Well, it's time to revisit the whole business of tarting up the "acres"
of outdoor decking and railing which we inherited with this property and
I'ld be grateful for people's thoughts.

I went quite deeply into the whole subject four years ago and decided
that Sadolin was the best solution, largely because the manufacturers
said reapplication does not require any sanding preparation beforehand.
(You just reapply it.) However, one tin of Sadolin was close to £40, I
seem to recall, and we needed about 6 tins.

Four whole years later, nearly all of the Sadolin on the horizontal
decking, that's all the flat decking that looks up at the sky, has gone.
It's been worn off by rain, snow, frost, ice, and, probably, the sun
too. The wood is almost grey again, no trace of Sadolin on most of it,
and ready to suck up another coat of something rich and brown.

The vertical railings and other sections of vertical wood are a
different matter. The Sadolin on them has not worn off but it's become
thin and turned dark in colour. It looks scrappy however because the
Sadolin on these vertical surfaces has become so thin that wasps don't
mind consuming it in summer in their quest for wood-fibre for
nest-building! So these vertical surfaces are all dark brown with long
thin white streaks on them, where the wasps have been nibbling.

So, if we choose Sadolin this time round we'll need two shades: a shade
to darken the flat horizontal surfaces, and a shade with a degree of
light (orange/yellow) colourant in it for the uprights - otherwise the
uprights will end up looking black. And then following a good hosing
down and a thorough drying out, Sadolin can just be painted over the
surfaces. The problem is its price.

Now last year we actually added a small area of brand new decking and on
this we used a Wilko's decking treatment. They do a range, from clear
to dark, and their Sadolin "equivalent" is half the price of Sadolin
(Just under £20 a tin). However, one full year later we have found that
the Wilko product has lifted in certain places, like a thin film of
pliable plastic, allowing water to easily get in underneath. Great
disappointment. This has happened particularly on the tops of uprights.
The Wilko's product has maintained a bond with the wood in those parts,
which is bad news because the tops of posts are the most vulnerable
parts in terms of lingering water and subsequent wood-rot. The Wilko's
product seems to have adhered well to the fresh horizontal decking
planks but even on them it has lifted off in the form of plastic film in
a couple of small patches. We'll see how much more may have lifted in
another year or two.

We were planning to recoat all the old decking with the Wilko's product
but now this is obviously not the way to go. It looks like it's going
to have to be the very expensive Sadolin.

But can anybody recommend any other (cheaper) brand?

It's purely decorative treatment and we want a product that won't
require sanding away in another four years' time.

Thanks,
Eddy.