/diy/ - Do It Yourself

It's a fucking deck OP, just whack the stain on.

it *might* even out if the color of your new stain matches the color of the old stain but thats unlikely id think. Eery time ive done any refinishing of furniture ive removed as much of the old finish and stain as I can while still maintaining the details of the decorative work. On a deck thats no problem so id just sand it back down to bare and restain it. You could also, if you hadnt got everything half sanded, just use a surface finish that is pigmented. This will layer over everything and if its dark might actually blend any areas that are still discolored. It would also save you from having to stain it at all.

Frankly I think sanding out a stain is kind of pointless but if you are already into it its to late

Staining is basically painting. Sanding just removes the previous stain. It won't affect the new coat. If anything, it'll guarantee that your deck is the color you want.

>>263694
>Staining is basically painting

yeah about that, no, its nothing like painting. Surface finishes like paint sit on top of the wood and dont really penetrate into it at all. Finishes like stains are made specifically for the pigments to be absorbed into the pores of the wood and and penetrate down. Even once you have sanded out the visible bit of stain you can still have it clogging the grain and effecting how the new stain goes on. Penetrating stains are a huge pain in the ass when refinishing. as are finishes like linseed oil and waxes that can clog the grain in a similar way. The pigments from the stain that are left behind, if any, will create discolored areas with the new stain, just like mixing 2 colors of paint on a canvas would.

Like I said, fucking sanding out stains/finishes. Its a huge pain in the ass that should generally be avoided.

>>263690

You suggest sanding it down to the wood, could I just use a chemical stain stripper? The wood is mahogany, so I'm thinking it would be best to avoid sanding too much.

>>263717
Is this on a boat? WTH? Why would you stain Mo?

>>263723

It's a screened in porch. You stain to make it more water resistant.

>>263745
Umm its Mohagany, its one of the most water resistant, mold, rot and bug resistant woods on the planet naturally. Are you sure you didnt shellac this?Stain doesnt typically stand up off the wood so far that you would notice or care. Im guess you actually sealed this somehow. In which case, Id just slap some more Thompsons on it and call it a year. Stain is to change the color of the wood, not seal it.

>>263750
http://www.cabotstain.com/products/product/Australian-Timber-Oil.html

>>263759
Ok. Cool stuff. If I ever decide to make a deck out of Native Australian Hardwoods and need it to last in the Outback, Ill look it up. For those of us in the US we usually use Cedar if we are being real serious or pine and seal the stuff. Works for a good 10-15 years easily. BTW the stuff is a tinted oil, it pretty much chemically treats wood that hasnt been Pressure Treated at all.

>>263717
>chemical stain stripper

ive never tried using one of those. Id think your margin of success would really rely on how deeply the previous stain penetrated and what kind of pigments were used. If its not running you a shit ton of money sure id give it a shot, id assume even if it didnt work you could still sand the old stain out. Srs though, mahogany is SO nice (compared to typical decking shit) idk why anyone would stain it or do any kind of finish that that would obscure the woods luster/color. There are lots of clear water proofing finishes out there that would be perfect for your deck. Sometimes called marine grade finishes and/or specifically advertized for decks. These are surface finishes that dont penetrate the wood and would eventually break down (weather destroys any finish really) but would be infinitely easier to refinish once the time comes. Or you could go the real old school way and just use an oil based finish like a linseed oil, clean the shit out of the deck first otherwise the oil+dirt combo never leaves. Once a year or so before whatever the rainy season is were you live you just treat it again with the oil. It goes on very quick, you more or less just paint it on and let it absorb into the wood. It wont resist scratches or stains as well as the marine grade surface finishes but it ages well and is easier to care for. You could also just leave it to weather naturally but the color will go very gray from whatever it is now.

one point about this deck and deck finishes though. Sometimes with deck finishes they are sold as "stain/sealers" which are very thinned lacquer with pigment suspended in them. These stains penetrate less deeply and this may or may not be what is already on your deck. The other thing is that mahogany takes a stain very evenly and doesnt have particularly spongy grain (depends on the species of mahogany but whateb) so that stain may not be that deep actually.