How to harden an exterior pinewood deck floor

Ittiandro · Jul 15, 2014

Hi
I want to know how I can harden an exterior pinewood deck floor.
I have laid and stained the floor with a water base stain containing linseed oil, but I find it so soft that it scratches easily.
I wonder if there is a product I can apply on the stained floor to harden it. I was thinking a coat or two of clear varnish would do the job, but I get some mixed opinions on this. Some say the varnish can react with the stain and eventually lift. They suggest applying a wood sealant,instead, but with two coats of stain I think the floor is already sealed enough. Besides, does the sealant really harden the floor?I don't think it really does.
If I can apply a clear varnish should it be oil based or water based?

Thank you for your advice

da.bees · Jul 15, 2014

You say "stained the floor with a water base stain containing linseed oil,"

That strikes me as a strange mixture. Why would you not use oil stain if mixing linseed oil? I don't believe there is a good way of hardening the wood at this point so recoating with varnish or paint when required is all you can do.
In the future,if you want to harden wood try this. Use a weed burner, torch or heat lamp/gun to repeatly heat the surface. Heat until wood starts to change color but doesn't turn black. There will be small areas of black which can be scraped off before staining if you like. The discoloration can be concealed by stain. Under no cercumstances apply linseed oil,it softens wood although it's a good presevitive.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 16, 2014

Now, like Forrest Gump, "I may not be a smart man..."

...but if you want a hard wood floor, shouldn't you start with a hardwood, such as maple or oak...rather than trying to turn a softwood like pine into something it ain't?

Just an observation, not a criticism.

M. Doud · Jul 17, 2014

There are new water-based products that are "oil-modified" They still use water as a carrier but they contain oil-based finishes.

How to harden an exterior pinewood deck floor

Ittiandro

New User

da.bees

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

M. Doud

Member

Similar threads