oiled. We have a Karcher wet/dry vacuum which we use just for our renovations so we don't dirty or damage our inside vacuum.

3. Oil the deck - It's really important that the deck is dry before you oil it so we waited 24 hours before applying the first coat of oil just to be sure it was completely dry.

Give the oil a really good stir with a stick and then decanter some into a bucket - we used the Cabot's Deck Hand Bucket as it fits the applicators perfectly and was easy to move around the deck.

To apply the oil we used a large flat paint brush to apply the oil all around the edges of the deck just as you would 'cut in' when you paint a room.

Then to apply the oil to the rest of the deck we used a Cabot's Decking Oil Applicator which is a lambs wool applicator on a pole and perfect for flat surfaces for the main areas of the deck. Dip the applicator into the oil and push flat to remove any excess as you don't want to apply the oil too thickly or it will take forever to dry.

Start from the far corner and move down in long even strokes aiming to cover 3-4 boards at a time, work slowly to ensure good coverage and no streaks are left behind.

4. First coat - The first coat of oil took about 1.5 hours to apply on a 10 meter long deck. The oil was a nice consistency and good to work with soaking into the timber and giving even coverage. It has a sheen to it which helps you see where you've applied the oil too and it has a very light brown pigment in it but is mostly transparent and once applied it evens out the colour of the wood to make all the wood look consistent.

5. Second coat - It is dry enough to re-coat after 2 hours however we left it for 24 hours as it was still a bit sticky and tacky. The second coat took the same time to apply about 1.5 hours, after first cutting in with a brush and then applying with an applicator for the rest of the deck. We used a new lambs wool applicator for the second coat.

6. Drying time - It takes a week to cure completely although you can walk on it lightly we kept off it until the 7 days were up to ensure it was completely dry and set so it wouldn't mark or scratch. The weather and temperature has a lot to do with the drying time and as Perth had a cooler change in temperatures and our deck is covered and not in direct sunlight it was still a bit tacky after the first week and so we left it a total of 2 weeks to cure before we moved any furniture onto it.

7. Coverage & Maintenance - A 10 ltr tin of oil did 2 coats with enough leftover for re-oiling down the track. The deck will need to be oiled every 1-2 years. Our deck is completely undercover of the patio so we may not need to re-oil it as often as it's protected from the elements.

Cabot's have a Deck Wash which you can use between oiling to remove any build up and debris which will be what we will do next time rather than oil it again too soon.

8. Clean up - The oil is water based which makes clean up really easy just wash the brush out with water. We didn't keep the lambswool applicators we threw them after use. I prefer to use water based products as there's little to no smell and clean up is easy without the use of chemicals or cleaning products.

And that is an easy weekend project of oiling and protecting a timber deck to enhance the natural timber and protect from wear and tear and the weather.

The new deck and patio space looks amazing I can't wait to set it up with our outdoor furniture and BBQ and enjoy our outdoor entertaining space.


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Disclosure: Thanks to Cabot's for providing me with the oil products for review. I have not received any payment or compensation. As always, all opinions are my own.

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