My place contains lots of oak. Garage doors, frames for a large glass atrium, facia boards and the like. When new I treated it with many coats of Linseed oil. A few moths later, all of the oak started to turn an unsightly black mouldy colour and she that must be obayed was complaining that our home looked more like a lean too shack. With hurt pride I looked for ways to bring back the original golden hew which made the place look very homely.
I scoured the internet for solutions and tried some of the more promising options. Nothing really worked well, even the lactic acids. (did you know that dock leaves produce lactic acid when boiled) Anyway, we had a small bottle of Cillit Bang (with mould remover). She that must be obayed suggested I try it on the oak. (guys, you will understand the futility of resistance) I tried a small section and bugger me found that the black mould just disappeared. 20-30 bottles later with and much stronger wrist muscles, a pressure washer to take away the residue, all the oak looked just as new. I found that you had to spray the Cillit Bang straight from the bottle. Pouring it all into a container and applying with a brush doesn't work as the Cillit Bang quickly becomes neutralised , probably from dipping the contaminated brush. This method will save you loads of cash as the professional quotation for doing this job was over 7,000 Pounds. Even with the the cost of a pressure washer I had it all done for less than 500 and Iv'e still got the pressure washer. She that must be obayed has a satisfying smug I told you so look
I treated the oak with two coats of clear Cuprinol preserver and two coats of Osmo UV Protection oil. Still looks good 6 months on.
Topic: Cleaning oak (Read 2438 times)
