? about waxing exterior hard wood

[jerk151]

Thank you for looking.

Quick and simple, is it a horrible idea or a good idea.


details

1st things 1st



While building our new front porch, I came across a sale on Purpleheart decking. This was not kiln dried furniture grade, but still beautiful. I understood that over time this wood would turn dark with an oil treatment. I should say at this time, I am in, holy crap sunny HOT Florida! Porch gets almost all day sun.

As you can see from the above picture, after only 6-7 months, my beautiful wood did not turn into a beautiful dark color. The 2 grayish boards on each step are the purple heart ones that I have yet to be sanded back down. The top deck was sanded today. I originally treated this with Messmer's oil for Brazilian hardwood and obviously, I am reluctant to use it again. Just for fun, I decided to rub a little Johnson's paste wax on a spare piece and it looked amazing. My thought is, with the hot, hot sun all day, that the wax would just continue to sink into the wood. Would it have any UV protection? The Messmer's just seemed to evaporate out of it.

It seems like wax would repel water as well as an oil, but if it doesn't work, it's probably not going to be as easy to get rid of.

Thoughts please!

BTW

I'm posting under this topic, because this is what I call my front yard furniture. The whole job is mortise and tenon with pegs. The straight rafter boards are bird mouthed and do have a "L" bracket (powder coated) holding them down because the permit required it. The only other hardware are some power coated "u" brackets I had made that are sunk into the footers I poured.



Thank you for your opinions, they are greatly appreciated and respected.

Jody

[AHill]

I wouldn't give up on oil. You will need a penetrating exterior oil with UV inhibitor. It's UV that causes the purple heart to change color. I wouldn't recommend marine spar varnish on a deck, since it's just a surface coating and will eventually get eroded away by foot traffic and furniture dragging across the deck.

Here's a link that goes through some of your options:
http://www.woodworkerssource.com/outdoor_woods.php

[JR1]

Frankly I have yet to find a good outdoor oil. Here at 9500' in sunny Colorado I have not had an oil last 4 months. The two finishes that work well are GF 450 or the less expensive SW A-100 it isn't as clear as the GF but as you want it untinted it drys clear (it looks milky in the can). They are easy to apply waterbornes and have excellent UV protection. They need to be refreshed every 5 or so years—I jut clean with a pressure washer and apply a couple more coats. They also provide good moisture protection.

[jteneyck]

I just put Ipe' Oil on my new Ipe' deck. It's advertised as having UV inhibitors. I don't know if anything will protect purple heart long term, but I would stick with oil. Any clear finish will become a maintenance nightmare.

John

[T.J. Jones]

If you want purple heart to turn dark brown, it needs exposure to UV rays, not protection from UV rays.

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-iden...rpleheart/

It can take 5-10 years for the wood to turn brown.

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articl...tic-woods/

[jerk151]

Thank you for the replies. I am certain I don't want to go with a varnish or top coat of any kind. The sun and rain will be far to harsh on that. I would expect it to start flaking off within a couple of months and that will have to be stripped to fix. I'm also not too concerned with trying to preserve the color of this wood, I just don't want it to turn Grayish and take on water.

Seems like no one really likes the wax idea though. I have some more research to do I guess. Otherwise, it seems I will be oiling every other month to, at least, keep the water out.

[jteneyck]

Oh, sorry, forgot about the wax. Bad idea, IMHO. The other poster was correct about UV causing the color change. I lost sight of that when we started talking about finishes with UV protectors. So I think that leaves you with some kind of plain deck oil. But I wouldn't think you'd have to apply any oil every 2 or 3 months. Even Thompson Water Seal should last for 4 - 6 months. In the end, no treatment will be 100% effective. The underlying wood has to be able to take the elements on its own in terms of decay resistance.

John

[JR1]

+! for John. Wax is bad idea, it not only does not protect against moisture but holds it in the wood. Some folks like the look and feel of wax; de gustibus non est disputandum. John is quite right in that an oil—that purportedly lasts 6 months to a year—will need clean up and reapplication after ~3monhs at the best.
I used to sail a lot and we used Epifanes spar varnish. We never ever stripped anything just scuff sanded to remove loose finish and added a new coat. Now that we have pressure washers scuff sanding is unnecessary, the pressure washer suffices to remove loose finish. So if you want to re-finish: every 2 to 3 months go with oil, if every 5+ years go with GF 450; if you like replacing your work every few years go with wax.

[ken in fallbrook]

If you want your Purpleheart deck to turn grey, stop sanding it. It will turn grey on its own in no time at all. I am unaware of any product that will protect your deck in Florida better than paint. I would not paint a Purpleheart deck. Nor would I apply any top coat type product. You are correct it will peel and not only look like crap but it will be a PIA to maintain. The look of the UN-sanded boards on your step is what you will get without a major annual project. I think your wax idea is trying to keep the wood from drying out (too much). I live in Southern California and have a west facing Ipe deck that I treat every few years with Penofin brand deck oil. The deck looks great, like a piece of furniture for a few months then starts to slowly turn grey. My thinking is the oiling helps with dry rot (like your wax idea) but the natural look of the weathered wood is .. well grey. So, I’m quite happy with the look and maintenance effort of my gray deck. I recommend you stop sanding, apply Penofin Deck oil following closely their instructions and watch it for a few years.

[Ted Jay]

http://www.thepaintstore.com/Penofin_Blu.../penbl.htm