Staining Our Deck With Eco Wood Treatment
At the shop, it’s important for us to try the products we are selling. After all, only by actually using the products can we give you the best advice! With an extra day this holiday weekend, I decided to use Eco Wood Treatment on our old wooden deck.
A few years ago, I used Benjamin Moore Arbor Coat, a water repelling oil and UV protectant, to protect the wood and give it a redwood colour. You can read a little more about that here. I haven’t given it much love since then and after a few years the stain is wearing away, the wood is dirty and starting to weather. A holiday weekend was the perfect opportunity to try Eco Wood Treatment, a product we picked up at our last trade show.
Eco Wood is a little different than you traditional wood stain. First of all, it only comes in “weathered gray.” This was perfect for me (I love gray) but the look may not be for everyone. Essentially it mimics the natural weathering process of wood and creates a beautiful silvery finish (almost) instantly. Because it changes the actual wood, it will never peel or fade. Bonus – the end result is also supposed to be mold and mildew resistant.
How does Eco Wood Treatment work? I started by cleaning the existing deck and removing any left over old stain. I added a light soap detergent to my power washer, gave the deck a good scrub and left the wood to dry. TIP: A power washer is not the best way to clean exterior wood. It forces too much water into the surface and the wood may splinter over time. Plus you will be left with a fuzzy residue on top that will have to be sanded off. A much better way to clean the deck is with old fashioned elbow grease, a stiff scrub brush and light detergent.
This is what I started with:
After a good cleaning the deck was already looking much better.
The day was warm and sunny so after a few hours the deck was dry and ready for treatment.
Eco Wood Treatment is available in two sizes – 1 gallon and 5 gallon mix. For my 12′ x 14′ deck the 1 gallon size was plenty. In the box you will find a silver bag of mix and the instructions. You will also need a bucket, water and some throw away brushes. You can also apply the stain with a roller or pump sprayer for larger surfaces like pergolas or blinds.
The product looked a little like sand.
After mixing with a gallon of water and stirring thoroughly the liquid looks like dirty dish water. I has no smell.
I then used a disposable brush to evenly apply the solution to the wood. Honestly, I had a bit of a chuckle. It really looked like I was just applying dirty water on the wood. Good news – this type of painting is right up my alley. You just slap this stuff on. It will not damage plants or grass and has zero smell. It will, however, stain fabrics so don’t wear your favourite shirt or shoes for this project.
After a few minutes, as the wood was starting to dry, there was definitely a silvery tone that started to emerge. Apparently this weathered colour will deepened with time. If you would like to speed up the process wait a couple of days, wet the wood and let it dry in the sun.
On the left is the dried deck with Eco Wood Treatment applied. To the right is the original clean dry wood.
About an hour later (it was a sunny day) I was able to walk on the surface and put the patio furniture back on.
You can find Eco Wood Treatment (and hundreds of other products) by visiting our physical location on 67 St. John’s Road in Pembroke or by visiting our online shop.
Remember if you’re local and don’t want to miss a paint sale make sure to join our mailing list by following this link (and get a little bonus for subscribing!)
There’s more where this came from! See thousand of our decorating and design Pins on our boards here. If you liked this post don’t forget to check back next week to see what’s new on the blog but if you can’t wait our Facebook page is updated daily with amazing spaces, design tips and DIY projects. Or get a sneak peak at life behind the scenes at the paint store (and more stunning rooms) on our Instagram here.
Leave a Reply