Cumaru Wood Deck Refinishing

Video Transcription:

Hey everyone, Tim Gilliam with Teak Master here, and we’re in beautiful Beverly Hills, California today. We’ve gotten started on refinishing this Cumaru deck.

Alright, guys, so this deck is only about 7 months old, and as you can see, it has weathered pretty dramatically because it was never protected. The client opted to just let it weather and naturally gray, but as you can see, it hasn’t really done so very well. It’s uneven, has water spots, black mold, and the black mold looks really unsightly. This isn’t what the client was expecting by letting it weather naturally, so that’s why they brought us in.

We also want to try and remove the stains from the planters, space heaters, and table legs. While we’re doing this type of work, it can get pretty messy with the power washing, sanding, cleaning, and brightening. We definitely want to make sure that our clients’ investments are protected, and we want to keep things as clean as we possibly can. So, we cover the pool, cover the windows, and move off the patio furniture. Sometimes we’re not able to move off the patio furniture entirely, but we move it to the side and cover it.

Alright guys, the first step is cleaning. We want to clean off the surface contaminants that have landed on it for the past 7 months. Please remember that power washing is simply a washing tool, not a refinishing tool. We can’t skip the next step, which is sanding. Blow-and-go finishing pros want to come in, blow and go, and not sand, but sanding is absolutely essential and a must. Take a look at these results—they are absolutely stunning, and this is just with cleaning alone.

Alright guys, so take a look at it—it’s already drying, it’s super clean, but you can still see the gray oxidation, and that needs to be removed by sanding. The most important step is sanding, and that’s the one those blow-and-go finishing pros want to skip. They just want to come in and power wash, but removing this microscopic layer of dead oxidized wood is essential to open up the pores of the wood.

We’re already at step number three, a crucial one, which is applying the wood brightener. Wood brightener does just that—it brightens and promotes color, and it also eliminates contaminants like black mold, mildew, algae, and mill glaze. We apply it after soaking the wood so it’ll distribute evenly. We apply it with a pump sprayer, but you can also apply it with a rag, by getting on your hands and knees, or with a weenie roller. Let it sit for a while, then neutralize it with a dousing of water. That’s very essential—you want to keep it wet and then neutralize it thoroughly.

Alright boys and girls, here are the results—clean, beautiful Cumaru. Now, these are a few boards that were replaced, those pink ones. With the cleaning, sanding, and brightening, it’s kind of blended them in a little bit better than they were, and they’re ready for sealing. Just take a look at these results—beautiful, clean, raw Cumaru. Here are the marks from the space heaters; we weren’t able to get them out completely, but it looks a little better. Just keep this in mind when you have heaters, planters, fire pits, furniture, area rugs—things like that—they’re going to leave a mark because the sun doesn’t hit underneath them. You also have metal-to-wood contact or concrete-to-wood contact, which could trap some water and leave a mark that might never come out. So, just be careful where you put things like table legs, which didn’t come out completely—there are still a few marks. I know you’ve got to put things on your deck, but just keep in mind that it could leave some marks.

Okay guys, while the deck is drying up, I just wanted to recap what we did. Take a look at these results—they’re absolutely amazing. We cleaned it, we sanded, and sanding is the most important step. Again, those blow-and-go finishing pros want to skip the sanding, but it’s absolutely essential. Look at the difference between this sanded wood and when it was just cleaned—this looks like the day they installed this deck. That’s what we’re going for—perfection. If you want somebody that’s a blow-and-go finishing pro, you know they’re out there, but that’s not us. If you want the best and you want proper technique, this is it—the clean, sand, brighten, and seal method. It’s a process we’ve been doing since at least the early ’80s, when my father started it. Look at these stunning results—it’s ready for the next step, which is applying the penetrating oil-based finish.

Okay guys, we’re applying the penetrating oil-based finish now, and all of our coatings are applied by brush so we can get in between the slats, just like you see here. I know there are blow-and-go finishing pros out there—those disgusting, evil blow-and-go finishing pros—that will use a do-it-yourselfer pad application that doesn’t get in between the slats. But you want to see between the slats because that needs to be finished as well. I don’t really know why people would use that, except to cut corners or compromise, and that’s just something we don’t do.

Hey guys, take a look at this—we use these special brushes that hold a ton of finish, so you want to let it penetrate to its full potential. You can see the bubbles and stuff here, and then he just went from board end to board end. You want to let it sit on the wood surface for a good 10 to 15 minutes, but it also depends on the surface temperature. Right now, it’s about 78 to 80 degrees, which is a perfect day for this. If it’s any hotter, like into the 90s or something, you might have to wipe it sooner because it’s going to flash and dry, and it might be sticky and hard to wipe if you leave it on for too long. I know what the can says and what these companies say, but we’re out here in real life doing this stuff, and you have to know what you’re doing. If you leave it on too long, you’re going to create a problem—that’s all I’m saying. So, take a look at that—just magnifying the natural grain and color of each board, working it in, working it in the grooves. Again, no blow-and-go finishing pros here—just good old-fashioned hard work, getting in between the slats. No stupid applicators or Mickey Mouse techniques—just the long, hard way, but the best way.

So, he’s allowed it to penetrate, and now he’s wiping off the excess.

Alright guys, we’re here the day after we finished refinishing this deck. Come on with me, let’s take a look at the results, and voila, there you have it—beautiful, refinished Cumaru deck. Remember, we did the cleaning first to remove surface dirt and contaminants, and then after that, we sanded. Sanding is the most essential step because that’s what exposes fresh, new, smooth, raw wood. Don’t let anyone tell you not to sand or to skip it. Again, stay away from the blow-and-go finishing pro—he’s evil, basically the devil. So anyway, after that, we cleaned and brightened to promote this beautiful natural color. Cleaning and brightening are essential steps because we want to brighten and promote the color, obviously, but we also want to eliminate contaminants like black mold, mildew, and algae. The final step is applying the penetrating oil finish, which highlights the natural grain and color of each and every board, as you can see here. Furthermore, it’s maintainable—so in about 6 to 8 months, optimally, we should do a maintenance coat here where we can simply clean it and then reapply the coating. Because it’s a gigantic deck, we want to eliminate the sanding step when we come out to do the maintenance. If it goes too far, we’re going to have to sand again, so we want to eliminate that.

So anyway, I wanted to thank you guys so much for tuning in. Go ahead and click that like button if you liked what you saw, and follow us because we’re coming out with more videos just like this on exterior wood refinishing. Take a look at TeakMaster.com for more finishing and projects just like this. Thank you guys so much for tuning in—Tim Gilliam with Teak Master, signing out.