Share
Hi,
Have new decking which has been down a month. It has a bit of fungus in a small part of it. I was wondering what's the best regime to (a) treat and clear the fungus and prepare it for staining (b) when is the best time to do it; (C) what is the best regime such as cleaner and stain? Is it the oil-staining water-based one Aquadeck which lasts twice as long the others?. I include recommendation from the Caboot's catalogue which advises a new timber prep then a deck clean then aquadeck out should I just wait 2 months and do the last two ? (d) are the tools from Caboot's the best or can you use any suitable brush?. Do I need any special brush cleaner between stages ? I include my decks. There is a front one and a side one(include ). The deck is a new hardwood. Thanks.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Antipodes. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for your question.
I'd be interested in seeing the extent of the fungus you've mentioned, as I didn't notice it in any of the images you've provided. Some closeup images will let us know if any additional steps are required to remove it apart from the standard clean.
The method described in the catalogue is how to coat your deck in a day. You can either wait a couple of months for it to naturally weather and then use Cabot's Deck Clean and Aquadeck to coat. Or, you can complete the job now by using the New Timber Prep to strip the tannins out of the timber. The New Timber Prep is designed to remove the need for the natural aging process, and there is no need to do both. The Deck Clean will probably remove any surface fungus once it is scrubbed down with a stiff bristle broom.
You should wait for a period of dry weather to complete the timber prep, clean and especially the oiling.
Since you'll be doing yearly oiling of the deck, the Cabot's tools, including the Cabot's Deck Coat Applicator and Pole and Cabot's 15L Deck Hand Bucket, will make the job a breeze and would be a great investment. You can wash your applicator and brushes up in water if you're using Aquadeck.
Aquadeck is the product you've seen guaranteed to last two times longer than oil-based decking oils.
You should find these step-by-step guides useful: How To Clean Your Deck and How To Oil Your Deck.
I look forward to following along with your project and can't wait to see the results. Please let me know if you need further assistance or have questions.
Mitchell
Hi Mitchell - thanks for that! Above are photos of the boards at the moment and one of a fungal patch of which there are only a couple. They builder said to apply this:
"sodium percarbonate and oxylic acid cleaner and brightener like the EFC -38 and Citralic from Wood rich"
but the Cabot's program seems easier. The deck has been down about 5 weeks and 7w at least by Easter . Do I do the 3 step or can I just do the 2 step from the look of the boards as I want to do it at Easter. From the look of it , how much do you roughly think I will need of each to do the job? Do I oil once or twice with Aquadeck?
Thanks,
Paul
Paul (@Antipodes),
The Deck Clean has Oxalic acid in it, and I'd imagine it will do a good job of removing/killing the fungus. You'll need to give the area good scrub with a stiff bristle broom, though. I'd recommend trying the new timber prep and then deck clean to see if this does the job. If not, you can then look at acquiring the brightener to finish it off before oiling.
You can do the new timber prep, deck clean and oil all in one day. I'd estimate it will take you about one and a half hours for each step. The four-litre containers of both new timber prep and deck clean cover 40 square meters each. I'd suggest you'll need at least a ten-litre can of the Aquadeck oil as it covers 60 square meters with two coats. You will need to give the bare timber two coats as new timber tends to suck in quite a bit of oil.
You should easily be able to complete the whole job this coming weekend if the weather permits.
Mitchell
