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Nathan Foster

The following regards a DIY oil brew I made up a couple of years ago for oiling the deck and board and batons of our house. I applied it two years ago and have waited until now to report on its hardiness.

To create the oil, I used an old Norse long boat recipe but had to modify it a bit to get it to work. The result is a good oil that does not crack and it seems to have prevented mold over the two year period. Oil can be reapplied without having to strip (unlike modern acrylics). I did not want to use a regular oil because our decking boards are grooved and do not offer a smooth surface for modern sealers.

I water blasted the deck and house in spring, then let it dry into summer. While I waited for summer to set in, I experimented with my viking brew. When I applied the finalized brew, the deck and walls went brown due to the dark tar. But this soon faded and the deck and walls went back to their natural look. I have seen no signs of mold after two years. Ideally, I think this should be done every year but as suggested, we skipped last year.

The brew consists of:

2.5 litres boiled linseed oil.

1.5 litres turps (white spirits).

50 mls / grams of Stockholm tar.

Thinners.

I have found that the cheapest way to do this is to buy 20 litres of linseed oil from Mitre10 Mega, then 5 litres of Stockholm tar from RD1 or Farmlands (used to treat seedy toe in horses).

I mixed the Stockholm tar with about a half cup or more of thinners. If you do not mix the tar with thinners, it won't break down (turpentine won't dissolve it). The tar was used to prevent mold (and make the house smell like a gun shop).

Next, I poured 1.5 litres of turps into an empty 5 litre container. I then added the thinned tar. After this I added the linseed oil and mix it all together.

To apply the mix, I used a knapsack sprayer, being sure to clean it out thoroughly afterwards. On our timber deck and exposed timber cladding, I used nearly 20 liters of this mix.

I hope this DIY tip proves useful. I will add some key words below in case others are searching for this.

BLO, boiled linseed oil decking, boiled linseed and turps, boiled linseed and white spirits, pine tar and oil, DIY decking oil, home made decking oil, long boat oil.