# Forum Home Renovation Decking  Merbau decking with patchy and fading coat of Intergrain Ultradeck..what to do next?

## benk

Hi, this is my first post to this or any forum but couldn't seem to google the correct answer anywhere so I thought I might try asking for help please : )
i have Merbau decking which we installed new, I waited for it to weather and then used Intergrain Reviver, scrubbed and removed with high pressure water gun. Then applied  Intergrain Ultadeck with both lambs wool applicator and brush for the gaps.... 2/3 of the way through there was a surprise rain shower .. hmm.. got really annoyed and left it until the next weekend to finish, sunny all week so it dried etc. I then used the Reviver again, washed off and finished the deck.
for 6 months it looked great but the last 1/3 of the deck we put the Ultradeck on has become splotchy and has faded more significantly than the rest of the deck, all the deck receives all day sun and we leave approx 5kms from the ocean.
I want to get the deck re-coated and this time with a consistent finish.
Can somebody please advise me as to how best prepare the entire deck prior to re-applying the Ultradeck ?
Do I need to sand it all back to bare timber again (that would take me 4 full weekends) ?
Or do I just need to use Napisan or Intergrain Reviver or both if I am applying the same product, being Ultradeck, again ?
Or do I sand it all back and use a totally different product like Cutek CD50 as a solution going forward, as I am frustrated of I have to go through this sanding thing every 12months ..... i'll pebblecrete the siily thing  :Wink: 
Anybody that could advise and guide me along this journey would be greatly appreciated!!
As you can probably tell I am house proud but experience poor  :Confused:

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## jimj

Welcome to the forum and I feel for you with all of the effort you have put in and hassles along the way. If I am reading this story it would appear that when it rained 2/3 of the deck was coated & dried when the rain kicked in. You waited for a week and finished the last 1/3. All was sweet for 6 months then the last 1/3 has become patchy and it gets the same sun as the 2/3 does. Photos would help . I wish I could give an exact reason but I can't think of one. The only thing that might be a possibility is that on the sunny weekend if you coated during the day perhaps the timber may have been a little too hot.
I realise the manufacturers don't really warn people but this is one of the easiest things to wreck a coating, I live in SE QLD and on decks in total sun from OCT-May I can't coat a deck after 8:30am and can't get back on it until 3:30pm. So if it is a big job say 60+m2 I will start off at 5:30am if needed and stop when I feel the deck getting too hot. Not to hot for me but the coating. I also use a water based product and have used the same one for the past 9 years and coated over 250 decks. I always coat in bare feet for 2 reasons. To feel the temp of the deck and I can instantly tell when I have stepped in it. Simply take my wet rag & wipe my foot & fix up the footmark. Nothing more aggravating to only discover your footprint after you are now 10  wet boards away. Only because you were wearing foot wear. 
OK Napisan is a soap and will have no real effect on removing the ultradeck nor will reviva which is just a very weak acid that basically acts as a slight brightener.  I am not sure how many coats of Ultradeck you applied. You may be lucky with the pressure cleaner removing the patchy coating but I can't say. You need to be careful not to use too high of pressure or you will get off the coating and may leave the deck furry when it dries and then you will sand. 
For all the reasons you have outlined is why I only sand everything I work on new or old. It quickly removes old stuff and brings a new layer of timber to the surface. Without me seeing the deck it may be possible to just clean & recoat the 2/3 that is looking good & sand the 1/3 & recoat. I am pretty sure you will see the 1/3 may look a little nicer than the 2/3. By how much is subjective. If you are thinking sanding you havn't mentioned how the deck was finished. If you have dome headed nails they can't be sanded over the top of them and trying to hand sand around effectively without touching them is nearly impossible let alone the sheer frustration of trying. If you any metal screws or nails either raised above or even flush it is not good to run a sander over them. However,if the screws are stainless and are flush they can handle a light sander going over them .  In saying that its a 100% better to have them below the surface.
I can't tell you to change products at all. If you switch from ultradeck (waterbase) to Cutek(oil) its a big leap in another direction. From memory Cutek want you to wait several weeks between coats. I have heard it can remain sticky for some time . That can help all of the crud that gets blown feathers,leaves,cat&dog hair,pollen,air blown seeds to have a happy landing on your deck. 
It's why I use a water based coating that touch dries in around 20 minutes,virtually no smell,cleans up with cold water. Although the manufacturer says recoating in 2 hours I tend to do a coat in the am and the next in the pm. If I am doing 4 coats then it takes 2 days. If & when I get unlucky and I have a shower&rain sneek up on me I can visually tell if the coating has set. If it has no sweat, if it hasn't I just hose off the product. A few times I have hosed it off only to have the sun come out again while I am hosing. I just get a squeegee and remove the puddles and just start coating over the damp wood. When it all dries it comes out great.
Best of luck 
jimj   www.restore-a-deck.com.au

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## benk

Thanks for the response Jimj : )
I will attempt to get some photos uploaded but the answer to the nails query is yes the builder used semi-domed stainless nails so the sanding could well be an issue. I was hoping if I cleaned the deck using the reviva or Napisan that I could just re-apply the Ultradeck and it would fill in the faded patches and eliminate the blotches and come up like new but the Intergrain website is a little unclear about the process req'd for previously ultadeck-coated decks in my type of condition ie. do you just clean and re-apply or do you need to sand it all back and start again ? Can you just keep cleaning and ultradeck-ing annually ??
cheers

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## jimj

with all coatings virtually every manufacturer will state in the maintenance section that annual coating or earlier maybe required dependent on what the deck is subjected to. IE. sun uv,foot traffic & where in the country it is located. As I said napisan is just a soap with a PH of 12. Its job is too dissolve dirt & oil not a waterbased stain. Reviva is 10% oxalic acid PH1. it just has a slight brightening-bleaching effect on raw timber. both chemicals are completely at the opposite end of the chemical spectrum and do diffeent things. Neither will remove or repair the blotchiness. If you were to coat over the blotch with untradeck it will cover the blotch somewhat but as it is a stain that is designed for us(humans) to see something like timber through it you will also see the blotch. Maybe reduce but still see. 
a lot comes down to how much blotch you see bothers you. Personaly I don't like blotch hence why I sand everything back to a new start so I am coating over the newest & brightest timber with no visual defects left from earlier coatings. Perhaps you should go out and coat it. you may need more than 1 coat. If you like the final result good. If not then I would have it sanded. 
When I come across a deck with these nails which is nearly 80% of what I see I explain verbally and in writing that I have to punch the nails to below the surface and it MAY cause some unwanted-undesired splitting. I wish I didn't have to punch them,I wish there would be no splitting, I wish even more that they would stop using the ##$%$# nails.
Eventually all decks with weathewr exposure will need fixing up. It maybe in 2 years or 10 but it will occur and sanding is what works best.
Part of the issue is the false commercials & blurbs out there promoting chemicals,deck scrubbing brushes& pressure cleaners  all cleaned & coated in a day.
Its mainly just a smoke&mirrors myth. A 50m2 deck depending on how intricate it is will generally take me 3.5-4 days of solid work starting with nail punching,various sanding grits & 3-4 coats. and I am doing this 5-6 days a week with high end tools & abrasives. 
In conclusion if you maintain your recoating in a timely manner you shouldn't need to sand. That is often the biggest factor. people just leave it too long between coats as it is just a hassle,time poor,time got the best of me thinking.
The product I use with 4 intial coats seems to keep most folks happy for 15-18 months. then all that is needed is wash off the dirt soap&water,reapply 2 coats and your pretty good again for 15 - 18 months 
jimj   restore-a-deck.com.au

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## benk

many many thanks for the reply and all the advice, I think I will try the clean and re-coat initially and if that fails it will be a hammer and punch and the sander!!

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## jimj

I sincerely hope it works out for you 
jimj    restore-a-deck.com.au

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## David.Elliott

Hey jimj,
I am constantly impressed by the thoroughness and the comprehensiveness of your replies.  
It takes time and dedication not to mention generosity of spirit to be so forthcoming with your expertise, no doubt built up over many years... 
I suggest you should by now have a series of cut and paste windows to save you having to type every answer. Especially the f@#$*&^ nails! 
It's members like you that make the forum what it is, a great place to share information and skills. 
David

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## jimj

Thanks David for the kind words. I totally agree that there are many folks who continue to share their time,experience & thoughts on the forum.
Being a total computer gumby eliminates me from doing anything as advanced as cut&pasting and my attempts to download photos has resulted in total failure.
I am, however, feeling the need to start a campaign to end the use of nails & screws that are installed & left proud of the timber  :Biggrin:   
jimj

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## Uncle Bob

> Hey jimj,
> I am constantly impressed by the thoroughness and the comprehensiveness of your replies.  
> It's members like you that make the forum what it is, a great place to share information and skills. 
> David

   :2thumbsup:  I agree entirely

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