Deck strip, sand and oil

Hi Workshoppers,

I thought my deck experience might prove a handy reference for many on here. Our deck was about 5 years old and ready for re-oiling - after earlier failed attempts I knew that a total strip and sand would be necessary to get the best result.

This was the original state, clearly in need of some attention.

Ocean grove deck 3.JPG

Initially I resorted to using Power Prep and the pressure sprayer, which wasn't quite enough for stripping back of the existing deck finish. Here is one of the initial stages of using Power Prep.

Ocean grove deck 1 - before.JPG

I shifted tactics to a paint stripper (Liquid 😎 which was a little more potent and got the result I needed. You can see how effective it was in the photo below.

Ocean grove deck 2 - pressure spray.JPG

After going over the entire deck with Liquid 8 and the pressure sprayer, I decided to sand the entire surface. I wanted a really high quality result when oiling, and so took the time not only to sand, but to sand over the decking twice.

Below is a photo after a coarse sanding (P40 sandpaper) and then a fine sanding (P280 sandpaper). Smooth as a baby's bottom now!

I'm about to add a couple of coats of oil, and will share pictures when done! Can't wait to see how it comes up now that the hard work has been done - anticipation in the household is high as you might imagine.

Ocean grove deck 4.JPG

Find more posts tagged with

Decking and Paving

Comments

Jason

Welcome to the Workshop community @DIY_Dan. It's fantastic to have you join us. I hope you find the site both useful and fun.

Thanks for sharing this project. It looks like you've done a great job sanding the deck and I'm sure it will inspire others. Looking forward to seeing the finished result after you have oiled.

Please post again soon.

Jason

Kermit

Good result. Do you think you would have got the same result using just sanding or was the paint remover necessary? I wasn't happy with the results I got last time when oiling my deck. It looks patchy because it cops different amounts of sun. Just scrubbing it with deck clean clearly wasn't enough. I was planning to sand it next time but the paint remover could make it much easier...

DIY_Dan

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/570#Comment_570

Hi Kermit, the original stain was Cabots Aquadeck and it had six coats on from the previous five years' use. As the deck is covered it only weathers on two sides, with the less exposed regions appearing almost pristine. To just sand it back was just too hard for me - maybe with an aggressive belt sander or something, but I didn't really want to go gouging out a few millimetres of board to get rid of the stain. Using Liquid 8 made it so easy to remove the Aquadeck, but I used a power washer to get it off, so the grain of the timber stood up a bit anyway, so required sanding regardless. If you have a Dulux product on there already ie Cabots, Feast Watson or Intergrain, give their product technical team a call. They are super helpful - I wish I had have called before taking advice from storemen and women. Then I wouldn't have spent money on Power Prep which didn't work at all for me.

DIY_Dan

Finally gotten around to updating this post with the finished product!!

Here is the deck after the first coat of Intergrain Nature's Timber Oil:

And after the second coat:

Now the deck is made from River Reds hardwood, which has almost as many colours as Spotted Gum, but it is primarily pinkish with the odd bit of almost pure white. The whiter boards have taken on quite an orange tint, which isn't overly pleasing, but I think next year when it's due for another oil, I'll whack a Jarrah tinted Nature's Timber Oil over the top and darken it up a bit.

Hope this provides some sort of info for all of you doing, or re-doing, your decks.

Barker

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/609#Comment_609

@DIY_Dan

I need to start again with my deck too. It's a big area so your suggestion of using paint stripper sounds good - I was thinking about hiring a floor sander but I also don't like the idea of taking a few millimetres off the timber. Just wondering what you ended up using when it came to sanding? Did you just do it by hand?

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/63086#Comment_63086

@Barker

Sorry, I noticed that you didn't get a reply to your question.

You might be interested in my deck renewal project. I hired a floor sander. It was an easy job.

Jason

Russell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/569#Comment_569

My deck was painted with an acrylic which is super hard to get off! I tried a commercial sander but the boards aren't even so it just chews throuigh the paper. A guerney works but only if I can get purchase on somewhere where the paint is lifting and the paint stripper I had doen't really make any difference. At this stage I think I need to replace the whole deck!

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/64035#Comment_64035

That sounds very frustrating @Russell. Let us know what paint stripper you were using, and if possible share a photo or two of the deck so we can see what you are working with. There are plenty of Workshop members with deck rejuvenation experience so hopefully the community will be able to suggest some alternative tactics for you without having to replace the boards.

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to Workshop. It's lovely to have you join us. I'm looking forward to reading more about your projects and plans. I trust you will receive plenty of helpful information and advice from our members, both for this project and many to come in the future.

Please let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.

Jason

Kermit

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/64035#Comment_64035

@Russell

Another alternative to replacing the deck would be to paint the boards with decking paint like @SoMuch2Do did here - https://www.workshop.com.au/t5/Outdoor-Living/Replace-or-Paint-worn-decking/m-p/5125

I'd certainly try to do everything to get them back to the timber first though.

antonio

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/64035#Comment_64035

hi Russel,

my name is Antonio, i do up decks for a living and other things around the house.

i'm just going to sugest something to you,

if the paint is hard to remove, i would leave it there, i would use the

same product (if possible, if not at list the same base)

you say yours is acrylic, you could get the same thing, give it a nice send

with an orbital sender, 120 grit and then apply your product,

you may need to do 4 or 5 coats to blend the new and the old, but i'm sure

you could get a nice rusult.

we never know till we try.

good luck.

Antonio

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/94575#Comment_94575

Thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your experience @antonio. I'm sure @Russell appreciates the advice.

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to Workshop. It's great to have you as a community member. It sounds like you have a lot of knowledge and expertise you can share with others. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts soon. I hope you will also receive helpful information and some inspiration for projects from our community members, too.

Please let me know if you ever need any help getting the most from the site, or have any feedback about how we can make Workshop more useful for you.

Thanks again,

Jason

Jase1188

Just wondering, how much liquid 8 paint stripper did you use? My house has a deck which was painted grey/blue by previous owner, and i want to strip it back to bare timber to oil it, but not sure how much paint stripper i will need. The deck is approx 8m wide by 4m long.

Thanks

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/3721#Comment_3721

Hi @Jase1188,

Thanks for joining in the discussion. I have tagged @DIY_Dan to alert him to your question as its been a while since he created this discussion thread.

I suspect it might be hard to estimate how much paint stripper you will need before you start as Integrain suggests that thick coatings might require more than one application. Let us know how you go.

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to Workshop. It's great to have you join us. I'm sure you will find plenty of helpful information and inspiration from our community members.

Titch

My question relates to preparation of the deck.

I'm guessing that both the chemical and pressure spray preparations were not required given the decision was made to sand in the end. Is this correct.

Wouldn't sanding always be preferable to chemical preparation ....... less toxic?

Regards

Titch

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/8192#Comment_8192

Thanks for joining in the discussion @Titch, it's good to have you join us. Although this discussion was created several years ago, let me tag @DIY_Dan for you so he is alerted to your question.

Are you planning your own deck rejuvenation project? Please don't hesitate to hit the Start a discussion button and share details about your deck and its condition if you need a hand from the community about your specific situation.

Welcome,

Jason

paulrives

Hi there @DIY_Dan,

Recognise this is an old post but hope you can help. I see your fixings are nails - were the heads proud of the boards before sanding? How did you find sanding them with nails? We have nails where the heads are proud and I am worried about stripping them if I use a floor sander.

Thanks!

Paul

DIY_Dan

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/13492#Comment_13492

Hey @paulrives,

Jeez I wish they weren't nails!!!! If I could easily pull them out and replace them with screws I would. I actually went through and punched the ones that were sitting proud of the surface so that they wouldn't shred my sandpaper. Nightmare.

Good luck.

Cheers
Dan

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/69258#Comment_69258

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @paulrives. It's brilliant that you've joined us and many thanks for jumping into the conversation.

It's fantastic to see @DIY_Dan has already answered your question.

Are your nail heads so proud that they are significantly above the timber's height? Even if they are level with the timber's surface it's generally advised to punch them down before you start. If you do manage to sand a nail head off completely you can run the risk of boards popping up.

If you could share a picture of some of the worst examples I'm sure our members can offer some advice.

Mitchell

Luciano

Looks better wondering how its pulled up 4 years down the track??

I only have half my deck not covered looking like this, do I need to strip and sand the entire lot do you think for consistency???

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Luciano. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for jumping into the discussion.

I'd suggest the deck has been coated at least a couple of times since this discussion, but let me tag @DIY_Dan, so they are alerted to your question.

For the sake of consistency, I'd suggest you need to do the lot at the same time, or you'll have some type of transition. You might be able to blend the area between what is sanded and what's not, but I think it will still be noticeable. You could always just give it a go. Sand the affected area and then apply a coat of oil over a test section. If you can't see the transition, then coat the whole deck. Otherwise, continue the sanding process into the unaffected area.

You might like to start your own discussion with some pictures of the deck. That way, our members can offer advice specific to your project.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your results.

Mitchell

Child Item