Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - linseed oil for cedar decks?

some told me that to bring out the natural colour of a deck to use linseed oil...does anyone know if this is true?.....i have a BC redwood cedar deck that was installed last year...and my husband insisted on treating it with Thompsons Water Seal....a tinted one to-boot.....well didn't even make it through the winter...complete garbage....so anyhew...i am cleaning and sanding all remnants of this crap off my deck and someone told me that i should use linseed oil to bring out the natural beauty of the wood....so my question is does anyone know if this is true? or has anyone used this method? and should it be regular linseed or boiled linseed? and what is the difference between the two?....

Cheers!!!! :cheshire:

The local mildew population will love you. They eat the stuff all day long. If you are looking for an oil type finish try some Penofin. Looks great but is expensive. Make sure you remove the Thompsons.

http://www.penofin.com/

I don't know if mildew is a problem in Canada or not. Although linseed oil is good for wood it has not been used on exterior wood in the south east U.S. for over 30 years because of mildew issues. Linseed oil does deepen the color of wood and will tend to darken with age if not in the sun. Your best bet is to check with local people and find out what others have had success [or failure] with in your area.

thanks for the tips....i am in the process of removing all the thompsons....i've decided against the linseed oil....i was recommed to use a product called ''Formula 77''....and i haven't noticed a mildew problem up here yet....but i've only been in this town going on 2 years now

i checked the msds for "sikkens" and it is primarily an oil based product.

what i do for my outdoor furniture and have done on a deck located in
an extreme sunny location, is to mix either paint thinner or diesel fuel
in a 3 to 1 ratio with new motor oil 30 weight.

the paint thinner will flash off quicker although is twice the cost of diesel.
yes diesel smells for a day or two, although it is not flammable like thinner.

i can mix up a five gallon can for under ten dollars.
i can add colorant if i care to.

i coat my picnic table in the spring and again in the fall.
and it sits outside all winter often covered with snow.
i have had no problems with movement of the wood.

i can either spray it on a deck and roll it out or roll it on a fence or
brush where needed. it works for me. no mildew probs either.

i insert the roller into a couple of bread bags and it is fine for the
next time i need to use it. the brush is a throw away type and i just
keep it in the gallon can,sealed, until i need to use it again.

the two gallon spayer i run some paint thinner or diesel thru to clean the
line.