Non PT lumber for trailer deck- paint? Epoxy?

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I have a 16' flatbed equipment trailer that needs re-decked.
I have enough 2x8x16 non pressure treated lumber on hand to do the job.

What I need is advice on what coating to use on the wood to prevent rotting.

Epoxy? Oil based paint? Other?
I've got to coat 13 boards, 2x8x16.
 
Get used motor oil. Put it In a garden sprayer and soak them. I mean till its completely penetrated. I have a trailer that the same non treated lumber I. Them for 15 years.


In the first year I bet they soaked up 10 gallon of oil. I still spray them about 2x a year.
 
Get used motor oil. Put it In a garden sprayer and soak them. I mean till its completely penetrated. I have a trailer that the same non treated lumber I. Them for 15 years.


In the first year I bet they soaked up 10 gallon of oil. I still spray them about 2x a year.

Not slippery when wet?
 
Ryan, lots of options for you.

First, what species is the lumber that you have? If it's modern SPF or pine from the big box store, it will rot out fairly quickly.

Your best option for treatment is to use copper napthanate (CuNap). Buy it in concentrated form and thin it with either mineral spirits or diesel. You will get the best performance if you allow the boards to soak in it.

http://www.coppercare.com/Product/CopperNaphthenates

A good home-based mix is 45% used motor oil (from diesel engines in order to avoid the carcinogens present in used gasoline engine oil), 45% diesel fuel and 10% non-fibrous roofing tar. The drawback to the home-based mix is that it doesn't fully dry out for months. It's best when used on siding.

Your best option though is to either buy some pressure treated lumber or to get your butt down to my sawmill and pick up some white oak trailer decking boards. White oak is naturally rot resistant and you can extend it's life if you treat it about 6-9 months after installation.
 
Floor of the machine shed at the farm was oil-soaked oak, lasted about 150years until gram lost her mind and hired someone to bulldoze all the out buildings one day.

I don’t know that any treatment is going to help make a softwood last as decking material, I’d go find some white oak and know that it’ll be the last time you need to put a new deck on the trailer.
 
I’ll second (or fourth I think) the used motor oil.

Like has been said get a bug sprayer and fill it with motor oil from a diesel motor.

Never tried the mix that @Scsmith42 suggested but it seems legit. We just mixed it 2/3 motor oil and 1/3 diesel fuel. It works like adding paint thinner. It flows a little better and soaks in quicker that way.

And definitely take him up on he white oak boards.
 
Used motor oil.... I let the trailer sit in the sun for a half day, then I use a big paint brush to lay it on thick.... The wood will soak it up like a sponge. The floor boards in my trailer are 22 years old and are as solid as the day they were installed...
 
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