Decking advice please

[sianba]

Hi
Can any one tell me the best way to improve my decking.

We moved into the house about 19 months ago and the decking was not the best then but got worse since we moved in, due to the fact i have 3 children and a dog and they were just a couple so the ware and tare from us have made it this way.

Any way last year i jet washed it which took up most of the dirt, but as they painted it with a thick coat of paint dont know what some of it still on which i could not get up with jet washer, any way brought some decking paint (RonSeal) and applied over decking, thus not giving a bad job but could see the darker patches from the paint they used, now a year on every think i applied has just came up and looks a mess but yet the stuff they applied still on but also fading to the ware and tare of us.

When i brought the decking paint after reading instructions it states i should thin it with some stuff, then oil it then paint it, but due to me being lazy and just seemed like hard work, i went with the last option and just painted it.

Is this the reason why my stuff i applied came up due to it not attaching it to the wood because i did not oil etc.

Any way want to do a proper job this time round so can some one tell me the correct procedure and what type of paint i should use for the constant ware and tare we give it, as the paint i used seemed very thin, also is this a yearly thing you have to do with decking (I hope not).

Thanks
Si

[Stoatman]

Personally , our decking man told us not to paint it with anything as it will need doing every year , even the good stuff just flakes off over time. If I were you id get it back to its former glory with a reviver , a sand and a jst wash with a brush attachment if you have one. then maybe just leave it to weather naturally or buy a good quality decking oil which would soak into the wood and not just stick on the surface.