Waste oil as trailer deck stain

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Jrgunn5150

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I was looking into stain for my trailer, I replaced the deck last fall, and came across people who claim waste oil is the best thing ever, blah de blah.

So I gave it a whirl, used a cheap bug sprayer, about a gallon of diesel, and about a gallon of old oil. Dried to the touch in a day, looks kind of cool. We'll see how it holds up long term.
 

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Did you coat the underside as well?
 

Jrgunn5150

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Did you coat the underside as well?

Yes, but for recoats, I'm not going to keep cutting that piece off and welding it back on lol.
 

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Other than being slick as Owl Snot after a rain or in the morning I'd say you've got a good thing there. You certainly won't have to worry about bugs living in it.
 

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Other than being slick as Owl Snot after a rain or in the morning I'd say you've got a good thing there. You certainly won't have to worry about bugs living in it.

I'm curious how it'll turn out for sure. Didn't cost a thing so I figured why not?
 

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I've seen trailers of this type that had grease/oil on the boards where machinery had peed on them.
Those places were fine. The rest of the boards were falling apart.
 

Jrgunn5150

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I've seen trailers of this type that had grease/oil on the boards where machinery had peed on them.
Those places were fine. The rest of the boards were falling apart.

Yeah, that's what the old timers on Pirate 4x4 claim, that they do fences and gates on the farm like this. Worst comes to worse, it was only 125 bucks worth of wood. All the stains I found wanted you to reapply them every two years and crap.
 

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We use our waste oil on my dad's 1/4 mile long gravel driveway. Over the years, it helps keeps the dust down and grass and weeds growing in the middle. He's kind of backed off from doing it the last several years. Where part of the grass has grown through the middle of the road and gravel where the tire tracks are give it more of that country look he likes.
 

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Yeah, that's what the old timers on Pirate 4x4 claim, that they do fences and gates on the farm like this. Worst comes to worse, it was only 125 bucks worth of wood. All the stains I found wanted you to reapply them every two years and crap.
I think you're going to be fine doing it the way you're doing it. Though I have seen wood fall apart on one of my trailers where a big motor oil spill happened from a car I had on it. Being fair though, it was probably already to late and it was straight oil and it sat there for quite sometime in the heat. This mixture you doing on good wood and it slowly soaks it in, I have a feeling is going to be a good thing. I do know of a guy that has built a shed over a wooden deck. He oils that floor and it's been there for years.
 

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I've been using old oil for years on my flat beds. Thined with a little diesel so it soaks in better, and brushed on.
I'm planing on a new floor for my car hauler next winter, but it's held up for 26 years out in the weather.
 

Jrgunn5150

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I've been using old oil for years on my flat beds. Thined with a little diesel so it soaks in better, and brushed on.
I'm planing on a new floor for my car hauler next winter, but it's held up for 26 years out in the weather.

Well that's encouraging, this is thinned with diesel as well.
 

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I used to hear of doing this (straight used oil) back in the day. A light coating isn't going to rot the wood and once it soaks in I doubt it'll be slippery either.
 

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The oil is organic. it's the additives that are toxic.
 

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