Painting/Oiling/Staining discoloured decking

[celtic_nick]

Hello all,

I had some decking put in my garden in late 2018 and I let it weather for 6 months as per the installers instructions, I oiled it last April with 2 coats and now most of the oil has come off and most of the wood is discoloured grey, I reoiled a small patch to see what it would look like and it looks worse, what would be the best thing for me to do to restore it?

Thanks,

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Hi and welcome.

Photos might help.

A lot depends on the type of wood used.

Wood these days comes from "sustainable resources," i.e. It's grown like forced rhubarb and "tanilising" can cover a multitude of sins.

 

[Stanley services]

Hello all,

I had some decking put in my garden in late 2018 and I let it weather for 6 months as per the installers instructions, I oiled it last April with 2 coats and now most of the oil has come off and most of the wood is discoloured grey, I reoiled a small patch to see what it would look like and it looks worse, what would be the best thing for me to do to restore it?

Thanks,

Hi there, from the details provided here is my contention: most decking boards are kept outdoors in the builders merchant you purchased them from. Therefore, even post installation the moisture content would more than likely have been well over 20%. This is more than likely the application of oil you applied did not adhere, and more importantly penetrate the boards properly.
As such the subsequent oil coats you added have inevitably failed causing further more patchy areas of water ingress.
unfortunately in my experience these water stains will rarely disappear, even with rigorous rubbing down as the water ingress has gone too deep.
my suggestion is to buy a moisture meter, ensure the substrate is less than 20%. If not then use a 2000 watt heat gun to ensure it is.
once the boards are dry enough, rub down the boards with an 80 grade sandpaper making the pre finish as uniform as possible. Finally, vacuum the dust created and apply two coats of a dark enough, trade quality stain to hide the water ingress stains. Beware though as now you have oiled them, the remaining oil may repel the new stain, so read the technical specs of the new stain to confirm its compatibility with being painted on to an oil based substrate.