How to stain this decking timber?

[Mattg]

Hi DIY tribe. 

So, I have some decking timber I've lifted for some modification and renno. Looks like the old owner put it the wrong way round originally (in my opinion anyway). 

I figured I'd flip it, sand it, stain it for a nicer finish while the boards are up. Some on the boards sit pretty close to the earth and looks like it's held a bit of moisture. The one pictured I've sanded back with 100 grit, wiped it down yo remove the dust.

Question is, is that ready for stain? Or is it going to be hours with the sander to take it back to wood and no darker spots? 

Picture below shows the sanded wood and other board how they currently are. The far left shows the rest of the timber and it's condition. This was the worst of it. 

Thoughts? - Appreciate the help in advance. 

Cheers 

Matt

[J-P]

It is trade off between finish and effort. The more sanding will give a nicer finish. But with this as well you can stain it but will see variations in darkness

[JacobZ]

Hi @Mattg,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

As @J-P has said, it is a bit of a trade-off. 

Ideally, you would keep sanding until you completely remove all the dark spots, which are what will create colour variations in the timber. The problem with this, due to the age and proximity to the ground, is that there's a good chance the darkened areas are fairly deep in the timber, so you would be doing a whole lot of sanding.

If you are using a dark stain like was on the timber before, it wouldn't be too much of a worry. I would probably give it another once-over before applying your stain. 

If you were using a light stain, you would want to keep sanding until you can get out the dark areas. With a light stain, they would stand out a fair bit.

Ultimately, it all depends on what level of finish you are looking for. Perfection takes time, but fairly good won't be too far off.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob