Looking for clear decking oil? This is the best…

February 12, 2024
Clear decking oil

If you’re hunting around the internet trying to find the best clear decking oil, then you, my friend, have just stumbled into what could possibly be the best discovery you’ll make all day…

Introducing the best clear decking oil available…

Hold on, not so fast…

Do you really think there would be one clear decking oil that would stand out above all of the thousands of options available?

In all honesty, nobody could make that claim and not be a fraudster…

I couldn’t lead you to just one clear decking oil and tell you it is “The One’…

The best…

The numero uno…

That would be totally unethical…

If anybody does, then maybe you need to question their motives…

You know people on this thing we call “the internet”, get paid good money to recommend products even if they’ve never used them or even if they’ve never done any research into that product…

It’s true…

So that’s why I want to be completely clear with you…

See what I did there?

Completely clear!!

You’re looking for clear decking oil??

And I’m going to be “clear”???

Ahh, forget about it!!

Let me just show you the clear decking oils that I recommend…

Let’s get into it…

The top 4 clear decking oil brands available…

Ok, so I like to break these up into water based and oil based…

Then I like to break them down further into clear deck oils available in America and then Australia…

That’s because all of my personal use of oils and research has to do with American brands and Aussie brands…

So with that said, here’s the best water based clear decking oils…

The best water based clear decking oil in America…

This is Defy Clear Wood Stain…

Defy clear decking oil
Defy clear decking oil

And it would have to be one of the better clear deck oils…

Here’s the thing about clear decking oil…

You see, the colour that is usually in your deck oil is actually put there for a reason…

Of course it makes your decking look all pretty and that, but it also has a much more important role than that…

The colour is there to protect your decking from the blistering UV rays from the sun…

You see, clear decking oil will protect your deck from rain and sitting water but it does “diddly squat” in the way of protection from the sun…

The UV goes straight through your clear oil and turns your decking grey…

Now, I know a lot of people actually want this… 

That beach shack grey is a real trend in deck colours at the moment…

But if you want your deck to just look the way your timber actually is without any
Colour enhancements” and you don’t want it to turn grey, then Defy Clear is for you…

You see, the Defy clear wood stain has these fancy little things called “zinc oxide particles” which is part of their very impressive and confusing “nano technology”…

Really all that means is that your clear decking oil will reflect the UV rays so your deck won’t get sun damage…

Understand?

So if you want a clear oil that will stop your deck from going grey, then this is the one for you…

Go grab yourself a gallon from the Defy website for $55.50…

Wait, before you get all excited and head over then you need to know one thing…

The only thing that will stop your deck from turning grey is regular deck maintenance…

The moment your deck is getting thirsty, it means your clear coat is breaking down and your deck could grey over at any moment…

So make sure you do the thirsty decking test and re-apply your decking oil when needed…

Capish??

Moving on…

The best water based clear decking oil in Australia…

Now the water based clear decking oil that I recommend for us Aussies would have to be the ever reliable H2Oil Timber….

H2Oil clear decking oil
H2Oil clear decking oil

Yep, this is a water based decking oil, and this sucker comes in a clear option, which is actually hard to find in a water based oil…

Most companies offer a clear decking oil but it’s not water based…

Companies like Intergrain, Feast and Watson and Cutek, just to name a few…

But in recent years, I’ve switched over to H2Oil…

I’ve had great results with H2Oil and the reps at the company are extremely helpful…

They know what they’re talking about, so if you have any questions or if you want help deciding on a colour, they’ll send out some free colour samples for you to try out…

And I know you’ll love how the colours look on your decking timber…

I run colour trials on most deck restorations that I do for clients and most, prefer the finished colour of the H2Oil…

But that’s just a fun fact, because you don’t want any colour in your decking oil do you?

You want a clear decking oil, don’t you?

Well, I was just explaining why I like them so much and why I recommend that you head over to their website right now and order yourself some H2Oil Clear…

You can grab 4 litres of the clear starting at $134.89…

Another fun fact about H2Oil that could quite possibly blow your socks off…

The drying time between coats is a measly 1 to 2 hours!!

1 to 2 hours!!

Do you know what this means??

You can coat your deck and have it completed in one day even if there’s a chance it could rain later in the day…

All you need is one clear hour and your deck oil will be fine even if it rains a couple of hours after you oil it…

This is critically important if you live in an environment where you can’t predict the weather…

That’s me…

I live in temperamental Melbourne…

That’s why I love this stuff

Anyway…

That’s all you need to know about H2Oil Timber…

Moving on…

The number 1 oil based, clear decking oil in The USA…

Drum roll please……….

The number 1 clear decking oil in The USA is…

Ready Seal Clear…

Ready Seal Clear Stain
Ready Seal Clear Stain

If you’ve read any of my other guides on Ready Seal, you already know why I love it…

But at the risk of repeating myself, let me ummm, repeat myself…

First up, It’s “Goof Proof”…

That just means that you can be completely clueless…

You can be completely useless with the deck brush applicator…

It doesn’t matter because you won’t get any lap marks…

That’s why it’s Goof Proof…

Another reason why I think it’s great is because Ready Seal is one of the remaining true oil based, penetrating clear decking oils…

Most others, not mentioning any names, have changed their formula to a more hybrid water based mix…

But not Ready Seal…

They are staying true to the formula that has worked for years…

You see, “Others” will say they changed over to water based or the fancy hybrid mix because it’s a better oil…

Buuuttt, it’s not actually the case…

Now, I’m not saying that water based or the hybrid mix is not as good…

All I’m saying is that they have changed their formulas for a different reason…

And that reason is that oil based decking stains are difficult to ship…

So if a company can’t get their clear decking oil out to you, then it’s useless…

And that’s one of the main reasons why they shift away from oil based oils…

The thing is, you can still get Ready Seal Clear shipped out to you…

In the States, you can get it delivered by a company called Dirt Killer…

Amazon used to deliver it, but they seem to have pulled out for the moment…

But that’s all good because if you head over to the Dirt Killer website, they can ship you out a gallon for an even $50…

But if you don’t want to ship it out, you can head over to the store locator on the Ready Seal website and you can find your nearest store…

The only difference is you have to get off your lazy tuchas and get it yourself…

I think the exercise will do you some good…

Either way, we’re moving onto the next one…

The best oil based, clear decking oil in Australia…

Now, this is one of my personal favourites…

Introducing Equisol Pro E365…

Equisol clear deck stain
Equisol clear deck stain

Fun fact about the E365…

It always comes as a clear decking oil…

No matter which colour you order, you get the clear oil…

You have to add your colour toner separately…

And that’s how a lot of the deck stain brands operate…

So if you want the best clear decking oil, then just head over to the Equaisol website and grab yourself 4 litres for $180…

What I love about the Equisol clear decking oil is that it fades off over time which means it never peels or flakes off…

So if you think it’s due for a recoat, just give it a clean with Prime, follow it up with a Vitalise and then you’re good to apply a maintenance coat…

You’ll never have to sand it off like you would with a water based oil…

So the ongoing deck maintenance is a breeze…

Also, Equisol is oil based which means it dries slower…

And slower dring means it’s much easier to get a professional looking coat…

But the thing with Equisol is that it’s faster drying than your usual oil based oil…

It takes around 5 hours to dry properly…

Most others can take up to 24 to 48 hours…

So you’ll have to wait 2 days before you apply the second coat…

Let’s hope it doesn’t rain in that time, hey?

You’ll get the best of both worlds with Equisol…

Slow drying so you don’t get lap marks, and fast drying so you can get 2 coats on your deck in one day…

What more could you want from a clear decking oil??

So there you have it…

4 of the most fantastic clear decking oils money can buy…

And with that…

We’re all done…

It’s a wrap…

You should definitely be able to choose a clear decking oil from the Fantastic 4 I’ve listed above…

Now, get outta here…

But make sure you come back…

Cause I’ll see you in our next episode…

Peace,

Jason…

Need some Expert Advice?

I’ve got 10 years of deck knowledge crammed into my noggin. I can pretty much guarantee I’ve got an answer to your problem just rattling around in there…

Summary
Looking for clear decking oil? This is the best…
Article Name
Looking for clear decking oil? This is the best…
Description
If you’re looking for a clear decking oil then this guide could show you which one is the best of the best. Find out here…
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Publisher Name
The Deck Restoration Co.
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2 Comments

  1. Pat Nelson Rogers

    Thank you! I have a deck in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee that has 10 year old faded paint on 2 levels of decks.it gets lots of sun, rain winds etc. I’m 65 (women) and I’m dreading to even start this project. You have really good advice and I appreciate it so much. Any other tips, suggestions would be much appreciated! I’ve used the Ready Seal on my boat docks and deck and LOVE it so far so thanks for that info!
    Pat Rogers, Andersonville, Tennessee

    • Jason

      Hi Pat, thanks for reaching out.
      I would say the best tip I could give you is that the only way to stop your deck from getting damaged would be annual maintenance. That is a clean, brighten and a fresh coat or 2. In your case you may need maintenance very 6 to 8 months.
      Ready Seal is a good oil to use, it will fade rather than peel which is much easier to re-coat. But remember, no matter which oil you use, non of them last forever. The key is the annual maintenance.