Please help - stain or preservative for reclaimed redwood?

9 years ago

I posted this question over in Porches and Decks but the forum is slow and there have been no responses. I am hoping someone on this forum will be able to help me.

We are installing a redwood deck in our new build and need to know what finish we should use. Here are the details.
The wood is reclaimed redwood which spent 50 years as a water tank and has been in storage the past three years. Color is a dark purple. Boards will be planed on the top, sides will be trimmed square; bottom will be left as-is. Or should we plane the bottom, too?

Deck is covered, faces east and receives morning filtered sun. We are in Hawaii. Deck will get occasional blown-in rain, but will be mostly dry.

Our goal is durability and DIY friendly for upkeep. What sealant or stain product is recommended for our situation? Do we need to seal all 6 sides of the boards before installation?

Thank you in advance for your responses!

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Comments (5)

lazy_gardens
9 years ago
I would use a good transparent waterproofing wood sealant on ALL SIDES of the material before it's installed ... and then refresh it as needed on the top.

Applying it goes pretty fast if you stack the material in several stacks (on blocks or something) so you can do both sides, let it dry, then lay it out bottom side up and do the bottom. You can do the top after installation.
Honu3421
Original Author
9 years ago
Lazygardens: thank you so much for your post! So I have a few questions - okay, several questions. ;)

1. Most important - This is a penetrating sealer, right? Is there a sealant brand that you recommend? There are so many brands on the web with so many bad reviews!

2. Do we need to use a cleaner PLUS a brightener? on all sides?

3. Since this wood is old is it advisable to plane the bottom in order for the wood to "take" the sealant?

4. When stacking the wood to do the sides: do you mean stack the wood on top of each other and then just paint the sides as the boards are stacked?

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!
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lazy_gardens
9 years ago
Brand ... ??? I've used Thompson's a lot, with good results.

Cleaner and brightener ... not needed if you are planing the surface.

Planing the bottom? I see no reason to. Penetrating sealers have no problem with old wood. We seal our ratty old picnic table every couple of years.

Yes, stack them up with the sides lined up so you can seal several boards at once. You can do both sides of the stack at the same time, which saves a lot of handling, splinters and time.

Like this, but a bit tidier.

{{gwi:2135884}}
Honu3421
Original Author
9 years ago
Hey, that looks pretty tidy to me! Thank you for your quick response to my questions and for all the good information.

I am continually amazed by professionals like you who give their time and advice so freely on this and other GW forums. Thank you!
lazy_gardens
9 years ago
Not a pro ... just an amateur who does a lot of DIY stuff.