# Forum Home Renovation Decking  Removing a recently applied stain to Merbau decking..... HELP!!!

## Chris1980

This past Saturday 25/03/2017 I applied two coats of Cabots Decking & Timber stain (merbau)
to my recently finished Merbau decking. 
The problem is that I am not happy with the final results and realise that I should have taken
my mates advice and used a decking oil instead of the stain (god knows why I didnt). 
The results can be seen in the photos. 
Here is the before the stain shot...   
And here is the a pic I took this morning showing it with the stain applied.   
Now my question is, being that this is a recently applied stain what is the next 
step I should take and what products should I used to get my deck back to how
it was pre-stain and ready to use a nice oil instread...? 
I have seen many things written about the removal of old, dry and flaking deck
coatings, although I was unsure what to use on a freshly applied stain. 
Many thanks in advance!

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## METRIX

Oh yes the after looks terrible, looks like paint. 
What product did you apply, was it the water based version or oil based version ? 
If it was the water based version you will have to sand if all off, or you can use Intergrain timber stripper. http://www.intergrain.com.au/product...imber-stripper 
If it was the oil based version you may be able to strip most of it off with a napisan solution and high pressure washer, then a quick sand.

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## Uncle Bob

Nice job on the deck tho!

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## Chris1980

Hi METRIX, many thanks for your reply. 
It was the water-based Cabots stain, which I have since seen poor reviews 
for, which I am kicking myself even more for not reading up on it prior to use. 
A friend of mine mentioned that I may need to use a stain stripper prior to
sanding as it would otherwise clog up the sandpaper very quickly on a belt sander. 
I will look into this 'Intergrain timber stripper' and see what is involved... 
Any other advice is much appreciated.

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## Chris1980

> Nice job on the deck tho!

  Many thanks, yes at least I know that under this brown gunk is a beautiful
deck waiting to be resurrected. It's just a pain that I am having to go down
this track in the first place and should have done it right first time...!!!

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## phild01

Possibly flip the boards over if screw holes are accurate, and boards aren't reeded.

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## METRIX

> Hi METRIX, many thanks for your reply. 
> It was the water-based Cabots stain, which I have since seen poor reviews 
> for, which I am kicking myself even more for not reading up on it prior to use. 
> A friend of mine mentioned that I may need to use a stain stripper prior to
> sanding as it would otherwise clog up the sandpaper very quickly on a belt sander. 
> I will look into this 'Intergrain timber stripper' and see what is involved... 
> Any other advice is much appreciated.

  These water based products generally take 7 days to "cure", this means it will still be "soft" until after 7 days, I would do the following. 
1: Leave it for 7 days, then run over it with a random orbital with 80 grit, this should remove most of the product fairly easily, then it may require a quick second sanding to completely remove everything, don't underestimate how much time it will take to do this, if you have a crappy Random Orbital it will make the job harder, a belt sander is an option but a lot of hard work. 
or 
2: Use Intergrain stripper, the advantage of this product is it's water based, the disadvantage is it's expensive, and can be messy to use on a deck, but this is what the product is designed for, might be worth investing in a smaller container and trying it out first, bet make sure to completely remove all the product before applying a new coating. 
I would be opting for option 1, you will find the product should sand off fairly easily as it's new, if it had been on there for a few years and started to peel etc they are more stubborn to get off, yes you may find it clogs the paper but you can only give it a try. 
Sanding will be somewhat time consuming but is the cleanest option, expect to go through a few sanding disc's. 
Also when you apply the new choice of oil, go for a Natural finish, these look better on Merbau IMO, they show the timber colours better, I personally don;t like decking oils with coloring in them (don't confuse decking oil with colour as opposed to decking stain), decking stain will completely change the timber colour, decking oil with colour is meant to highlight the timber, IMO it makes it look fake.

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## Chris1980

> These water based products generally take 7 days to "cure", this means it will still be "soft" until after 7 days, I would do the following. 
> 1: Leave it for 7 days, then run over it with a random orbital with 80 grit, this should remove most of the product fairly easily, then it may require a quick second sanding to completely remove everything, don't underestimate how much time it will take to do this, if you have a crappy Random Orbital it will make the job harder, a belt sander is an option but a lot of hard work.

  Many thanks once again for such a detailed reply... 
Wouldn't a larger floor (drum) sander (hired from Bunning etc...) do a quicker job on the sanding...? 
I totally understand that working on this 4.5 x 6.75m deck would be time consuming, especially with an orbital sander
which is why I was considering the larger floor/decking sander option and leave the smaller sander to get into the hard
to access areas and end base board. 
Most definitely want to do it right this time around....  :Smilie:

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## METRIX

If you have never used a drum sander before you can easily do more damage than good, but yes it can work in your favour.

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## Chris1980

I think I know what you mean there... 
Would the larger push orbital sanders be a better alternative option...?  https://www.bunnings.com.au/for-hire...-24hr_p5470071 
I saw one of these used on a decking restoration video and thought it may be a better alternative to the drum sander. 
I think the sanding option is definitely sounding like the better option from what you have said, and alot less messy. 
Cheers.

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## METRIX

Jim will probably be along soon he will let you know the best option,

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## Chris1980

You have been a great help, thankyou! 
With regards to stain that has gone down into the cracks, would not the stain stripper be
the best option to deal with this as the sander will not be able to get into such a tight area...? 
A friend has already said he would loan me his high-pressure hose so that is one item already covered
if I do go down the stain stripper route. 
Cheers.

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## METRIX

I wouldn't worry about it in between the boards, if you sand the tops you won't see the sides of the boards.

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## Chris1980

> I wouldn't worry about it in between the boards, if you sand the tops you won't see the sides of the boards.

  That is good to know...

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## jimj

Pretty much what Metrix has recommended I would agree with. Using a stripper on water based requires a very caustic stripper. Forget the cost, the mess generated is beyond comprehension. A stripper takes about 10 minutes to activate . You are best to only do 1-2m2 at a time. The water pressure will send coating flying & landing on everything around. Glass, walls etc. If you fail to get the mess off within 15 minutes or so it can become stuck when dry and leave you with a bigger mess. The stripper will not activate on wet surfaces so you will need to dry off the next zone. This is just a hassle. 
OK for sanding. This will solve the problem but don't be tricked into hiring a big sander to do the job. If you don't have experience you can cause more dramas by creating a lot of snipe marks which will upset you more.  Looking at the deck it would seem to be around 30m2. I could sand this with my orbital sander & 40 grit initially to remove the stain & then finish with 80 grit. This would take me 5-6 hours. I agree with Metrix to let this harden for several weeks. Looking at your before coating photo, the timber shows a lot of darkening oxidation that if removed before coating would have yielded a better final outcome if you had used a more transparent-less opaque coating. So if you sand this off & finish with 80 grit & more transparent coating I think you will be happy. The only problem is your standard RO 100mm sander only has 240 watts of power and this job will require some serious downward pressure & will stop the RO sander from spinning. I know I have mentioned this before on numerous occasions but the best sander is a RO with at least 600 watts or more & using a quality abrasive with a white coating that is designed to remove paints & varnishes. I doubt you will find the paper I use which ins a Polish paper from a company called Klingspor. Festool brilliant 40 grit will also do the job. You may be lucky to find a hire firm that may hire a RO. Also be aware that you will need to make provisions for a fair amount of dust. 
good luck 
jimj  restore-a-deck.com.au  on my website on the view now link there is a photo towards the top of the photos that shows the RO sander I use sanding off 50m2 of Sikkens oil based coating. This took me around 6 hours.

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## johnc

I don't disagree with the above, however I would be inclined to wait a few months, let it weather a bit then sand, at least most of the "oil" will be gone by then, would agree with 40 grit then 80 with a ROS

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## Chris1980

Many thanks Jim for your very helpful reply. 
I spent enough on the deck to get it this far so I am prepared to do what it takes
to have it look its best. 
The RO sounds like it is the best option for sure, although time consuming it definitely
sounds like it will end up with the best results in the end and get the deck back to where
I had it initially, if not better! 
Cheers

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## phild01

Makes flipping the boards seem the easier option but the boards need to be nice on the underside and to have screws accurately spaced (templated).  One bonus is that the underside would have a protective coating as well.

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## Chris1980

> I don't disagree with the above, however I would be inclined to wait a few months, let it weather a bit then sand, at least most of the "oil" will be gone by then, would agree with 40 grit then 80 with a ROS

  I did consider this also and am starting to think it may be a good option to wait as the rain and cooler weather is now starting to appear
down here and as we live barely 200m from the ocean, I know that the decking will be copping some weather over the autumn / winter
months even though it is largely covered by a pergola, the weather still whips in big time. 
Perhaps giving it a period of natural wear will make it easier to sand off...? 
In any case I would be looking for a window of several days that is fine weather to even attempt this so will have to consider
all options. 
The straight up sanding option rather than using a chemical stripper is definitely looking the best option after Metrix & Jim's great advice! 
Many thanks gents!

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## Chris1980

> Makes flipping the boards seem the easier option but the boards need to be nice on the underside and to have screws accurately spaced.  One bonus is that the underside would have a protective coating as well.

  These 140 merbau boards have the reeding on one side so flipping them is definitely not an option. 
Not to mention a mate and myself took forever to get this deck half completed and then I paid a chippy
to finish it off as I just do not have the time lately what with work and a 3 month old baby.  
The last thing I want to be doing is pulling up decking boards. 
Cheers.

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## Bloss

Metric & jimj & others offer good advice, but if it were me I'd simply put up with it for a year or at least though a full summer exposure and by that time the surface will be deteriorating much more than Cabot's claim and will be easier to remove using pressure hose or even sanding it as it will have hardened and not clog so easily.

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## Chris1980

> metric & jimj & others offer good advice, but if it were me i'd simply put up with it for a year or at least though a full summer exposure and by that time the surface will be deteriorating much more than cabot's claim and will be easier to remove using pressure hose or even sanding it as it will have hardened and not clog so easily.

  I had considered this also, although having to look at it as is for 6 months let alone a year and knowing it
has the potential to look so much better makes me think I will want to do it sooner rather than later. 
Cheers.

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## Marc

I agree with all that say wait. The more you wait the easier it will be to sand off. As you wait you can budget for a nice orbital sander like this one https://sydneytools.com.au/bosch-gex...orbital-sander

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## The Livos Lady

Rather than a belt sander or orbital, you can use a rotary sander (from Kennards) with screen mesh or sanding papers. It has 400mm diameter and would need a pad underneath but quicker than an orbital and easier to handle than a belt sander... or called a Polyvac or Canterbury machine.  
  Have you rang Cabots to see how best to remove from their point of view?  
  As suggested, it would be wise to wait, not only from the wear and tear part, but it is too wet at the moment. The cold mornings mean a wet deck and the timber needs to be completely dry to not only sand, but to treat as well.  
  They say time flies..before you know it it will be summer...how many weeks till Xmas did they say recently??  
  Re coatings. Choose an oil that will nourish the timber and will be easy to rejuvenate with no issue and especially one that does not need cutting back to re do. Whilst some may want a “clear” if you work with the colour of the timber, in this case e.g. teak stain, the red in the merbau is so dominant that it will only enrich the red colour. Anything lighter anyway won’t make much of a difference due to the red colour.

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## MaxBor

Hey another deck refurbisher with a Bub! I feel a kindred spirit. I am following Jimj's advice and it's going well. Was able to get stuck into the sanding today while Bub slept for two hours, after finally fixing down the last of the (recycled & new) merbau deck. Ironically it was only in the last weeks that I finally figured out much faster ways to do it than when I started. Will post before and after pictures with Cutek Extreme oil with an 'Autumn tone' tint (that I unspderstand is for UV protection so the timber won't grey). 
what you see in the photo is mostly new deck in the front half, the first half dozen or so accidentally got a coat of oil when I was doing the bottoms/sides and I've sanded these back with 40 grit, then the red stuff is unsanded new deck (which I will sand), don't know why it goes from red to blond yet, waiting to see how it then looks with the oil. Then a bit after the pole in the middle is recycled stuff that I had sanded but allowed to weather for so many months it went grey. You can see I've sanded on the left side of that (and all the borders). 
Cheers, lets see a photo of where you are at! I feel your pain man this deck and my front porch both started as (me to my wife) "nah it won't take that long babe" and turned into epic effing multi-month saga's.

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## METRIX

> "nah it won't take that long babe" and turned into epic effing multi-month saga's.

  And so it will be for the rest of it's life, timber looks great outdoors, but it needs maintenance, and lot's of it.

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## MaxBor

> And so it will be for the rest of it's life, timber looks great outdoors, but it needs maintenance, and lot's of it.

  Hahahahaha! Yeah that's the reason I am trying out the Cutek Extreme, supposed easy recoat and supposed a bit longer lasting.  
After all the time it took to rebuild the deck also feels like my 'other' baby so I don't think I'll mind keeping up the effort on it. How it was before though I was ashamed of it and with the nails coming up and warping and all.

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