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Hello all,
I'm going to redo my outdoor decking area. I believe the wood is Merbau. I was originally thinking about just staining it in a similar colour, however i have now seen some grey colours and thinking i may do this instead. With going grey is this possible if the wood is already a brown colour?
My Plan:
1. Preasure house deck.
2. Apply a chemical to remove stubborn dirt and stains.
3. Sand deck and rails back.
4. Clean deck with sugar soap or similar.
5. Allow to dry.
6. Paint with an oil or stain.
Any other suggestions please let me know.
Thanks
Hi @bowmatty,
Can you please let our members know what this grey-coloured product is? It sounds more like a paint-based product than a stain or oil; if so, you might be able to avoid a couple of steps. Regardless, your steps are just about right for restoring a deck, but if you are sanding the deck back, I don't see any need to remove dirt and stains beforehand, as the sanding will do that for you. So, in your case, it would be just sand the deck and rails back and then paint with an oil or stain.
Here are a couple of handy step-by-step guides: How to sand a deck and How to stain a deck.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Hi @bowmatty,
Thanks for providing those product details. Grey-stained decks are certainly on trend. The remnants of your previous oil will prevent it from penetrating adequately, so you will need to sand your deck before applying that product, as it needs a porous surface like bare timber. However, it is only semi-transparent, so after sanding, if there are a few stains or marks, the product will do a good job of disguising them.
Just so you know, we have sanders available for hire that will make the job so much quicker.
I can't wait to see your results.
Mitchell
ignore the above- i checked out the videos 
Just following your path I have a grey deck I want to stain it back to a Merabu colour
Dave
Hi @bowmatty,
What's the context here? Have you decided not to go for the Feast Watson 4L Weathered Grey Traditional Timber Oil?
A stain is a pigment in a carrier, and an oil is a protecting coating. Oils will most often carry a pigment to recolour aged timber. In the case of that Feast Watson product, the oil carries a very opaque grey pigment. Stains offer protection as well, but they predominantly re-colour timber. So, typically I'd recommend an oil on a deck for its protective and nourishing qualities. If the timber is aged and you'd like to restore it, select a tinted oil with a pigment similar to your decking. In @Dave-1 's case, they'd use the Merbau decking oil if his Merbau is now aged and grey and has lost its colour.
That's a bit of a generalised overview, but please let me know more, and I can provide further assistance.
Mitchell
Afternoon @MitchellMc
Thanky ou for the info, Will have a look at it when I go to Bunnings next.... 
Oh thats right I need some paint stripper so maybe today hahaha
Dave
