CUTEK^® Extreme CD50

All exterior wood applications except for those listed below:

• Acetylated wood
• Food preparation surfaces
• Wood which comes into direct contact with the ground
• Engineered bamboo products

CUTEK® Extreme CD50 contains a small amount of copper salts that may impart a faint green hue on some very light or white coloured timbers. This is more likely to occur in internal applications or in areas not exposed to UV light. Some commonly used light coloured timber species used internally where this may be an issue are Hoop Pine, Hemlock, Tasmanian Oak and Victorian Ash (list not exhaustive). We have a copper-free product called CUTEK® Euro (available by special order) which is extensively used as an alternative to CUTEK® Extreme CD50 in these instances . For more information regarding this option, please contact our friendly technical support team who will be able to assist you with your project.

CUTEK® Extreme CD50 may be suitable for use on other engineered and composite wood products (exterior and interior). Please contact our technical support staff for further information regarding the suitability of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 for your specific substrate.

• Maintenance is fast and simple
  No need to sand or strip, just simply clean and recoat
• Stabilises your wood – long-term accumulative protection
  Significantly reducing splitting, warping and cupping
• No flaking or peeling
  Instead, the coating is designed to fade with time
• Simple and easy to use
  No technical experience necessary
• Cost effective – up to 2x coverage rate of most wood coatings
  Up to 2x the coverage rate of most wood coatings
• Australian Made
• Unique self-healing effect
• Your timber is the star
  Enhances the natural colour and grain of your timber
• Sustainable choice
  Significantly extends the service life of timber
• Long-term, accumulative protection
  Stays active inside your timber to protect from the inside out
• CUTEK® Cares
  We plant 1 tree for every can of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 sold.

CUTEK® Extreme CD50 offers superior penetration and diffusion with a self-healing effect

CUTEK® wood oils work differently to traditional wood stain/wood oil/acrylic/urethane/natural oils/wood coating products in that CUTEK® oils protect your timber from the inside out. CUTEK® oils penetrate and diffuse deeply into the wood core upon application, protecting it from the damaging effects of liquid and gas phase moisture, significantly increasing the service life of your timber. It does this by remaining PERMANENTLY MOBILE inside the wood, migrating to any cut or perforation with a self-healing action.

Many opposition products claim to be a penetrating oil finish; however, they often contain a mixture of solvents, polymers and cross-linking natural oils (such as linseed and tung oils) that penetrate only a few millimetres before drying to form an encapsulating type varnish. Because these coatings do not have a self-healing effect, once this varnish is exposed to the weather, water can quickly enter the core of the timber especially if it has been cut or perforated with fasteners leading to a rapid loss of dimensional stability. Additionally, the use of some natural oils in wood coatings can contribute to the development of unsightly mould and fungal growth underneath subsequently applied coatings. This situation can be difficult and costly to fix.

NOTE: Coatings that are not permanently mobile inside the wood and do not exhibit the self-healing effect ARE NOT the same as CUTEK® no matter what is claimed. Our first priority is always to extend and maximise the service life of timber NOT to steer you into the ecosystem of our other products.

Step 1: Prepare

In order for CUTEK® Extreme CD50 to function properly, it is essential that it diffuses deeply into the timber. Anything that might prevent this penetration/diffusion, such as an existing coating (not CUTEK® oil), retained moisture, or insufficient time between coats, must be avoided or corrected before applying CUTEK® Extreme CD50.

CUTEK® Extreme CD50 must be applied to wood that is clean, non-greasy and dry (moisture content must be less than 17%). You must appropriately prepare your timber before applying CUTEK® Extreme CD50.

If you have… new timber:
Your timber must be bare, clean and dry before applying CUTEK® Extreme CD50. If your timber presents with surface contaminants such as stains caused by water, iron or tannins, we recommend using CUTEK® Restore prior to application of CUTEK® Extreme CD50.

If you have… old, greyed or weathered uncoated wood:
Old, dirty, stained or grey weathered timber should be prepared and restored by first applying CUTEK® Restore which will remove the grey and reinstate the original natural colour, grain and beauty of your wood prior to application of CUTEK® Extreme CD50.

If you have… wood previously coated with a non-CUTEK® coating:
CUTEK® Extreme CD50 must be applied to bare, clean and dry wood. This allows the CUTEK® oil to freely penetrate/diffuse into your timber. New pre-coated wood (pre-coated with products other than CUTEK® oils) or wood previously coated with a film forming product such as stains, linseed oil, cross-linking vegetable oils, paint, polyurethane, water-based oils, etc. can inhibit this penetration/diffusion and must be removed first with CUTEK® Wood Stripper and CUTEK® Restore prior to the application of CUTEK® Extreme CD50. In some circumstances complete removal of previous coatings by machine sanding/abrasion can also be a suitable preparation method.

If you have… wood previously coated in CUTEK® Extreme CD50 or CUTEK® wood preservative:
Prepare for a maintenance recoat of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 by using CUTEK® Quickclean to remove grease, grime and other dirt from your timber. If maintenance has been neglected for a long period of time and the timber has either greyed, become heavily stained by tannins or iron, or if there is an excessive build-up of CUTEK® Colourtone, use CUTEK® Restore to refresh your timber prior to recoating.

Important information before proceeding:
Pre-coated timber
A significant amount of new timber is now sold with a pre-treatment or pre-coating already applied. Particular attention needs to be paid to find out whether your timber has been pre-treated or pre-coated with a non-CUTEK® oil product PRIOR to applying CUTEK® Extreme CD50. An easy way to tell if your timber has been pre-coated with another product is to flick a few drops of water onto your timber. If the water sinks in, that means there is no barrier to stop CUTEK® Extreme CD50 from penetration and you will be able to start coating with CUTEK® Extreme CD50 right away. However, if the water beads on the surface of your wood this is a good indication that your timber has had a prior treatment/coating applied and you will need to adequately prepare your wood as per the instructions for “If you have… WOOD PREVIOUSLY COATED WITH A NON-CUTEK® COATING” above before you start coating with CUTEK® Extreme CD50. If you have any questions about this process, please contact one of our friendly technical advisers on 1300 1 CUTEK (1300 1 28835).

Note: This warning does not apply to any timber that has been pre-coated in CUTEK® branded products (except CUTEK® Interior).

Some manufacturers of pre-coating products falsely claim that any other product, including CUTEK® oils, may be applied over the top of their existing coating. These statements are inaccurate and misleading in relation to CUTEK® oil products. If you are unsure about the correct preparation method for your CUTEK® project, please contact one of our friendly staff who are more than willing to advise you correctly.

When using timber pre-coated in something other than CUTEK® oils, another important factor to note is that some coating types (particularly those based on cross-linking vegetable oils such as linseed, tung oils etc.) may actively promote mould and biological growth which can lead to unsightly discolouration appearing on your timber as it ages over time. It is very important that you remove all traces of these types of coating PRIOR to coating with CUTEK® Extreme CD50 to avoid these biological stains (mould and fungi) appearing . Unlike vegetable oil based products, CUTEK® oils do not act as an active promoter of biological growth.

Using the light coloured timbers
CUTEK® Extreme CD50 contains a small amount of copper salts that may impart a faint green hue on some very light or white coloured timbers. This is more likely to occur in internal applications or in areas not exposed to UV light. Some commonly used light coloured timber species used internally where this may be an issue are Hoop Pine, Hemlock, Tasmanian Oak and Victorian Ash (list not exhaustive). We have a copper-free product called CUTEK® Euro (available by special order) which is extensively used as an alternative to CUTEK® Extreme CD50 in these instances . For more information regarding this option, please contact our friendly technical support team who will be able to assist you with your project.

To determine if CUTEK® Extreme CD50 or CUTEK® Euro is appropriate for your timber, order your free sample here or contact us for further advice.

Step 2: Protect

Before you protect
Before you begin, note the hazards and precautions on this website and the can labelling, and ensure that you use the correct safety equipment as detailed in the Safety Data Sheet.

Weather
Once applied, CUTEK® Extreme CD50 generally requires 2-3 days of dry conditions after coating to facilitate full penetration/diffusion and an even colour finish; so check your weather forecast before coating.

Colourtone
Clear, un-tinted CUTEK® Extreme CD50 will allow your wood to naturally lighten/silver/grey when exposed to sunlight while retaining its protection characteristics. Unless you want a clear finish that will naturally lighten/silver/grey off in a few months, it is important to mix in 1 CUTEK® Colourtone to this can of oil before use. Adding a CUTEK® Colourtone provides UV colour protection and slows the lightening/silvering process.

To choose which Colourtone suits your timber and project, visit our Colourtone page.

Note: CUTEK® Extreme CD50 diffuses deeply into your timber and will continue to provide moisture protection and improve dimensional stability even if a CUTEK® Colourtone is not added and your wood becomes weathered and greyed.

Application
After preparing your timber, it will need to be completely dry prior to coating with CUTEK® Extreme CD50. It is very important that your timber is clean, non-greasy and dry with a moisture content of less than 17%. It is also very important that the surface of the wood is free from chemical residues and is not exposed to environmental contaminants such as dusts while CUTEK is drying.

Stir the CUTEK® Extreme CD50 oil thoroughly (with the added CUTEK® Colourtone if desired) before and during use. Make sure you stir from the bottom of the can to ensure active ingredients are properly mixed throughout the oil.

Apply thin, even coats with a brush, paint pad or lambswool applicator. CUTEK®’s DeckBoss brush is a good option. CUTEK® Extreme CD50 works best when applied as a THIN COAT – two or three thin coats on finished wood and hardwoods are much better than one or two thick coats. For best results, ONE coat of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 should be applied to all faces of the wood prior to installing, with a SECOND coat applied to the top surface once the first coat has completely penetrated/diffused.

Drying time
Unlike traditional wood coatings, CUTEK® Extreme CD50 needs to penetrate/diffuse deeply into your timber. After coating, CUTEK® Extreme CD50 will slowly migrate into your wood to repel moisture, improve dimensional stability and lengthen the service life of your timber. This penetration/diffusion process varies in time for many reasons including differences in timber type (species, density, porosity, age of timber and residual moisture content) as well as environmental factors (temperature, humidity, weather).

Sometimes this drying process can take several days to complete. You will know when your timber is ready for a recoat of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 when it is completely dry and non-greasy. Please note the second coat of CUTEK® Extreme CD50 will take longer to migrate into your timber than the first coat.

Clean-up
Equipment (including brushes) may be cleaned with turps or soap and water. If not correctly cleaned or disposed of, oily rags and other oily materials may cause combustion fires. After use you MUST immediately spread out all oily material outside to dry, by flattening them out to their full size in an airy spot at temperatures above 4 degrees Celsius, or wash them thoroughly with water and detergent and rinse. Remove all oil from all clothes, tools, rags and any other materials contacted during use or as a result of an accidental spill. Ensure wash water is disposed in accordance with local regulations.

Coverage

• New hardwoods dressed 10–20m2/litre
• Old restored timber dressed 7–9m2/litre
• New timber rough sawn 7–9m2/litre
• Old restored timber rough sawn 4–7m2/litre
• Shingles and shakes 2–5m2/litre

These figures represent typical averages for common decking and cladding timber species and are to be used as a guideline only.

With CUTEK® oils, maintenance is simple, fast, and cost effective. CUTEK® Extreme CD50 will not crack, peel or split, and your wood can be easily rejuvenated or restored using our Prepare and Protect system – no need to sand or strip.

CUTEK® Extreme CD50 should be reapplied when the wood is no longer beading water, or as frequently as necessary to retain the natural beauty and colour of the wood.

Due to the accumulative effect of CUTEK® Extreme CD50, generally each maintenance coat will use less oil than the previous coat. As the protective properties build up inside the timber, the time between when re-coats are required can extend.

Typically, horizontal exterior wood surfaces exposed to full weather such as pool decks and handrails will require re-coating more frequently (initially after 6 months, then annually), while other surfaces such as vertical rough-sawn cladding will need recoating less often.