Free 50-100 year Wood Preservative – used motor oil and Diesel fuel
I farmed for 34 years and my dad and grandfather before me. We had a 55 gallon drum in the corner of the machine shed that we dumped our used tractor and truck motor oil in and would put several wooden fence posts in there for a couple of weeks and then would suspend them over the barrel on a piece of extruded metal to drip off the excess back into the barrel. Some of these posts are still standing strong after nearly 50 years. All the farmers in our area used this method successfully.
Pine Tar and Turpentine has been used for generations because it works. The pine has natural antimicrobial actions going on, to it really makes the wood lively. No mildew or insect damage. The red barns are red because they were painted with mix of pine tar, turpentine, and iron oxide. The metal served to block UV rays from battering the wood while the pine tar and turpentine prevented insect and rot damage to the wood.
An old farmer told me to also drill a downward angled hole into the center of your posts above the soil line. Using an oil can fill the hole to the top. Plug the hole (I used corks). Then pull the corks and top it off every year or two. Oil will seep from the inside out. He did this with fence posts and never replaced any.
There’s a wood that grows in many parts of the US called Osage orange. It was used by farmers years ago as borders to keep animals within a field because of its thorns and also as fence posts, as the tree matured, because of its resistance to rot. It will last for decades with no maintenance. I have a line of them at the edge of my property and cut a dead one down about 25 years ago and left it to rot. Just recently I pulled it out of the woods and it was just as solid as the day I cut it down. Unfortunately the tree is no longer in much demand. But it just goes to show how nature will give us what we need.
If You want a honey color, just buy new oil and mix diesel to thin it out! It makes it look like natural wood and protects just as good and is actually cheaper than stain. If You but 5 gallons of cheap motor oil and 5 gallons of diesel and mix them, its way cheaper than 10 gallons of stain! I use this on my trailer deck boards, and after a couple of days drying in the sun it’s not slick and it’s the best waterproofing ever!
When I was growing up in Jamaica, we used old motor oil and diesel to treat our wooden houses as we built them. It actually works and is a good resistant to termites.
I just did my 12′ x 32′ deck with used Valvoline full synthetic 5w30. Works perfect. No residue or odor and the ants hate it. All that over priced stain is just snake oil.
My dad had a trough in the barn filled with sand. We poured any extra oil into. It was used to put all metal tool into. Shovels, post hole diggers axes etc in. Also preserved the handles.
I’m spraying the bottoms of my vehicles with the same 50/50 mix up here in Alaska to help fight the corrosion caused by them using salt brine on the roads in the winter. I’ve got multiple railroad tie retaining walls that I’m also spraying to help keep them looking fresh and protected. Works great.
I’ve actually used this exact method on an old garden shed about 6 years ago 50/50 mix of used motor oil and diesel and it’s held up better than any commercial stain I’ve ever bought. No rot, no mold, and the wood still feels solid. The key really is making sure the wood is completely dry before application. Also, apply it in warm, sunny weather so it absorbs and cures properly. Great tip about submerging fence posts few people do that but it makes a world of difference!
I’ve always used oil for setting forms, so the concrete doesn’t stick to your forms.
Living in the Peruvian rain-forest at a mission station – Yarinacocha – the houses were all frame with single-wall siding. Many were treated this same way and stood up very well for decades against the incredible damp and rot of the jungle.
