Deck stain for interiors

 

Has anyone used the deck stains used for fences and decks? Stuff like Olympic Maximum? It comes with various amounts of pigment so it can be like a thin traditional stain all the way up to almost a solid paint.

 

I am guessing that since it is a stain it would allow moisture to dry out and not get trapped inside.

 

Last summer I coated the plywood floor of my utility trailer with the solid pigment stain in black. I chose the solid because the fir plywood was already aged with flaking paint and checking. The stain flowed on almost like latex paint. The directions called for applying it and then backbrushing it so that it did not lay on too heavy. So far it has survived a winter and a wet spring being stored outdoors and still looks good.

 

It is water clean up so it is not oil based. Just wondering if any tests have been done to see if this would be an option for those not wanting a traditional oiled interior or a painted/varnished interior?

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Permalink Reply by chris towles on June 20, 2011 at 11:38am

My take on it is this, for the sides of the boat and vertical surfaces, just about anything should work. oil, paint, varnish, stain, whatever. vertical surfaces don't collect water, so they see very little water damage..most finish damage to the sides (with the exception of not sealing top end ply and having it absorb water and rot) is caused by uv. the bottom and other horizontal surfaces are a completely differant story., water will sit, pool, and try to make its way into the wood to rot it out. its hard to stop it from happening. oil does offer a protective coating but oil has its own issues...it can mold and the lipids in the linseed actually attract mold, it is not an effective water barrier, it requires constant maintanance with reoiling. it does have many plus sides too, mainly that it looks great and offers water an escape path, but in my opinion, i think its better to seal up the floor well to keep the water from getting in the first place. many people will say that a sealed floor is a rot problem waiting to happen because if water does get in it doesn't have a way out. this is true, but if you seal up the floor with multiple coats of epoxy, bed all joints and everything with 5200, and then prime, and then either paint or coat with bedliner, and then cover the whole deal with decks which you actually stand on, i just don't see an easy route for water to find its way into the wood. sure, you should check it out 1-2x a year to make sure there are no cracks or damage to the floor, but a properly sealed floor is fairly maintanace free. regardless of your floor treatment though, don't let the water pool and sit in the bottom.

 

as to the deck stain, i have used it many times before on decks. it does hold up to a fair amount of abuse from foot traffic, uv, and weather. however, it doesn't last forever, and you'll find you probably will need to recoat that trailer in another year or so. obviously a wood boat would  not see the same amount of exposure to uv, foot traffic and weather, but i can't imagine that stain lasting that much longer, and if you are fine with doing maintance every 3-5 years, why not just got with a varnish finish or cheap oil based paint over epoxy on the floor. it sounds like it could mabye work out fine, and i'm sure on the sides and whatnot you would have no problems, but i would be hesitant about trying it on the floor. places in the boat that are constant problem spots such as the floor are no place to reinvent the wheel imho. there are many tried and true methods here, many have personal opinions on which they prefer for whatever reason, but the one thing i notice about all the methods used is they have been proven to work by multiple individuals. you're best off trying new things in safe spots.

 

all that said, a grey semi-transpanrent stain on the side panels and verticals surfaces topped off with a similar color tone solid oil paint on the decks floors could look really really nice, and also be fairly durable. its up to you wether you want to be the guinea pig for us all, but if you pick and choose your battles with the finish areas it might work out just fine.

 

again, just my .02

chris

Permalink Reply by Frank R on June 21, 2011 at 5:35am

Thanks Chris. I have considered all the points you bring up.

 

I have been mostly in the "seal it up with epoxy" crowd but now I am moving toward the "oil lets the trapped moisture escape" crowd.

 

I expect to have to do regular maintenance to a stain, but it is rather easy since you just slop it on and brush it in. But the advantage over varnish or paint is that it will let trapped moisture escape.

 

I am not sure if these new low-VOC deck stains contain any oils that would attract mold.

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on June 21, 2011 at 6:36am

Check out Marine Penofin. It is supposed to have additives to avoid mold and protect from UV. I bought a gallon for $35 here in Spokane. They also have interior Penofin that doesn't protect from UV or mold. I haven't applied mine yet so I can't report on the qualities of it. There is also Deks Olje (check my spelling) another oil based product. Do a search on these pages and you will find past discussions of all these products. I just remembered that there several Teak Oils also available just to make the selection process more fun.

 

Rick Newman

 

 

Permalink Reply by Ross Duncan on January 16, 2012 at 6:55am

I am thinking of using Marine Penofin on the next boat.

 

Pros - cons?

 

Ross

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Dave Z on January 16, 2012 at 12:21pm

I've painted, epoxied, oiled, latexed, varnished boats. inside, outside, all sides.

Oil everything on the inside, epoxy/varnish or paint outside is what I'm doing these days.  I stil oil my rails, gunnels and chine caps.

 

Consider how hard you are going to work your boat and in what type of water.  If you will get bottom impacts form boulders, rocks or take hard hits, I'd avoid the interior surface finish like epoxy, paint, etc... Remember what happens when you take a hard hit (usually right under the front seat)....The rocks hits the outside bottom, and transfers the energy to the inside floor.  Impact fractures occur in the top most plies.    If you have paint or epoxy, it just invited water into those cracks, under the surface finish.  My experience is that you will never be able to fully seal the inside floor of a framed boat.  S&G is a different story.  That is a wood-core boat, fully glassed inside and out.

 

Oil can indeed attract modl in certain climates.  Add a pint of Japan Drier to the mix to facilitate the drying process.  my boats aren't modly, and are stored dry in the barn.

 

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