Look at using an oil based stain. We used Oil Stain on ours in 'Merbau' and it looks quite good. I recall it was a Wattyl product.

Agree with MB, it will need to be redone every 12 months or so depending on the exposure to the sun & weather.

Ours is a water based product called UltraDeck in merbau from Intergrain. You need fine weather to apply but it is fast drying. We are happy with it but some areas on east & west need 6 monthly renewal...clean & recoat mostly is all.

I'll look into that product hgirs. Sounds great.

I agree - Spa n Deck is great product

Good to know thanks Hari ;)

This is very interesting and useful information Hari and hgris, thank you! I think this sounds like the product for us. There are some excellent reviews out there, including from professionals that spend their days removing all the other products and replacing it with this one! I also read on another forum that you can ring their help line for advice at any time! Plus our little hardware store down the road, who I like to try and support when I can, stock it. Thanks again :)

If you get bushfires, consider replacing with a fire resistant product, or don't use oil, and look for fire retardant sealant. Looks like there's a fair bit of bush there.

Trek - yes, it is a bushfire area and I would like to replace it but it is huge and only a year or so old (although we didn't build it) so it will be a while until that happens I think. Good point about the oil - would it make much difference in case of fire?

houndy7 - thanks so much for your information...I find this whole thing very confusing! All I know is that I do not want to pay to have it sanded again. The ease of reapplication of oil is a big plus.

Everyone I talk to tells me something different with the same zeal...I guess I will just have to make a decision in the end. And, perhaps this highlights why there are so many products on the market for this job - really, none of them do all things all the time.

I have just used Cutek oil on brand new blackbutt deck and some recycled spotted gum posts and it looks awesome. After the builders tramped dirt and grime all over the deck I used the Cutek Proclean on the previously oiled deck and it came up beautifully and then reapplied another coat of Cutek oil. I also used the Proclean to clean up some old merbau decking planks for use in the garden and they look great. I would recommend Cutek. You can get a UV resistant tint to add to the oil if you want to keep the colour of your newly sanded deck looking fresh without greying off.

From the Country Fire Authority website

Expand by clicking on it

Fire retardant sealers

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Fire+resistant+decking+treatment+sealer&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

We use Cutek on our spotted gum decking and are very happy with it. The decking under the verandah that sees little rain or sun would probably get away with only being oiled once a year, if that, but areas that are not protected and are subject to the elements require twice yearly applications (we do it in spring and again in autumn). One thing I like about oil is that it penetrates into the timber rather than just sitting on top of it. We use a decking mop and find it is much faster than using a roller, and uses much less oil (the less you use each application the better, the deck will only absorb so much oil at one time and the excess doesn't dry and has to be cleaned back with a cloth and thus wasted).

Reviving this old thread.. I have a Blackbutt deck, nearly 4 yrs, finished in cutek goldtone. I am not happy with the look, despite following advice in oiling every side before being laid, cleaned and oiled regularly. It has weathered terribly and I have battled on with this high maintenance process, I’ve been advised that i could use johnstones water based deck oil over my weathered cutek (successfully used by another client of the paint shop). But I’m worried about ignoring the age old advice, oil and water don’t mix!! I’m worried it might peel in time, too. Has anyone been dissatisfied with cutek over time? Don’t know whether to move to johnstones, stick with cutek, or maybe even go with a darker tone in cutek to disguise the weathering. Here’s a short history of the deck!!

Hi lisg, what did you decide to do? The Dec 2017 shot is surprising - it looks like new boards in amongst the weathered boards? Are these photos after re-applying the oil?

Hi Fiona. Those boards were replaced after initial build (after installing new wider slider), so that’s why they were lighter. It was weathered and needing a clean and recoil there.
I took cutek’s (expensive)advice and started with quik clean (loosens dirt which was evidently incorporated into my layers of oil), then followed with pro clean (timber brightener). I scrubbed my butt off and was still not happy with the result. It just didn’t evenly clean it up, and I used fairly concentrated doses, and got down on my knees to scrub, not just a brush on a long stick. I oiled with cutek extreme (instead of cd50). Some more pics, after scrubbing then after oiling (still dark).
I did redo my handrail in johnstones deck oil, and it appears to be lasting well, no peeling... but I’m still a bit cautious about risking my deck with this finish (water based over oil). I think I’d prefer dirty weather deck than a peeling finish.
Next house I’m only having timber deck if it’s entirely undercover!!
Do you have a similar dilemma?

We are building a verandah around our house - so it will be undercover mostly, but the edges will still be exposed to wind and rain. Just looking at all the products out there and trying to weigh up what will be best. At this point, we are definitely going with an oil as we don't mind a bit of silvering and have found paint and varnish peel very easily in our semi-arid environment (even oil-based primer followed by exterior paint on our walls, hence the roofed verandah, to protect the walls as well as increase liveable space). The question is which company produces the best oil product. Cutek gets a good rap from a lot of reviewers, which is why I was interested in your experience.

I bought a house with an existing deck that has been treated with one of those water based decking products. It's peeling now. If I were the one building that deck I would have had it treated with oil for the simple reason that when it needs redoing a pressure wash and application is all that's necessary. As it is, I had to have the entire deck sanded now so I can apply oil.

5yr product life might sound like a long time but it's no time at all. I would always choose the product based on how simple the re-application is because all products need re-applying sooner or later. I don't want to be sanding this enormous deck and all it's handrails every 3-5yrs.

My deck is fully covered and it's 4m wide but to be honest rain rarely falls perfectly vertical. My entire deck is often soaked right up to the exterior walls of the house if there's even a bit of wind with the rain.

Hi Fiona. I think if it’s mostly covered, it will be fine. A little bit of maintenance around the edges is manageable, not the entire deck! Where mine is undercover, it’s great. I think cutek is allergic to sun and rain!! I used a tint as was told it gives better protection, but this prevents it slivering. Instead it’s like it reacts with UV and rain and goes very dark.

Hi there,

I have installed timber windows at the front of my house 2 years ago and treated them with several coats of Cutek Extreme CD50, bought as per recommendation from a "timber expert" as I wanted to keep the natural look of the timber. I reapplied it every 6-7 months and followed the instructions to the dot.

Unfortunately with all the rain last year, I had mould at the sills and also saw that the timber had cracked on several places. Now I am trying to put on the Cobat's Exterior (oil based) stain as per the window manufacturers original suggestion. I wish I had not

listened to him in the first place. Picture below shows after I treated the mould.

Hi Emelie from the pics you’ve posted it looks like the windows had previously or are already coated with some sort of finish.
cuteck oil is different to most finishes it penetrates into the timber and can not go over any other existing coating.