Removing old Decking oil - Prepdeck : anyone used it???

[meggiedude]

Hi there,

I have just build an extension to my decking to butt up against a new house extension.
The new decking area is in virgin tanalised softwood decking board, and the 5yr old softwood decking has previously been treated with a coloured decking oil.
I (rather my wife) wants the original deck returned (as much as poss) to the uncoated state, then both decks treated with a clear oil coating.

Getting to this original state is the problem. How do I remove the old oiled coating, which is patchy in large areas, ie. it needs re-oiling.

I have heard of 'Prepdeck' which is used by some people and seems to do the job. Although with ~40 sq metres to treat/strip it will be mighty expensive. Also I have a 25yr old grape vine which roots below the decking and I don't want to kill it with nasty chemicals.
The other option I have considered is sanding - I can hire a belt floor sander for the weekend from my local hire centre for ~£34 + VAT + the cost of the belts. Clearly this will not get into the grooves, but that might still look OK

Which is the best option - or is there another??

 

[Thermo]

is it oil or a coloured stain?

 

[meggiedude]

is it oil or a coloured stain?

The old decking was coated with a coloured oil, not a water based stain.

When I have removed it all I want to recoat the old decking and newly built decking with a clear oil, so they both match.

 

[Thermo]

welcome to the nightmare of coloured oils and stains! As you say a sander will work well on the surface, but you will struggle with anything in the grooves. Oil is soaked into the wood so it penetrates deeper than stain and is harder to remove.

it wont help, but weve previously had to reboard badly stained decks when the owner has wanted them back to natural colour. i dont think stripper will work either as its an oil.

 

[meggiedude]

welcome to the nightmare of coloured oils and stains! As you say a sander will work well on the surface, but you will struggle with anything in the grooves. Oil is soaked into the wood so it penetrates deeper than stain and is harder to remove.

it wont help, but weve previously had to reboard badly stained decks when the owner has wanted them back to natural colour. i dont think stripper will work either as its an oil.

AAAHHHH!!!!
Ok, thats not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the feedback. TBH, I am kind of surpised no mainstream manufacturer (Cuprinol, Ronseal etc)has tackled this issue. The make the coloured oils after all.
The Prepdeck I have found via google is about £30 - £40 for a 2.5litre bottle. According to the manufacturers details it covers approx 4 sq m / litre. So for my 40 sq m deck we are talking over £120 and I have no absolute guarantee it will do what I want it to.
From what you are saying about the sander, leaving aside the fact I can't get into the grooves, again I have no idea how successful this would be be if the oil has soiled in.

 

[WabbitPoo]

I am afraid, as the great Bard once said, you are stuffed.

Why anyone wants to stain a deck is beyond me.

 

[meggiedude]

I am afraid, as the great Bard once said, you are stuffed.

Why anyone wants to stain a deck is beyond me.

We all make mistakes and hindsight is a wonderful thing.
In this instance there , there does not appear to be an easy way to recover from this mistake.
Here is the response from Cuprinol btw.

There is a product on the market called Owatrol Prep Deck which can be used to remove unwanted deck stains and oils This could be used first, and then Cuprinol Decking Protector can be applied to the new and bare clean wood. It comes in clear and 2 Natural colours, please click the link below for more information:

I don't give up easily, so I am still looking for guidance here from someone who may have used Prepdeck. Yes its expensive, yes, I made a mistake and yes, I wish I didn't need it. I't rather see if there are any other options before I de-face my new decking in the same way as the old one.

Any further advise gratefully accepted.

 

[Deluks]

Try bleach. Might not work, and could end up killing your garden if you are too liberal.

You do sound rather desperate though.

 

[Kevstir]

even if you use clear oil it will still darken the wood, when the woods wet thats the colour it will go. cant get clearer than water lol

 

[meggiedude]

Try bleach. Might not work, and could end up killing your garden if you are too liberal.

You do sound rather desperate though.

Not too sure about the bleach - might kill the old grape vine that roots under part of the deck. This is a problem with any chemical I suppose.
Not so much desperate - just don't like giving in. Shouldn't have coloured the old deck in the first place - it came out darker than expected. Would be a shame to darken the new decking area just to match it.

 

[Thermo]

in terms of mechanical means, we tried everything we could think of on a deck for a customer, and that the hire shop guy could think of. none worked. sander, pressure washer, floor scrubber etc