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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
Yep, that mark right down the bottom in the middle. If the area I've circled in green is still wet, the discolouration isn't as bad as I first thought. Still might be worth trying to clean, but I think your oil will disguise it sufficiently.
Mitchell
First coat of Intergrain Timber oil is on. So far im happy with the colour and coverage. Have a concern with these noticeable spots on the deck, how can i get ride of these, they are like shiny spots (not wet).
Hi @bowmatty,
At a guess, I'd say they are potentially areas where a bit too much of the oil has gathered, or it didn't spread out as evenly as the surrounding areas. When oil can't penetrate the timber, it tends to sit on top, and if the coat is quite thick, it can dry with a shine. Have you finished coating the deck? If you still have another coat to go, you might like to lightly sand these areas by hand with 180/240-grit sandpaper to remove the sheen from them before overcoating the whole deck.
If you've already finished coating the deck, then you might like to take a close up image of one of these areas, and I can investigate further.
Mitchell
Only a first coat at the moment. I was thinking to use my orbital hand sander and sand back these parts, or do you think just hand sand with paper block?
i have used about 6 litre for the 60m2, which is right according to tin. Also, i have brushed on and off and made sure it wasnt on thick. Don't know what I've done wrong. It looks better close up but stands out from distance
i will take a picture now and attach
So, to me, it appears like these areas might have been hard to sand perfectly flat as the timber was warped or somewhat cupped. Cupping is where the central portion of the board is lower than the outside edge, and a sander can't contact it unless the deck is sanding drastically, creating issues because the screws need to be driven further in. If you take a look at the image below I've outlined the area I believe to be sunken in red, and the green shows the higher sides. You might be able to determine better if that is the case. Due to the depression and the potential that the area didn't get sanded or there is a residual amount of your previous coating left on it, this might be causing the oil to be thicker in that area. The depression would have also made it difficult to spread the oil evenly. Take a look at the other shiny areas and see if they are all sunken.
Your last image is potentially something else. I presume it's the orangey colouring you're picturing there. Once again, that looks like it might be areas that the previous coating wasn't removed from. See how it's only in certain patches. If you imagine the areas around them were higher, then the flat sander passes over and misses the lower portions.
I'm just going back over your images. You've predominantly circled areas around boards butting up to each other. The other day, when you posted the teaser image after you'd just washed the deck, those same areas held the most moisture in them, and the deck appeared wet there. How long did you leave the deck to dry after washing it down and your first coat? I'm just hypothesizing here, but a shiny finish can be caused by excess water in the timber. If there is water still left in the timber, it prevents the oil from penetrating. If the oil can't penetrate and get sucked in, then it sits on the top as a coating, and I have heard of a shiny effective being caused.
I'm in two minds about sanding back these areas. How badly do you not like this effect? Sanding and leaving the areas open to dry as a precaution would most likely resolve the situation. However, you might then be able to detect the sanded areas once you're done. The rest of the deck has one coat, and the sanded areas will have none. So if you were to do another coat, you'd likely be able to tell the difference between the areas with two coats and those with only one.
Mitchell
It's difficult to give you an answer, @bowmatty. If this were a moisture issue, the manufacturer of the product would suggest that sanding the whole deck again to remove the product would be the only way to guarantee a consistent finish; let's be honest, though, no one wants to have to do that. When you touch up the sanded areas, I'd recommend you apply the coat to the central part and then spread it out into the surrounding area, trying to feather the edges. You don't want hard transition lines between new and old coats. The second coat to the whole deck should help blend the transition.
Mitchell
Hi @bowmatty,
Just thought I'd add my 2c.
You've done great work. I'd leave the deck alone now and move on. It looks terrific and a huge improvement. The reality is that soon it will get scratched and dirty again from everyday use, and other people won't notice the very minor imperfections.
Well done,
Jason
