A New-To-Me Wood Preservation Method — Pine Tar
As I’ve shared in previous posts, I’ve been planning on painting the cedar boards on our front porch. I had made this decision after years of struggling to find an exterior stain or sealer product that actually works and holds up to the elements. I’ve tried several brands so far, all of which can be found at the local big box stores. I’ve tried Cabot Australian Timber Oil, Ready Seal, Thompson’s Timber Oil, among others. And every time, the wood looks fantastic right after the oil is applied.
Here’s how it looked right after I finished applying the Thompson’s Timber Oil.
But so far, none of the options I’ve tried have lasted more than one year. After a year, the finish washes away and the boards start to look incredibly dry, grayed, and rough, and the color is faded and uneven.
Here’s a closer view of just how bad the boards start to look after just one year. The posts are PVC boards, so they just get dirty. After a good wash, they still look fantastic. But the cedar porch boards begin to look awful pretty fast…
I think I’ve tried a total of five different products so far, and this has happened with all of them. None of them last. So in my frustration, I had decided to paint the porch boards with Behr Porch & Patio paint with the hope I could at least get two or three years out of a painted finish.
In preparation for priming and painting, I have, once again, sanded down my porch to get it ready for the new finish. So right now, it’s looking pretty good again. All of that old finish is gone, the gray is gone, the roughness is gone, and the cedar boards are looking fresh and ready to be sealed. And while I really wasn’t thrilled about painting them, I figured it was my best option at this point.
But as often happens, I got several comments on previous posts that made me second guess my decision to paint. I got comments like this…
“I would use oil based stain and tung oil finish for preserving your beautiful cedar wood. This info is online: Preserving outdoor cedar with an oil-based stain and tung oil requires combining a penetrating stain for UV color protection with tung oil to build a tough, water-resistant seal. This two-step process deeply penetrates the wood grain to protect against harsh weather and decay without peeling.”
That sounds great, but I’ve already tried that. Cabot Australian Timber Oil is a combination of three oils, including tung oil, combined with stain. I’ve been there, tried that, and it lasted a year (if that) before it started looking awful.
But then I also get comments like this…
“A word of caution — When we bought our house, the deck had just been painted. We’ve been here only a few years and it looks absolutely awful. The paint is peeling off everywhere. We’re not looking forward to the big job of getting the paint all scraped off so we can stain it instead.”
And of course, that is always the problem with painting wood for exterior purposes. The painted finishes look great…until they don’t. Wood likes the breath. It’s always expanding and contracting, and even more so when it’s outside. When you paint wood with a latex paint, you’re basically coating the wood in plastic. That’s fine as long as the coating is in perfect condition. But the moment that finish fails at any point, even if it’s just a hairline crack, water is going to find its way in there, it will soak into the wood, and then it won’t have a way to escape. So that water stays trapped inside the wood under that layer of plastic coating, and that leads to all kinds of problems like rotting wood and peeling paint.
But as I was reading and researching the best option, I came across something I had never heard of before called pine tar. Pine tar comes from the trunks of pine trees, and it’s harvested by heating up the wood by building a fire around it, which decreases the viscosity of the tar, allowing it to be harvested from the wood.
If you want to see the process (on a smalls scale) of pine tar being harvested, I came across this fascinating video of a man harvesting his own pine tar from which he made not only a sealer that can be used for wood, but also a salve that can be used on skin for cuts and scrapes.
Pine tar has been used for millennia for wood preservation, dating back to the Nordic Iron Age when it was used to protect ships and boats. It has been used to protect wood buildings like the Urnes Stave Church, which is Norway’s oldest and most elaborately carved and decorated stave church, built around 1130AD.
All of that to say that if it worked for the Vikings, I think it’ll work for my front porch. 😀
Once the pine tar is harvested from the trees, it can be thinned down (generally with purified raw linseed oil) and painted on with a brush just like an oil-based stain. It soaks deep into the wood and provides a natural UV protection while also sealing the wood and protecting it against insects, rot, water, etc.
The best thing about pine tar is that it’s all natural. solvent-free, and has no petrochemicals in it at all, so it’s completely environmentally friendly. And again, it’s been used for millennia specifically because it’s a natural, long lasting wood preservation method.
Pine tar isn’t as popular and well-known here in the U.S. as it is in other parts of the world like Norway, but there are companies that sell pine tar in the U.S. (or ship to the U.S.). You don’t get a wide color range in pine tar like you get with standard stains that you find at the local big box stores, but I did find a beautiful dark brown that will work perfectly for my front porch and the steps to my workshop. It comes from a company called Earth + Flax. The pine tar comes in a container that looks like this…
And the dark brown color looks like this…
So after spending about an hour yesterday reading about pine tar, watching the videos on the Earth + Flax Instagram page, and learning all about pine tar, I’ve decided to try it. I’ll be the Guinea pig for all of us, and we’ll see just how well this millennia-old weather preservation method works for a central Texas cedar porch.
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Excited to see how well it works for you!
I had heard of pine tar but didn’t know much about. Thanks for the information! The dark brown color you’ve chosen is very nice and looks similar to the the color you had previously. How does the cost of pine tar compare to the cost of staining and sealing or painting the porch? I hope this works out for you!
I’ve only heard about it in conjunction with baseball bats!
It’s definitely more expensive up front. I paid $212.50 for 3 quarts of pine tar and a gallon of linseed oil. That includes a pretty hefty shipping charge. But when I compare that to all of the products I’ve already tried on the porch, it’s probably the same, if not less.
An interesting solution that I’ll be further interested in seeing how it works in a subtropical vs nordic climate. Thanks for being a guinea pig.
May I suggest two things. That you contact the company about using it in a subtripical climate though I don’t see any reason not to. https://pinetarpaint.com/guide/painting-guide/ And, that before you buy the large size you get a sample size to test for color? https://www.solventfreepaint.com/pigmented-pine-tar
I’m glad you found an alternative to painting the boards.
I’m fascinated that Australian Timber Oil did not work for you! But happy that you’re willing to try something new for all of us to follow along and learn from.
If that doesn’t work for you, please bite the bullet and replace with a composite product. Yes, I love cedar also, but the “cost” of upkeep sometimes trumps all.
So happy you are not painting your beautiful cedar porch boards. Paint is simply a a cover-up not a protectorate as pine tar or pitch is. Ship builders have been using pine pitch for preserving and waterproofing ships for eons. Great decision made and I know the results will be beautiful as well.
I love this option! I hated that you were covering up that beautiful wood and worried that it would be just as much maintenance as the stain. Plus, I find a solid dark color is the WORST for showing every bit of dust and pollen.
Alex from Old Town Home used it on their deck, I think it was the deck.
Excellent shoice! I was hoping you’d reconsider the whole paint thing because it does fail and is way harder to repair than anything else.
I’ve heard of pine tar because it’s put on railroad ties and telephone poles to preserve them.
Good luck!
Yes that is so true and that works in florida on railroad ties so shouldn’t be a problem in Texas.
Just a few thoughts… First, if you want to truly protect wood from the elements, all 6 sides must be treated. Moisture moving up from an untreated bottom side wreaks havoc on the treated sides. The wood isn’t trying to breathe, it’s the moisture moving through the wood. Second, did you place any kind of moisture barrier down over the original concrete (I think you’ve said this is a concrete porch, but ignore this if I am incorrect)? And lastly, if this was originally a concrete porch, wouldn’t it be less painful to cover it with something more water-resistant, like stone?
I painted the concrete porch to seal it. I can’t remember what I painted it with, but I remember priming and painting it. The reason I did the floating wood porch over the concrete porch is because the concrete porch was so unlevel. It was so noticeably unlevel that you didn’t even need a level to see it. You could just look at it and see that it was unlevel.
Thanks for being the guinea pig! I am so tired of scraping paint off my deck, it would be nice to have another good option.
Hmmm….we’ve tried both stains and paint on our deck….and they all failed after awhile. I finally got fed up and invested in powder coated aluminum boards. It was spency, but I don’t have to repaint or restain anymore!
My late husband started his first job in 1966 at a company called Newport Industries in Pensacola FL. They extracted the pine rosins from lighter-knot stumps after trees were harvested. Before that, he worked for his uncle in the woods harvesting pine tress that were sent to be made into paper. First, I had to use Cascade dishwasher detergent to clean his clothes. TSP in it was the only thing able to get most of the rosins out of his clothes. Second, the rosins were always sticky. His shoes came off outside.
No clue what sort of hardener is in your new product but make sure there is one. In the Texas & Florida heat, pure rosin remains soft and sticky.
I’m sure the climate in Scandinavia would preclude the rosin softening compared to our areas.
I’m not a big fan of Trex because for exposed decks, it gets very hot and I’m barefoot 90% of the time. In the long run, you might be better off biting the bullet with a “one & done”. I am about 25 yrs older than you. I can tell you that you will not want to be out there re-staining or refinishing a porch when you are in your 70s. Everybody loses muscle and strength as they age.
About 20 years ago when I realized this, I began looking at things differently and trying to do things so that I would never have to re-do things again. Unless, of course, I lose a roof in a hurricane.
Oh I think this is it! I believe you would end up regretting painting the porch. As we all know prep is key so make sure that is perfect and it will be great!
I can’t wait to hear how this holds up. We used porch paint inside our home in Texas until we could replace the flooring, and it didn’t hold up that great. However, I don’t remember the brand I used.
Being from Sweden, the distinct smell of pine tar is a part of summer – jettys and small rowing boats used to be treated with it. So a word of warning there. Because it’s a lovely smell when you’re by the sea and strolling along a harbor, but I don’t think I would like to have it on my porch. Possibly the smell disappears a bit with time. Also: at least in its basic form it’s extremely sticky (feathers and tar, you know) and in a hot, humid climate I suspect it would never feel completely dry to the touch…
A quick search reminded me that one needs to add balsamic turpentine and boiled linseed oil in equal parts to get something we call “Roslagsmahogny” – sort of “Mahogany (look) from Roslagen”, which is a coastal area north of Stockholm with a long history of highly skilled boatbuilders and sailors. This mix removes the stickiness but reduces the UV protection slightly.
I also saw a warning/note from one seller of Roslagsmahogny that one needs to be aware that once the wood is treated with this or tar, there is no going back – no other treatment will work at a later stage.
So my advice would definitely be to try it out on loose planks before committing to the whole deck.
Did you ever try Rubio Monocoat? Their indoor product is amazing – I would never use anything else on stained surfaces that don’t require a high gloss finish. One coat and you’re done. We have it on our pine floors and love it. I know they also developed outdoor products but haven’t tried them myself. And don’t know how they work on cedar…
I’ve used Rubio Monocoat several times. I LOVE it! I used it on all of the walnut (vanities and center cabinet) in our bathroom, and it has held up beautifully. I also used it on my walnut veneeer desktop in my studio. It has also held up beautifully. I don’t have much natural wood in my house, but Rubio Monocoat is my favorite way to seal natural wood.
Awesome!
I love your willingness to tackle problems head on- and go again until you get it right!
Really interested in seeing how this works! I have the same issue with my deck boards, but I’m in Iowa, so we have different weather issues. If it works well for you after a year, I’ll try refinishing our deck with it as well. 🙂
I am so excited to see this product in use. My father-in-law over 40 years ago used that type of substance on some of the outdoor buildings on their farm and those sides that were painted are still looking great all this time later and in the harsh environment of upstate New York. He also made multiple applications of tung oil to the communal family table that was in their farm kitchen and that thing was not only bullet proof, but it was also practically waterproof. And it went through 6 kids, 22 grandkids, and 19 great grandkids, besides every wedding, shower, birthday party and Sunday dinner, I swear by this stuff. His technique was not insane or anything, he applied it with clean rolled up old white t-shirts, and then sanding in between coats, and just kept applying it until the can was empty, and it wasn’t that big of can, but the table comes with 12 leaves. I can’t wait to see the end results. It still looks great and one of the grandkids has it now that my in-laws have both passed, and it still gets used hard every day.
Cheers to you, Matt and the Fur Babies!
I’d love to see that table!
Can’t wait to see how it turns out! The sample looks perfect.
What a great idea! Does the porch need to be pretreated with something to kill the mould and mildew etc first? It looked like there was a lot of both prior to sanding
It just has to be cleaned really well with linseed oil soap first, and then allowed to dry thoroughly. I really don’t see any mold or mildew since sanding, so I think most of what you saw was just the natural graying of the wood once the old finish wore off.
It won’t hurt to try!
Kristi,
You brought back memories from 70 years ago! Yes l am 76! My grandparents used pine tar on wood! That’s all l remember except it also reminded me cold tar which was used on everything related to a person’s skin.
I also used Cabot Australian Timber Oil and had some issues. So, after a lot of research, I used “TWP Restore A Deck” and “TWP oil based stain” for my deck and could not be happier. I think painting the deck will be disastrous.