Do I need to sand back?

[Ausyuppy]

Hi guys!
My merbau deck is 4 1/2 years old. I originally oiled it with 3 coats of Sikkens HLSE and two coats of Sikkens deck. The last coast of oil was 2 years ago.

The deck is exposed to the elements on the outside edges and the coating is failing. The Test of the deck is pretty good.

Since building the deck I have built a pizza oven and a pool which is half the reason why the deck edges have become neglected.

Do I need to sand the whole deck back or just clean and recoat? I'm concerned about the patchiness out i simply reoil.

I'd love your feedback as to the best approach to get this deck looking brand new again. Photos can be found on the link below.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Cheers
Steve

[PJM16]

It's a general rule of thhumb that timber decking is recoated every six months, usually Autumn and Spring.

Depending on if it's a bit rough, yes give it a sand, a good clean and recoat will have it looking tip top again.
Also, if it's nailed down, now is a good time to go around and punch those nails down again.

[Ausyuppy]

It's a general rule of thhumb that timber decking is recoated every six months, usually Autumn and Spring.

Depending on if it's a bit rough, yes give it a sand, a good clean and recoat will have it looking tip top again.
Also, if it's nailed down, now is a good time to go around and punch those nails down again.

Thanks PJ.
If I sand back the affected section I'm going to have to do the lot won't I? As I have coated it with HLSE with pine tint (lightest one available) it'll be patchy won't it? Or will a light sand be enough in the affected sections?

I agree with 6 to 12 months. Life got in the way! Overall it's still in pretty good nick.

The boards are countersunk and screwed down, so no problems with that thankfully.

Cheers
Steve

[FenceFurniture]

Overall it's still in pretty good nick.

It is. Conventional wisdom says that pretty much anything that is a non-oil finish needs to be repaired over the entire surface. In the case of a large deck like yours it might be worth experimenting on sanding say 6 boards back to the first set of screws and see what it looks like (probably will look pretty obviously like a repair though). Those weather beaten edges will probably need more than one coat I think.

[Ausyuppy]

Thanks for that FenceFurniture. I've cleaned the deck and sanded back a little however it's patchy in the dodgy areas. I'm off to hire a floor sander to reluctantly sand the whole lot back. It'll look dodgy if I only do the edges.

It's a shame as 80% of the deck is ok. I'll have to be more vigilant and oil more often.

I'll post pics once done.

Cheers
Steve

[FenceFurniture]

There's probably a good argument for building the deck in two sections, maybe in differing timbers. The undercover section which gets recoated every 5 years, and t'other one for recoating once or twice a year. Any differences wouldn't matter then.