Natural Oils for Exterior Use 

Oiled timbers look good, and last long! Natural oils feed the wood, and let the wood breathe and move, which means the timbers can expand and contract as it needs to depending on the temperature and humidity. Natural oils are better for the environent and better for you too!

Oils used in exterior applications need to be tough enough to withstand the extremes of sun, wind and rain. Eventually, however, oils are broken down by the weather, and need to be 'topped up' to continue to protect the wood. How often you need to re-oil depends on the exposure of your timber. The easiest way to check is to look at the wood when it is wet.

 If the water droplets sit on top of the wood, the oil is fine. If the water soaks into the wood, you need to apply another coat of oil.

When chosing your oil for exterior use, you need to decide if you want to change the colour of the wood, or if you prefer a clear oil. If you are changing the colour, you may wish to test the colour on an offcut of wood first.

For old timber, you need to sand the surface to remove any dried and weathered wood (the greyed/silvered layer) before you oil. The reason for removing the already weathered wood is that it will come off soon anyway, and take the oil with it.

Some guidance in selecting your oils:

For a clear oil, use Bio Natural Timber Oil Exterior. It is the clearest of the exterior oils.

Exterior oils use pigment to provide UV protection to the timber; the same way as zinc is used in sunscreens.

Bio Natural timber Oil Exterior has very fine pigment, giving the appearance of a clear finish.

 For a light coloured finish, use the pale Livos Alis Decking Oil colours.

Use any of the darker Livos Alis Decking Oil colours for a darker timber look.

Volvox Timber Deck Care in Spotted Gum is a medium colour, for a dark looking timber use Volvox Timber Deck Care in Jarrah.

 To apply a natural oil, clean the timber thoroughly, there is no need to sand unless the timber is old and weathered. When the wood is dry, after cleaning, apply the oil generously, allow it to soak in for only about 30-40 minutes, then remove any oil which has not soaked in with a lint free rag. Most oils need 2 to 3 coats in the initial application, and it is best to leave it until the next day for each coat. Any re-oiling for maintenance will only require one coat.

Ideally, you would re-oil annually, before the season of high use or before the heavy rains. For some of us it is easier to remember that re-oiling the deck and outdoor timbers is part of the preparation for the end-of-year festivity, or include it in the spring cleaning routine. It's easy to do, just clean and oil, it's very quick, you only need to do one coat. In many situations you can get away with re-oiling every 2 years.