Restore Cedar Pergola - BLO vs. Stain

[Whiskeymike]

I have a cedar pergola outside that hasn't seen any love in a long time, so the wood is pretty dry. My plan right now is to wash the pergola and then spray BLO/Turpentine 50/50 via a lower pressure pump sprayer. May do it multiple times over a month or so, to make sure it's pretty soaked in. Wondering if this is enough, or if I should also plan to use a wood stain afterwards. I've heard nasty things about Thompson Sealer and many brands of stains in the past and not sure if that has changed at all.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

If you do a couple of coats this year, and then do one coat every year for a few years, BLO will treat you well. It will eventually turn the wood darker than mahogany.

 

[ScottsGT]

My experience with BLO is black staining when it gets wet. Did a work bench with BLO. Set a cold coke can on it, black ring. Had a plumbing leak over the bench, didn’t get it all dried up and had a puddle under some items and it also turned black. Had to strip it all down and re-coated it with Tung oil.

 

[bdbecker]

Penofin Red would be an option worth considering. I used it on my cedar deck and fence and have been very happy with the results.

Ultra Premium Red Label Wood Stain Finish | Penofin

penofin.com

BLO isn't going to offer any UV protection to the wood. You also mentioned you may want to stain it. Both can be achieved with Penofin. Brush on, wait 20-30 minutes, wipe off excess. If when you need to re-coat in a year or two, just wash and reapply. Once you have a good base built up, reapplication takes a fraction of the time compared to the first treatment.

 

[Whiskeymike]

Penofin Red would be an option worth considering. I used it on my cedar deck and fence and have been very happy with the results.

Ultra Premium Red Label Wood Stain Finish | Penofin

penofin.com

BLO isn't going to offer any UV protection to the wood. You also mentioned you may want to stain it. Both can be achieved with Penofin. Brush on, wait 20-30 minutes, wipe off excess. If when you need to re-coat in a year or two, just wash and reapply. Once you have a good base built up, reapplication takes a fraction of the time compared to the first treatment.

Looks like a good product. I see that coverage is 125 – 175 sq. ft./gallon. Anyone have any ideas how to guess at square footage for a pergola without calculating all of the boards? I think I may just get a few gallons and see how it goes.

 

[bdbecker]

I over bought the first few times because I wasn't sure how much the new deck would take, or how much I'd need for the re-coat. I'm now down to a partial gallon on the shelf. Just make sure to mix up the new and old in a 5 gallon bucket to ensure the color is consistent.

 

[My Old Tools]

Depends on the look you want. Something like Armstrong Clark oil based deck stain would work. Sikkens make good outdoor stain and sealers as well for more of a furniture or door type finish.