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High brains trusts,
I have weathered and thin cracks on my timber railings on my patio and I want to restore and paint it.
See the photos of the cracks but I don't think paint alone will cover and protect the wood for the future. What should I do as prep work and to fix it?
I was thinking of scraping off most of the paint, using a belt sander for the majority of the work, Then I was unsure if I need a project to fill the fine cracks?
Furthermore there is a soft spot of wood near a knot in the wood which I plan to dig it out to ensure I have good wood, use wood hardner to treat the interface and fill the cavity with builders bog. I think I have this part covered as I've done this before elsewhere.
Hi @dr_harika,
You’re absolutely on the right track with your plan. The cracks in your handrail look fairly fine, so after sanding the surface back, a couple of good coats of exterior paint should be enough to cover and protect it. If you’ve already got some Builder's Bog on hand and notice any slightly wider gaps, you can certainly go over the surface after sanding and work a bit of filler into those cracks. Most of the finer ones won’t actually take filler, but you can apply a very thin skim coat and push it in where possible. No need to build it up above the surface.
Just be careful if you’re planning to use a belt sander. They’re quite aggressive, and it’s very easy to gouge or unevenly remove material from softer areas of timber. An orbital sander would be a safer choice and perfectly capable of getting back to bare timber with a bit more patience. If you do stick with the belt sander, use a fine grit (around 240) to minimise the risk of damage.
For the soft spot around the knot, your approach is spot on. Dig out any decayed timber, treat the area with wood hardener, and then fill it with Builder's Bog. Once everything’s sanded smooth, apply at least two coats of a quality exterior paint to fully seal and protect the timber against future weathering.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Many thanks for the response, and sorry for the delay - weather and work schedules didnt allow me to do much in a hurry.
Firstly, i poked at any of the loose damaged soft spots across the railings and found a few more than i first had noticed. I picked it out as much as i could with a screwdriver, wire brush, and chisel to expose solid wood again. I then treated it with Earl's Wood Hardner, this stuff is amazing, the next day it was rock hard. I got a few drips on the deck below which i should have cleaned up straight away, because that made cleanup much harder the next day.
I then used Builders Bog to fill the missing wood. This took 2-3 layers to get it packed tightly and perfectly flat. I also took the opportunity to fill any damaged areas, or knots in posts etc. I ran a "v" shape edge of a 5in1 scaper in any of the larger "cracks" to open them up and allow builders bog to be pushed in. Very easy to get carried away. Once all dried, i sanded it back flat.
On one of the corners where the rail was connected to the post, i installed a bracket as the original wood was rotted and i wasnt sure if the buidlers bog would hold longterm.
Then i sanded the majority of wood with a belt sander, orbital sander and a manual cork block with sandpaper. All approx 80-120grit.
Afew sugar soap wipes, and then onto painting.
Then it was masking, undercoat, painting, and re-paining a few coats. I think i ended up with 3-4 on the top/sides that are most exposed to the weather, and maybe 2 on all the other faces/on the posts which were not in bad shape anyway.
Here are some of the photos along the way. Thanks for the help.
Job Complete for now. Photos to close out the post/repair
