Sealing My Cedar Porch With Pine Tar And Linseed Oil

Before I could even get to the pine tar application, I had quite a bit of prep work to do. I had already sanded the porch a few of weeks ago, but I had only sanded it with the intent to paint the porch, so it was still looking pretty splotchy with a lot of the old stain left behind. I also didn’t take any time to sand the visible areas between the boards.

And then I sanded the whole thing again with both 60-grit and 80-grit sanding discs. This time, I made sure to get the visible areas between the boards, and I got all of the old stain off of the boards that I possibly could.

Before applying the pine tar and linseed oil, I tested the boards with the water test to make sure they were ready for a penetrating product. To do the water test, you simply drip water onto the boards (I tested in about three areas) and see if the water soaks in or if it beads up on the boards. If the water beads up on top, you have to do more sanding because if water beads on the boards, the boards won’t soak up the finish. But if the water soaks into the boards, you’re ready for the penetrating finish.

The wood filling, sanding, and cleaning process was the hardest and longest part of the process. I don’t have a fancy dust collector on my handheld sander, so it made a huge mess and left dust everywhere. After everything was sanded, I used my Shop Vac to vacuum the porch boards as well as the siding to remove all of the dust, and then I followed up by sweeping the boards really well to make sure all of the dust was gone.

This is the pine tar that I used, which I bought from Earth + Flax, and I chose the Authentic Brown color. It comes in a more natural color if that’s what you prefer, but I love a dark stained porch. Every time I’ve stained my porch in the past, I’ve always chosen a dark color. I just love the high contrast of the dark boards and the white trim.

I’ve never used pine tar before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In my mind, something called “tar” would be very thick, but as it turned out, it was actually very thin. It has to be mixed really well before you mix the pine tar with the linseed oil.

This is the linseed oil I used, which I also purchased from Earth + Flax.

I originally mixed the pine tar and linseed oil in a 1:1 ratio. The color was very solid, so after testing that out on one small board in the far corner, I remixed it to one part pine tar to two parts linseed oil. It was still really dark (which I wanted), but with the new ratio, it looked a lot less solid.

I applied the pine tar/linseed oil mixture with a 3-inch brush. It’s supposed to be applied in thin coats, but I did notice some buildup in areas as I went along. So I did two boards all the way across at a time, let it soak in really well, and then went back and wiped any excess off with paper towels.

Note: Any paper towels or rags with linseed oil need to be placed in a bucket of water after use. Linseed oil can spontaneously combust as the oil oxidizes if the heat can’t escape as it dries. So never leave a used, wadded up rag filled with linseed oil lying around. After use, just put it directly into a bucket of water.

Unfortunately, I ran out of time and didn’t get the pine tar/linseed oil on the whole porch and steps. I worked until 9:30 last night, working by the light of my front porch lights, and then decided to call it quits for the day. But I absolutely love the way this is turning out.

It’s really dark right now, but I’m pretty sure it will fade some over time.

Since this was my first time using pine tar, and I volunteered to be the guinea pig for those of you who were curious about it, here’s my genuine opinion.

1. It’s incredibly easy to apply. I find it much easier to use than any of the prior stain products I’ve used. I was very surprised at the consistent color over the whole area, which is sometimes hard to get with a standard stain product. With stain, you often get darker areas if you’ve already stained an area and then you try to blend in a new area. The color builds, and it gets darker where the brush strokes overlap. That doesn’t always happen, but it’s pretty common with stain. That never happened with this pine tar/linseed oil mixture.
2. It has a very strong smell, which I was warned about several times. But the smell is unlike past products I’ve used. The past stains and other products I’ve used have an unnatural chemical smell. That’s what I’m used to. Pine tar doesn’t have a chemical smell, but it does smell like a campfire. After applying it, you will smell like you’ve spent the entire day standing around a campfire. Honestly, I’d rather smell a campfire than strong chemicals.
3. The one drawback to pine tar and linseed oil is that it takes a lot longer to dry. After I finish this coat, I will have to wait 72 hours to apply the next coat. And then it takes weeks for it to fully cure. You don’t have to wait that long to walk on it, but it’s a very slow-drying, slow-curing product. So that’s definitely something to consider if you’re wanting a quick turnaround so that you can immediately start using your deck or porch.

Anyway, so far, I’m a huge fan of pine tar. I think it’s beautiful and incredibly easy to use. And most of all, I love that it’s all natural. I’m not coating my front porch with chemicals. That’s a big plus.