How to renew Merbau decking area?

[bowmatty]

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 

Community manager's note: Check out How to renovate a timber deck for expert advice.

[bowmatty]

HI @MitchellMc, 

Wife wasn't too fond of the grey colour so now either going a stain or oil-based product and keeping the colour light natural. 

Yep, im more inclined to go with the oil. 

Thanks 

[Jason]

Looking forward to seeing the results @bowmatty. Please share some photos when you are done.

Here's my own project from a while back - Deck renewal using floor sander.

Jason

[bowmatty]

Hi Jason, 

thanks I’ll definitely post some pictures once completed.

Ive checked your project out and it looks great! Im curious to know why you recommend the hired orbital sander and not the hired drum sander from Bunnings? The reviews say the orbital is terrible to use and the drum sander is the best to use. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @bowmatty,

I can answer that for you. Our drum sanders are not designed to be used on decks. Due to their design, any protruding nails can damage the machine. So, unfortunately, we are unable to recommend them for deck use.

Mitchell

[bowmatty]

Morning all, 

so i have hired the sander and gone over the deck with the 80grit sand paper (its come up amazing. 

My local Bunnings didnt have the 80 grit paper for finishing, i ended up getting the 100 grit. Would this still be suffice? Or needs to be 80 to finish? 

[MitchellMc]

Don't do us like that, @bowmatty; where are the progress shots? Take us along for the ride! 🤣

80-grit is fine for stripping back the surface, but that's too coarse, in my opinion, for finishing. I'd be looking at 100-grit or more for the final pass, 180-grit even.

Mitchell

[bowmatty]

 heres a little teaser for you @MitchellMc 

[MitchellMc]

Amazing @bowmatty, that's made my morning!  I notice a little discolouration of the decking in the bottom middle of that picture. I suspect this was an area where those drips were landing. Are there more of these discoloured areas? Will you be using a deck cleaning product before applying your oil? Consider using Feast Watson 4L Woodclean and giving the deck a good scrub down with a stiff bristle brush. You might not even notice them once the deck is oiled, but by using the Woodclean, it will help minimise the discolouration's appearance. If you do use the cleaner, stick with the Feast Watson Woodclean as it contains hydrochloric acid, which the other deck cleaners don't. In my experience, the additional chemical makes it perform far better than the other cleaners.

Please remember your PPE when using deck cleaners or applying oils, including a face mask, safety glasses, gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, pants and enclosed footwear.

Mitchell

[Dave-1]

Good morning @bowmatty 

Wow! Now you have made me reconsider sanding my own lol Bugger! That looks so nice and definently why I choose hardwood over pine. Worth the effort. How hard was it to actually sand?

Dave

[bowmatty]

HI Mitch, 

That was water from cleaning it, it was still wet in parts. 

If you mean the very bottom middle then that is a stubborn mark, which i couldn't even sand out. Ill give it a clean as you suggested. 

Firstly, I'm oiling the wooden privacy walls and above them. Once they have a couple of coats i will then do 3 coats on the floor of the deck. Will show pictures once finished.