Deck Repair/Repainting

[Jed]

I have a 24x30 deck, over 10 years old - nice and big and we enjoy it quite a bit. Problem is it's a bear to maintain as it takes quite a beating in the summer (UV) and winter (snow and ice removal).

Was in decent condition when I bought the house in 97, but it was painted with solid stain to match the house color. I repainted once 3 years ago - I sanded chipping paint, tried to prep surface as best I could and repainted with Behr solid stain. Big mistake. Behr sucks and I was stuck with using solid stain because original stain had still adhered in a lot of spots. Now it's in worse condition than it ever was and I'm committed to doing it right this time (short of tearing it down and rebuilding of course!)

"Fortunately" the decking has little to no solid stain remaining - I'm figuring I can powerwash to remove any that's left. Boards look very dry though, some splintering and cracking, but still solid. Rails and balusters are going to need the most attention as a mixture of adhered and peeling solid stain.

Question is, is it feasible to remove all of the solid stain and refinish with a semi-transparent stain? What brand of stain is recommended? Powerwashing will probably work well on the decking, but will it work on the rails and balusters? What additional methods will I need to remove the stubborn paint that refuses to wash off (strippers, sanders, etc.).

Also, is there any other product I should apply after staining to protect/waterproof, or just the new stain? I'd like to get a couple of years out of it before restaining again.

Thanks for any advice!

[m Ransley]

Solid stain is really paint without the hardners and is best for siding. Semi transparent is better for decks as it should just wear away not peel. Recoating with semi transparent every few years can be necessary. But it shouldnt peel off. See if you can powerwash off the bad stuff and recoat. Mold shoul be killed with bleach mold will just look like dirt. Apply a few coats of stain.

[Colonel Polyps]

I used to work on cooling towers. We lined the basins with epoxy. Tough shit.

Get an epoxy mixture of paint.

Death to the christian jew cop government.

[John Gilmer]

Yes.

Behr sells a caustic remover at HD. You paint it on; wait; wash it off with water and, sometimes, a LITTLE elbow grease. We used an electric pressure washer ( almost a toy) to help with the process. Like all paint removers, it has to be kept damp until it is removed.

It gets you down to BARE wood. If you don't re-finish quickly it will start growing mold, etc.

[Curmudgeon]

1. Behr makes an excellent product. Users however generally leave something to be desired. The vertical walls on my house have not been restained in over 10 years, and still look good with Behr solid.
2. Solid stain is fine for VERTICAL surfaces, NOT horizontal.
3. Pressure washer (2500 psi) and Behr stripper will get you to bare wood and ready for restain. see other messages for tips.

[Jennifer]

Well, they actually tell you you van use it on decks - hardly user error there.

DECK PLUS® Solid Color Deck, Fence & Siding Stain

Where To Use Exterior, properly prepared, unsealed wood surfaces such as decks, railings, shakes, shingles, siding, roofs, fences and furniture.

-- Jennifer

[davefr]

Behr coatings have become very low quality ever since they got in bed with Home Crapo.

However your problem is that solid coatings should never be used on a horizontal surface.

You need to use a deck finish remover followed by a deck brightener followed by a good rinse. Allow plenty of time to dry and then treat the deck with a lightly pigmented semi-transparent stain. (Sikkens, Olympic, Benwood, Cabot)

Brush it on thin and only work on cool dry surfaces.

Never pressure wash a deck!!!

[Jim Sullivan]

I've never seen anyone on this list reference Superdeck products:

I've used them a couple times and have had good results. Most importantly, they provide small, 2 oz sample tins (or did), which let my wife decide on exactly the right colour for the deck.

Has anyone else used them in their work before?

p.s. I've pressure washed many decks with no visiable damage and significant savings in time and with a great finish.

[Jed]

Thanks for the replies. I'm taking everything into consideration. Likely will go with at '2-tone' philosophy with a semi-stain on the decking and solid stain on the rails/balusters. That way i won't have to expend too much elbow grease trying to remove paint from the railings that is still holding up pretty well.