Painting a deck

if it was never painted in the past and is outdoor treated wood DONT PAINT IT STAIN IT!!!

Latex paint won't hold up well on a deck. Are you sure it is not a solid stain on it now?

Stains do not need a primer and there are some formulated just for decks.

OT - decks suck, patios rule. I never have to do dick to my patio.

If it has never been painted- just stained or oiled- I'd pressure wash it first, then apply one or two coats of pigmented deck stain.

If it's been painted before, you should probably take it down to bare wood (floor sander?) and then follow your instinct with the primer. I'd personally use an oil-based topcoat for porches, but then I'm old fashioned.

Mark

True, but it is not easy getting the patio 8' up in the air.

I wish it had never been painted but it had already been painted (white), when I bought the house. It is a small deck, just a little landing maybe 3'x6' at the back door. I will probably tear it down and replace it in a few years, but the paint is coming off it now and I want to make sure it doesn't rot before I get around to replacing it.

I don't like oil based paints. Is there any non oil based paint anyone could recommend?

for just a few years it doesnt matter what paint you use, personally I have had great luck with behr the home depot brand

Should take more than just a few years to rot away so save the paint money. Start planning on a new deck of mahogany or ipe that will last 50+ years.

Paint may peel. Use a good-quality stain such as Cabot Decking stain. It has several colors. The decking stain, unlike paint, sinks into the wood and lasts much longer. I used the color "driftwood" and it really does look like driftwood, especially after a couple years.

Driftwood, as in "gray" ?

This is what naturally happens to your deck in a few years if you don't protect it from sunlight. The "driftwood" gray color is the result of sun damage.

Sounds like what's happening is that your deck is being attacked by the sun and turning gray because the stain you're using doesn't have sufficient UV blockers.