Oil wood

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Rene T

Rene T

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I’ve heard that some of the old timers use to take old engine oil and paint the deck boards on their flatbed trailer. I have skid steer trailer. 2 years ago, I replace all the deck boards with cherry which was given to me. Now I’m wondering if old oil can be used to preserve the wood or is there something better.
 
Outdoor/exterior oil-based polyurethane or marine spar varnish. On a trailer deck that will get scratches and damage thin the first coat 50% so it soaks deeper into the wood. Then at least two more coats. Spar varnish has more solids so some say it lasts longer but is more expensive.

Used motor oil will work but it's an ugly smelly surface that gets really dirty and gets on anything that touches it. It also has to be reapplied every year.
 
There are plenty of wood preservatives available. Used oil is stinky and messy. New motor oil has less stink, and not as messy.
 
Rene T said:
I’ve heard that some of the old timers use to take old engine oil and paint the deck boards on their flatbed trailer. I have skid steer trailer. 2 years ago, I replace all the deck boards with cherry which was given to me. Now I’m wondering if old oil can be used to preserve the wood or is there something better.
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It works.

A friend of mine, who is from Armenia, took used oil and added iron oxide (rust) to it to give it a deep red tone, then painted the fence around his (big) back yard. That was in about 2010. He has replaced 2 or 3 boards in the 15 years since then.
 
Used oil is messy stuff, both to apply and the residue it leaves on the surface, but it does preserve rather well. Ditto for a creosote-type preservative. Personally, though, I'd use a commercial exterior-grade wood preservative. A stain type that penetrates rather than a varnish. More penetration means more preservative action and scratches don't show as much.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Used oil is messy stuff, both to apply and the residue it leaves on the surface, but it does preserve rather well. Ditto for a creosote-type preservative. Personally, though, I'd use a commercial exterior-grade wood preservative. A stain type that penetrates rather than a varnish. More penetration means more preservative action and scratches don't show as much.
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Maybe on a coffee table or nightstand, but I think if we're talking about a wood fence or deck scratches are not a consideration.
 
I am currently staying at a State Historic Site in Louisiana and when I'm not doing tours I'm keeping busy doing different wood working projects around the Plantation.

Now, the mechanics "shop" is not geared for wood-working projects. The counter tops (raw wood) are covered with oils over years and years of use, mechanical parts and pieces.

The wood itself is now preserved very, very well. However, anything that touches it get's dirty, oily, icky. I learned the hard way not to put anything I've just sanded down on any of the counter tops. When I lift them up, they are covered with black residue, oily gunk and then I have to sand all over again.


I finally found a nice long 12 inch wide board (fresh and new) and simply laid it on the concrete floor and that's where my sanded and finished wood parts are kept until I work with them again.

Even the concrete floor has oils and dirt ground in. Anything touching the floor gets dirty, oily, and nasty, and definately, not easy to clean out, sand, or even paint over.

Bottom line .... don't use oil on wood unless it's an item of wood that will never be touched by anyone every again.
 
Chef Duane said:
Ever smelled 80w-90 gear oil? That stuff will make you wretch up yer' guts.
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The foul odor is created when condensation inside the hogshead mixes with the gear oil over time and becomes quite acidic.
Years ago I was changing the diff. oil on one of my uncles dump trucks. After I finished I went directly to another job. Just wiped off my hands and began the new job.
About an hour later my hands began to burn. I went and washed them, after the grime and oil was washed away my hands were very red. I washed again with baking soda, which stopped the burning.
 
I use Thompson's Wood Protector (not waterseal) on my deck. It's 30 years old and only a few cracks in the boards. I clean it every two to three years and coat it again. The wood protector is more like an oil. I'm sure it has penetrated the wood most of the way through since after multiple coats, it doesn't soak in near as much now. Apply a heavy initial coat, wait a few days and hose off the excess.
 
gwinger said:
I use Thompson's Wood Protector (not waterseal) on my deck. It's 30 years old and only a few cracks in the boards. I clean it every two to three years and coat it again. The wood protector is more like an oil. I'm sure it has penetrated the wood most of the way through since after multiple coats, it doesn't soak in near as much now. Apply a heavy initial coat, wait a few days and hose off the excess.
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I couldn’t find wood protector. Only wood sealer. Are they the same?
 
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