Which oil to choose for the terrace?
Which oil to choose for the terrace?
The warm season of the year is inexorably approaching. We are in a hurry to properly prepare outdoor terraces, so one of the most frequently asked questions is “which oil to choose for the terrace “? Have you installed a terrace that you have dreamed of for a long time, smelling of fresh wood, but after the spring sun shines and the winter snow melts, you notice that the appearance of the wooden terrace floor covering has changed? Intensive use, direct sunlight and harsh weather conditions have done their work, so after winter the wooden terrace looks completely different. Do not despair, your terrace can look like it was just installed again, if you follow the basic condition – you will take care of it regularly. In order for wooden plank terraces to retain their original appearance as long as possible and to last longer, it is recommended to renew the wooden surface of the covering every spring. How to do it right?
Maintenance of the wooden terrace
Wooden terraces in Lithuania are usually made of thermally treated or impregnated pine, larch or hardwood wood. With proper maintenance and regular renewal of the wooden surface of the terrace, it will become durable, resistant to moisture, clean and perfectly protected from external factors. The unprotected surface turns gray, cracks begin to form. Finally, the surface becomes covered with dirt, moss or mold. The wood coating not only loses its aesthetic appearance, but also becomes slippery or even begins to rot. It is also damaged by intense sunlight – they destroy the structure of the wood surface. Therefore, it is recommended to oil all types of terrace wood.
The following steps are necessary to renew and prepare a wooden terrace for the new season.
Step 1 . Clean the dirt properly
The process of spring renovation of a wooden terrace begins with the removal of dirt. The cleaner and drier the surface of the wood, the deeper the protective agents penetrate and adhere. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the dirt thoroughly before using them. When wood oil is applied to a dirty surface, it will not be able to fully penetrate, resulting in a new layer of dirt.
What to clean?
Is it enough to simply wash the terrace with water or do you need special measures? Tomas Sakalauskas, representative of long-term professionals, the company MDS terasos, says that by using tools specially designed for the maintenance of wooden terraces, the desired result of a clean terrace can be achieved faster and more efficiently. If you need to remove built-up dirt, he advises you to first choose Woca brand wood cleaner, which functions as a soap. If the stains of dirt, oil, grease and other dirt are very old, it is worth choosing a slightly stronger product – wood cleaner ” WOCA Deep Cleaner “. Both of these tools are environmentally friendly, the lawn and vegetation around the terrace will remain healthy after the cleaning procedure, and the wood surface will shine clean.
2 step. Allow the surface to dry
After thoroughly cleaning wooden surfaces with a solution of water and wood cleaner, it is necessary to allow the coating to dry completely. The drier the surface, the deeper the wood oil penetrates, which creates excellent protection against moisture, UV rays and various dirt. When oiling an incompletely dried wood surface, it will be difficult to achieve the desired result. Applying oil to wet wood can worsen the condition of the wood and not achieve an effective long-term effect.
Step 3. Oiling of wooden surfaces
After getting rid of the layer of dirt accumulated during the winter, the most important work of the terrace renewal process awaits – oiling. It is wood oil that is a magical tool that performs many useful functions. It fully protects the wood, prevents it from cracking, prevents the spread of harmful factors such as moss, mold or other pests. Penetrating into the deep layers, the oil extends the life of the wood and its excellent aesthetic appearance.
Which wood oil to choose?
“MDS terrace” experts advise to use a series of products from one manufacturer and to oil the terrace to choose the well-known, tested and favorite oil “Woca” for the treatment of outdoor wood. This oil can be natural or with pigments of various shades.
What oil color is the most popular?
Comment from Tomas Sakalauskas, manager of MDS Terasos:
“Usually people naturally like the brown color of impregnated and Termo pine terrace boards, so they want to keep exactly that, original color. Many are fooled into thinking that, by oiling with a natural color, they will be able to preserve the same brown color of the boards. This is not true. Wood turns gray from UV rays and the only thing that stops that graying is the pigment, which is a colored oil. “Woca Teak” color gives wooden boards richness and protection from the sun, while minimally changing the natural color of pine boards. It is a very successful color for the most commonly used terrace boards in our country, which is why Teak is the most popular color. Also, customers often choose brown Walnut, Hazelnut and gray Anthracite, Thunder Gray and Stone Grey. Some decide to oil the wooden surfaces of the terrace with the shade of “Black” – it is a very rich, solid and modern color.”
Criteria for choosing wood oil color
When choosing which color to oil wooden surfaces, terrace owners primarily rely on their personal taste or combine the color of the terrace covering with the color scheme chosen by the house facade, window frames, project architects or designers. It is also important to know that once you start oiling the terrace with the chosen color, it is not necessary to choose it every year. With the aforementioned tool – the cleaner “Woca Deep Cleaner” – the old color can be cleaned from the wood and re-oiled with another shade of oil. A particularly good result is obtained if a darker shade of oil is chosen than the previous one.
Larch wood patio owners often deliberately allow sunlight to change the color of larch planks because they are aiming for a gray wood effect. However, it is worth noting that even in this case, the boards should be covered with natural colored oil, which protects the wood from cracking and the effects of pests.
Maintenance of wood plastic composite decking boards
It is a common belief that wood plastic composite (also known as WPC) decking is maintenance-free once decking is installed. It is for this reason that WPC boards are a popular choice as they require less maintenance than wooden boards. Nevertheless, maintenance cannot be completely avoided. In the spring, these boards will need to be washed in the same way, to remove the dirt accumulated during the winter. WPC boards, like wood, can be given additional protection using colorless oil or Woodshield nano coating. By providing this protection, there would be less dirt or hard-to-clean stains. This will impregnate the boards, make them more resistant to external factors and last longer.
Terrace maintenance tools
In addition to the tools recommended by terrace professionals, effective renovation of a wooden terrace will also require work tools. In order to wash the terrace covering, to remove moss, mold, graying or stains, a hard scrubbing brush will come in handy. On a cleaned and dried surface, it is best to apply wood oil with an oiling brush or, for larger areas, use an applicator with a sponge.
Renovation of other wooden surfaces of the terrace
When talking about terrace care and preparation for the summer season, we focused on the terrace floor covering. However, it is worth noting that the wooden elements of the facade or terrace shed and wooden outdoor furniture can be similarly renovated and prepared for the summer. It is advised to use the same products as for decking and to apply the “wipe – let dry – oil” process.