Hello Eric,

I have mahogany and cedar decking and cedar furniture.  I powerwash and
coat.  Now I use Olympic cedar naturaltone.  I like the deep luster
brown/red of the wood look.  There are two decks that I built back in
the 70s that I still maintain.  One is all heart redwood and the other
is cedar, D. or better fir.  Both decks are in great shape and have been
maintained annually.  All fasteners are galvanized or stainless and
other than the decking which is toenailed, all screws are countersunk
and bunged.  All decking to structural wood is separated with strips of
30 pound felt.  No rotting, although both have weathered to gray.  As
for finishes, there are probably over a dozen types in the 30 or more
years.  I was a big fan of penafin (Brazilian rosewood oil) until it was
reconstituted about four years ago.  I have seen some cedars that are
painted rot in a couple of years just like a punky pine or some of that
stuff they use for finger jointed trim.  Nevertheless, my experience is
that no matter what the finish, you can't be annual maintenance and no
matter what the wood, select good quality and it is hard to beat
heartwood..  Cost wise, mahogany is great in our area.  The various
fruit woods seem to check a lot due to irregular grain and crossgraining
and if you can get good red cedar, it is still very soft and the borer
bees love it.

Best,
Leland

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