Articles » Problem Solvers Latest Edition » Cleaning & Restoring Dirty Wood Previously Treated or Untreated

DECKS can be a fabulous addition to any home or property but has your deck become faded or unsightly?

The great news is, Yes, you can bring back the most neglected decking to its previous glory and it does not require major work or expense. First let’s deal with the ‘myth’ that ‘pressure treated’ decking does not need to be maintained.

Pressure treated wood / decking is protected against rot and insects but not against splitting, cracking, fading etc.

To keep it brief here, we suggest you establish the facts first before you undertake any deck cleaning job. By facts we mean, has your deck been coated / treated before with some oil, stain or the like or has it not been treated at all. If it has been treated with some oil or other you need to take a different action than that necessary to clean an untreated deck.

Here is the ‘trick’. When the deck is dry, gently place a few drops of water in various locations around the deck and leave for about 15 minutes or so. If the water absorbs into the wood it tells you that no remove several layers of old deck oil. However if the first attempt does not remove all the previous coating, repeat the process. When finished, you must neutralise the wood surface with Net-Trol diluted by four parts water. If you skip this, any future deck / wood treatment may react with the traces of Prepdeck. Follow instructions carefully and you can expect a superb outcome. In the unlikely event that Prepdeck is not strong enough, consider using a stronger stripper called Dilunett. After the deck has been brought back ‘to life’ you will need to treat it with a high quality oil such as Textrol. Cheaper brands are available but you will find that they don’t tend to last anywhere as long and you will need to recoat again sooner than you might like which means more expense and of course… more work. coating is present and you can clean that surface very well using Net-Trol (opposite).

If the water droplets do not soak in, it means a coating like an oil is present in the pores, and to restore the deck properly, you must remove / strip the old coating first with a Stripper Cleaner called Prepdeck (an Owatrol product)

In some cases if you have flat deck boards (no grooves) you might be able to sand off the old finish quite easily using an electric floor sander. If you have a deck that has grooves, you will not be able to sand it and you will need to use a stripper cleaner such as Prepdeck designed especially for removing decking oils, stains etc. Prepdeck will even remove several layers of old deck oil. However if the first attempt does not remove all the previous coating, repeat the process.

When finished, you must neutralise the wood surface with Net-Trol diluted by four parts water. If you skip this, any future deck / wood treatment may react with the traces of Prepdeck.

Follow instructions carefully and you can expect a superb outcome. In the unlikely event that Prepdeck is not strong enough, consider using a stronger stripper called Dilunett.

After the deck has been brought back ‘to life’ you will need to treat it with a high quality oil such as Textrol.

Cheaper brands are available but you will find that they don’t tend to last anywhere as long and you will need to recoat again sooner than you might like which means more expense and