Whilst there’s nothing like the warmth and classic beauty of a new solid wood deck, the sad inevitability is that in exposed exterior situations, any wood deck or wood tile will gradually fade and turn a silvery grey colour over time – the speed at which this occurs depending mainly on the degree of exposure to the weather and to direct sunlight in particular.

It’s possible to reduce the rate at which the natural greying and fading takes place, but you can never hope to completely halt this process. The best you can do is to regularly apply one of the better quality, specialist decking oils which contain transparent microfine oxides in addition to traditional brown iron oxides.

So what can you do if you’d like to bring back the colour and brightness of your deck or wood tiles on a patio deck to something close to its original condition?

Pressure washing with water – Whilst pressure washing can be effective in removing a lot of dirt and grime from a deck it can never restore the original colour or appearance. Pressure washing is also not particularly effective in removing mold and mildew, at least not on a long term basis.

Sanding back the surface – Not a job to be undertaken lightly, sanding is nevertheless a most effective method of bringing a deck back to its original colour. But if you are using power sanding equipment, you’ll probably have to contend with some boards which have become twisted, warped or cupped, making the task even more difficult. But if you persist, then make sure that after completing the exercise that you immediately apply one of the better quality decking oil/sealants.

Chemical cleaners/brighteners – Such products have traditionally been used for a quick and relatively easy means of deck restoration. Generally speaking these involve using either a sodium percarbonate or chlorine based cleaner which is then followed up with an oxalic based pH balancer/brightener. Whilst they are effective in removing the weathered surface, the colour of the wood will not be as bright or as rich as the original wood colour.

But the principal disadvantage of the oxygen or chlorine type bleach products in particular, (apart from the issue of hazards in handling and in disposal of the waste solution) is that they are more likely to cause damage to the wood or result in an unnatural look to the wood when finished.

Over the past few years, other products have been developed such as Deck Restoration Plus which are claimed not to damage the wood or to give the deck an unnatural look and completely biodegradable. These products still tend to use a two-step process, firstly a cleaner to remove mold, mildew, and dirt from the wood surface and then a wood brightener to restore the colour as close as possible to its original appearance.

In summary, the more modern biodegradable products are probably your best option if you wish to restore the original wood color of your deck or wood tiles on a patio deck and should achieve a result although not as good as the original appearance, is probably a good compromise.

Popularity: 2% [?]