# Forum Home Renovation Decking  oikos wood stain vs cutek CD50 decking oil

## Steffen595

did some experiment with oikos/Novalis wood stain ad Cutek CD50 decking oil. The oikos stuff does penetrate fractions of a mm and after 2 layers forms a thin coating. 2nd coating already does not really penetrate 1st coating. Its water repellent. Coating is after a few days pretty much like paint in terms of hardness. 
oikos into merbau and into pine: 
Cutek stays somewhat oily but penetrates a fair bit. Wven goes about 1/2 mm into merbau.
cutek into merbau and into pine:  
pine  
have coated the timber pieces first an then cut into so no cheating as in put the stuff at the open cut and let it soak in. Suppose a little sun and the oil starts creeping deeper.  
Oikos is water based but has a little VOC in it, Cutek is oil based, but less nasty than oils. Cutek guy claims you would have to recoat every year, Oikos claims it lasts loner. Not convinced with oikos because itsits on top of the timber, it will wear off. 
Now all I have to do is wait. Front decking is in oikos, and put leftover merbau in the backyard, one side coated with oikos, the other with Cutek. Same with wheelbarrow, one handle each coating. Unfortunately has to stay outsid and handles get some use, so see which one lasts longer.

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## keltrader

Interesting post. Will follow with interest.

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## stevoh741

my monies on cutek

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## Steffen595

> Interesting post. Will follow with interest.

  will take 1/2 to 1 year to get the result. But until I build my next deck I will have a decision ,-)
If the oikos does not have to be recoated for a while its worth it.

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## stevoh741

I use cutek all the time. 1 yr recoat on horizontal (full weather) surfaces - 18 mths easy if covered, 2 yrs recoat on vertical surfaces. Recoat 10x easier than other products IMO

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## Steffen595

getting worse: 
just 5 months in you can see the timber again. Well, will recoat until the can is empty then switch to cutek. What a pain, only plus is that its water based and not sticky. The cutek sample in my backyard is still a little oily.

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## Steffen595

had a leftover piece, now it looks like this:
cutek a bit dull and bleached 
oikos still looks ok, should take a picture of frond decking:

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## strangerep

I'm also doing some experiments with Cutek. 
1) Penetration: I put 2 coats of Cutek on some offcuts of turpentine and blackbutt decking and left them inside the garage for several months until the Cutek no longer felt oily. Then I cut them through. Result: visible penetration was sub-millimeter. Seems like Cutek's penetration can vary on different timber species. However, I feel this doesn't matter in practice, because... 
2) Durability: I applied 2 coats of Cutek to my fully exposed front (turpentine) deck back in May 2012. Although it now looks a bit dull and faded, the rainwater still beads strongly(!). In this respect, it outperforms other decking oils I tried -- by a considerable margin. I know it hasn't endured a summer yet, but we'll see... 
 Seems like it doesn't really matter that penetration is less than the glossy brochure says. Part of the secret might be that I allowed a full 2 weeks between coats (double the manufacturer's recommendation). In hindsight, 3 weeks may have been even better. 
BTW, I prefer the oil-type decking products to water-based since the latter can be an absolute pain to maintain if you leave it too long between coats. If Cutek can indeed at least equal the longevity of (say) Spa'n'Deck in terms of water beading, that'll seal the deal for me hereafter 
Steffen: could you possibly post pictures showing your exterior samples with rain water on them? Does it bead strongly?

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## Steffen595

recoated it within hours, maybe it dries later on? Merbeau does not penetrate that much but it went quite far in my pictures?
Have to make some rain on the weekend then, am at work at daylight hrs.

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## Steffen595

> I'm also doing some experiments with Cutek. 
> Steffen: could you possibly post pictures showing your exterior samples with rain water on them? Does it bead strongly?

  cutek still repeals water, like oil would, but it looks a bit tired. Oikos it does not go in, like on paint. On the untreated timber it goes straight in

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## r3nov8or

The Cutek will bead well, as you've found, but if you didn't add a tint (you don;t say that you did) it will not protect UV and so the wood will fade and eventually go grey. OK if that's what you like. This could be the 'tired' look you mention. 
Also, don't be so definite that any oil-based finish will continue to bead like the Cutek has. In most cases it simply isn't the case.

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## strangerep

> [...] don't be so definite that any oil-based finish will continue to bead like the Cutek has. In most cases it simply isn't the case.

  Maybe Steffen meant that the Cutek still beads like any oil would _when new_. Steffen, could you please clarify? Also, when you (Steffen) said:   

> Oikos it does not go in, like on paint.

   what precisely did you mean? Did you mean the water spreads out flat on the surface without beading?

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