Cutek Extreme - Unique Features and Maintenance Instructions

 Bamboo as a decking material has become one of the best choices when planning an addition to your exterior décor. Bamboo decking beautifies the exterior of your home and increases it’s value. Apart from being attractive and durable, bamboo exhibits built-in resistance to attacks of pathogens and insects. Moreover, its ability to blend into any landscape has made it the most popular decking choice in many western countries especially Australia. 

Bamboo decking can last twice as long as composite decking and is able to significantly withstand environmental extremes such as termites attack and hurricane force winds. Bamboo is a forest friendly material that helps preserve the already compromised natural resources.  It takes 5-7 years for a bamboo plant to grow back after it is cut down for decking construction. Traditional timbers, on the other hand, need 60-70 years to hit their full maturity.

Cutek Bamboo makes the most effective treatment for exterior bamboo. Its two coat system assists with dimensional stability by deeply penetrating bamboo to help control splitting, warping and cupping. There are numerous features of Cutek Bamboo that help it stand tall among other similar products on the market.

Decking boards coated with Cutek Bamboo are highly stable, with reduced movement and cupping. The coating is applied to the whole board and a fully coated decking has equal tension on all four sides.

Unlike many decking oils that tend to build up a film on top of a hardwood board, Cutek Bamboo exhibits significant penetration characteristics that help enhance the durability and moisture resistance of the decking structure. “Film Formers” are highly unreliable because the film often breaks down due to oxidation and harsh weather conditions, allowing fungus and moisture to enter the bamboo surface. This results in discoloration of boards and unsightly product debris on the exposed material.

The maintenance of Cutek Bamboo coated boards is simple. Decking boards come raw so 1 coat should be applied on the bottom, sides and ends before the boards are installed and a coat on the face side is applied after installation. In order to enhance the performance of your deck, you should apply a final coat after 2-3 weeks of installation. This process will increase the time frame between subsequent coats and will reduce the maintenance cost as well.

Cutek Bamboo is a clear, water repellent preservative that will lightly silver with age due to extreme weather conditions. If this natural silvering is undesirable, then you should use color toned Cutek Bamboo preservative to delay the ageing process and enhance the natural color of freshly oiled bamboo. Moreover, the decking surface can be polished to achieve a smooth silky look after oiling.

If you live in an area that receives sunshine most part of the year, then it is strongly recommended that you add a color to oil for maximum UV protection. This can be a similar color to the natural bamboo or a range of tints to match your taste and exterior décor.

Cutek Bamboo is a versatile product that is not just limited to decking. It is suitable for use on fences, linings, weatherboards, beams, cladding, outdoor furniture, pergola timber, shutters, garage doors, fascia, and log homes.

Simply Bamboo is a specialist bamboo company that proudly offers bamboo-made products such as bamboo flooring, bamboo furniture and bamboo decking.  We strongly recommend that you always use Cutek Bamboo as decking oil to protect and preserve bamboo. This product will help protect your decking from fungal attack, ultraviolet damage and water ingress. Moreover, Cutek Bamboo helps protect the dimensional stability of exterior bamboo and prolongs the service life of the bamboo decking. Another benefit is that it is quite easy to apply with low toxicity and wouldn’t crack, split or peel over time.

The maintenance of timber structures that have been previously coated with Cutek Bamboo is simple and easy. Cutek bamboo gradually fades over time due to harsh environmental conditions and the rejuvenation of Cutek Bamboo becomes necessary to restore decking to its original appearance. Treatment includes cleaning of bamboo surface with Bamboo Clean and a simple recoat of Cutek Bamboo, without the need for any stripping and sanding.

Weathered surfaces needing recoating of Cutek should be brushed or sprayed with undiluted Bamboo Clean and left up to 24 hours before power-washing. Wash off the sterilized timber with high-pressure water (preferably hot water) at 500-1000 p.s.i. Always clean off decking with a soft “even fan shaped” water jet. Avoid using turbojets on bamboo. Remember that the rinse time depends on the duration for which Bamboo Clean is left on the substrate.

It is important to recognize that the use of high-pressure water alone is not sufficient to remove mould growth from the timber. Moreover, it may also damage the wood fibers and soft tissues of timber. Never use household cleaning solutions that contain bleaching agents such as sodium hypochlorite. Not only would theses abrasive chemicals damage the timber tissue, but they will harm the environment as well.  Using bleach to clean bamboo may also cause a subsequent coating failure due to the film coating reaction in the outer wood fibers. Always use Bamboo Clean to clean and sterilize bamboo without these problems.

Next step is to coat your deck with the Cutek Bamboo. Compared to film-forming coatings which build up a film on top of a surface that can peel and may need to be stripped and sanded when recoating is necessary, Cutek Bamboo eliminates the need for any future stripping and helps maximize the dimensional stability. It enhances the aesthetic qualities of bamboo and provides protection against moisture, ultraviolet degradation and fungus growth. 

Make sure that you apply one coat of Cutek Bamboo preservative if you have used diluted Bamboo Clean (1 part Bamboo Clean, 4 parts water) as a recoat wash for decking previously coated with Cutek Bamboo preservative. If undiluted Bamboo Clean is used, two coats of Cutek Bamboo will be required. You should apply second coat at least 2-3 weeks after the first. Make sure that you completely dry the timber before the application of Cutek Bamboo. It makes a good idea to measure the moisture content of the decking with a moisture meter before coating. The moisture content of timber should not exceed 17%.