How to remove pot plant stains on deck?

[Coaster]

 

 Hi Legends. I’ve just sanded back my deck and there are stains left from the bosses pot plants. I’ve tried vinegar, bleach and metho with no joy. How can I get ride on them? I have tried sanding back more. 

Cheers,

Graeme

[Jason]

Hi @Coaster,

Welcome to Bunnings Workshop. We're really pleased to have you join the community and are confident you'll get loads of help and inspiration for all your projects around the house and garden from our wonderful members. 

Sanding is going to be the best approach for this problem, but you say you've already sanded the boards. It seems the damage is deep into the timber. If you can't sand any further, I suspect there's nothing further you can do, but let me tag some experienced members such as @JacobZ95 and @EricL for their thoughts.

Jason

[JacobZ95]

Hey @Coaster,

What @Jason has said is correct, unfortunately it looks like the stain has penetrated deeper into the timber and stained the fibres further down in the wood.  

You could try using an aggressive grit sandpaper on a belt sander and really “give it some”, but it’s likely that by the time you got rid of the stain, you would have a few boards that are considerably thinner than those around them. 

It is likely that the only real way to get rid of these stains is to replace the boards. 

Happy to help further if you’ve got other questions.

Jacob

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Coaster,

I'd recommend giving Feast Watson 1L Woodclean a go. I've used it for various stain removals on timber, and it works like magic in certain circumstances. I'd be rather hopeful that it would either remove or minimise those stains enough that they'll be disguised once you've re-oiled and stained the deck.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Coaster]

Thanks Mitchell and gang for your responses. I’ll give it a crack and if it doesn’t work, more plant pots!!!

[Jason]

@Coaster,

After you've oiled your deck you might like to invest in some terracotta feet to get the pots up off the deck.

Jason

[Coaster]

Hi All,

Sorry one more question. Can someone tell me the difference between the Enrich and Cabots product? I'm looking to use the clear stain and the price difference between the two is massive! $35 compared to $83. I don't want to go cheap if I just end us using 3 times as much or take 3 times as long.

Cheers,

Coaster

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Coaster,

I think it's easier to take a look at Enrich 4L Deck And Exterior Timber Oil, a budget-friendly option, and Intergrain 4L Natural UltraDeck Timber Decking Oil, a premium product designed to provide your deck with the maximum amount of protection for the longest amount of time. The Enrich product will need to be applied yearly and in moderate to severe exposure twice a year if not more. The Intergrain would be more of a once-a-year product. Now, you don't need to go to the expense of the premium product, but I'd strongly advise you to at least use the Cabot's 4L Natural Decking Oil. It's a great product that applies well and offers the protection your deck needs. I use the Cabot Oil myself and find it does the job well.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Coaster]

@MitchellMc Thank you for the great response. Really good information and I appreciate the effort in response.