I had a very similar issue. I used the pressure washer route on my
mahogany deck with very good success. I kept the pressure to a minimum
and use light passes to try to avoid removing too much of the "color".

After letting the deck dry I reapplied the oil as usual.


roemax wrote:
do your self a favor and don't blast the hell out of your wood with a
pressure washer
that's just bad advice
talk to the supplier that sold you the Cabot product before you destroy your
wood
they might be able to give you some good well thought out advice


"Jim Northey" wrote in message
news:0J_Rg.37619$R63.4937@pd7urf1no...
"jk" wrote in message
oups.com...
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

Before you go to the trouble of stripping it you may want to borrow or
rent
a high pressure washer. It may just be ground in dirt and the washer may
bring back some of the grain. Look for the one with the most PSI .
Jim