Merbau Deck Maintenance

[Rolytav]

Hi, 

I usually oil my Merbau deck about every 18 months using the Cabot's aquadeck. Last time I did it,I noticed there was some decent wear in a few parts and just oiling over it didn't look that good.  What do i need to do to bring it back to a more universal finish all over? Is it a matter of restaining and then oiling over that? 

I've attached some pictures of wear..

 

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Rolytav,

Thank you for your question.

Unfortunately, the only way to get a truly uniform finish when uneven wear has occurred is to sand back the deck and then recoat it.

You can use this Orbital Floor Sander, which is available to hire in many of our stores, alongside Belt, Orbital & Cordless Sanders to carry out the job.

Check out How To Sand A Deck for some guidance.

Once the deck has been sanded, you can oil your deck as normal. Check out How To Oil Your Deck for a comprehensive guide.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Rolytav]

Hi Jacob,

Thanks for your response. If I sand it all back then the timber will be much lighter all over (similar to worn part in picture) and if I apply oil over this it will just be shiny but still light (even if I use the merbau aquadeck instead of natural). How do I go about getting it back closer to the original merbau colour all over? 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Rolytav,

If you sand it all back, you will have a uniform, clean slate to start from. If in the past you used a stain followed by an oil to achieve this look, you would just repeat what you've done in the past.

The problem with applying a stain to an already stained area, is that it will soak in differently depending on the state of the timber. You could try re-staining it without sanding. The different wear patterns would likely still show, but if you'd like to give it a try there is nothing stopping, you.

It might be worth staining one of the worn boards, then oiling it and seeing what you think. If it isn't what you were hoping for, you can always sand it back and start again. If it looks good enough for you, then there's no reason you can't use this method on the rest of your deck.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob