Long winded subject but anyway. I have been using Cabot's ATO on my
Mahogany deck for around 4 years now. Reapply every year per
instructions on can. So far so good. Water beads up nicely and
squeegies off like glass. Issue I have now is the color. I have been
using the "Mahogany Flame" color since day one. When I first used it,
the grain on the wood planks was much more visible. Now the wood is
very dark, almost black. Little if any grain visible. I assume this is
due to a build up of the pigments in the stain and/or oxidation. I
would like to bring back the origional appearance, lighten it up. Short
of sanding the deck completely is there anything else I can do? I have
thought about using the clear ATO instead of the flame and perhaps hand
rubbing the old stuff off with a solvent or maybe the clear ATO itself
will act as a solvent and remove the old stuff. I cleaned the deck this
past weekend with a mild detergent/ bleach solution, no change
whatsoever. Your comments and advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
john