OT: Stripping and re-staining a deck

[NTDawg]

Several years ago I replaced the boards on my deck and stained it. I stained it a color that was darker than the dirt that my dogs tracked on it. So it always has dirty paw prints. In addition it is flaking. So I need to strip what hasn't flaked off and re-stain. I don't have a pressure washer or a floor stander but could rent either. Do I use a chemical stripper and rent a power washer or just rent a floor sander? And what do I need to do to prevent flaking this time?

Thanks

 

[patdog]

Thought this post was going in a completely different direction after the 1st word.

 

[NTDawg]

After the deck is stripped no telling what striping happens next!

 

[RocketDawg]

If you know how to use the sander, go that route. A pressure washer won't get the old stain off that's not flaked, unless you basically ruin the board with high pressure. Are you using a solid stain?

 

[Dawgbite]

You can't strip stain. Paint can be stripped because it's on the surface but stain penetrates the fibers of the wood. If it was a water based stain a pressure washer will pull a lot of it out but not all. Sanding will also do it but you have to sand down to wood that wasn't initially stained. Pressure wash it and restain it or paint it.

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

This is true

I'd say, get off what you can, and go back with the same color stain.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I'd say, get off what you can, and go back with the same color stain.

You can sand it. It's a lot of work. I did it on a cedar deck 4-5 years ago with hardwood floor sander and a an orbital sander for all the hard to reach areas. The jackwagon before me used a high solids stain that looks like paint and it kinda peeled, but the stain soaked in.

A lot of work. I mean a lot. Don't bother sanding the sides in the gaps, it's always going to look like a shadow anyway. Did I mention that it was a lot of work?

Here was the end result. Not perfect, but the cedar was nice and I wanted to see it.

Lotta work.

View attachment 19843

ETA. Don't bother with chemicals. It won't work. And test an area to see how deep you have to go.. I had to sand 1/8" or so, but depending on the penetration of the previous stain it could be more.. 3/16" or more don't bother.

 

[RocketDawg]

I got some guys who work for a hardwood flooring company to come sand mine. Took them a couple of hours.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Where were you with the advice in 2015?***

Lotta work... With the hand sander especially. I rebuilt the railing. No way I was going to try to hand sand all of the balusters.

 

[chained1]

Sand stain, strip paint...get as low grit as you can to start to dig deep if you laid it on thick then gradually work your way up to something really fine grit. Had to do this on a deck many years ago. It's a lot work but if done right turns out really well

 

[Crazy Cotton]

If it is flaking, and it is the finish and not the wood itself, then that wasn't a stain that you put on there, it was a coating. My guess is you used something like a latex based deck coating. You should be able to blow off most of it with a high pressure washer. Once you do that, and let it dry, I'd use a stain this time, rather than a solid deck coating. Stains will be semi-transparent, and soak into the wood rather than sitting on top like the product you used. Downside is you have to do that more often and they don't provide the wood as much protection from sun degradation. The big upside is that they don't flake and peel. Hard to get paints and solid stains to adhere to a deck because deck wood is usually pretty wet, it's been soaked in waterproofer that can interfere with stain adhesion, and probably the biggest reason is that it continues to pull moisture from that unpainted underside. Going to be oil based so clean up is more of a pain. I like Ready-Seal, which I think they still sell at Lowes. You can apply with a sprayer.

 

[DoomSlayer]

It all depends on how particular you are about it.

The easiest and cheapest option is to pressure wash everything that is peeling and flaking. Have a hand scraper with you to help with pesky areas. Then go back over it with the exact same color. This option doesn’t look as good but it will be much better than it is. Prepare to do it again in 3-5 years.

Other option is to knock down the railing and sand it down to bare wood. Unless you have a lot of time or experience doing this it would probably be best to pay someone to do it. Then you can go over it with a stain that is not solid and put up new railing. This option looks the best. Doesn’t really matter that much what you do, a solid coating is going to peel at some point.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Solid or transparent stain? Water or oil based? You said it’s flaking off, so I imagine it’s solid and has a ton of colorant in it for it to even do that. Don’t know if I’ve heard of a stain flaking. I’d you can sand it, sand it. If not, rent a pressure washer and you’ll get enough off to stain again. Any time you do a painting or staining project make sure your surface is three things
Clean. Dull. Dry.

 

[NTDawg]

I can't remember what I ate last night for supper so it is hard to remember what I used 2 years ago but I think I used a semi-transparent stain and sealant by Olympic like this

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Olympic...-Stain-and-Sealant-in-One-802042-01/312208784

I followed the instructions related to cleaning and letting it dry but I obliviously did something wrong. In addition to it wearing off it in spots it was also a bad color choice, I need something the same color as dirt or just the color of the wood.

edit I dont remember if it was oil based (like the one in the above link) or a water based like the below link but based on that it flaked off at the dip line of my roof I'm guessing it is water based

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Olympic...ealant-in-One-Low-VOC-OLYESS15-01NV/312412965

 

[DoomSlayer]

You definitely want to use something oil based on a deck, it takes too much punishment for a water based product. I used the Olympic semi-transparent stain you linked to on a project about 5 years ago and it still looks good with no issues. If you get it down to the bare wood you could always spray on a clear coat of water sealer once a year.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Another tip. Don't spray with a pump sprayer. That works on a vertical surface, but it puddles and spots on horizontal surfaces really quickly unless you have a helper back brushing immediately behind you.

Either way, you still end up brushing it on. The easiest part of my deck project was just brushing the stain on. I spent 2 days sanding and 30 minutes staining.

I accidentally found a hack for a brush too. I used a car wash brush from home depot that fit perfectly into a 5 gallon bucket for $15. It feels exactly like a 7" deck brush that is 3 times the cost with much less surface area. I had my $45 dollar brush and just happened to see the car wash brush on my way out. Felt the same and worked like a charm.

 

[paindonthurt_]

That pic is proof hard work pays off. Looks good.

 

[RocketDawg]

When I had mine sanded I had just built the deck, so there were no ballusters - just a big flat floor - so it was easy for them to sand with the big machine. They had to use the rotary handheld around the edges, of course, but it wasn't a sander that most of us would have in our shop. There's an art to using a sander, kinda like using a big floor polisher. My deck is treated pine, but the top grade that has no knots, and I wanted it flat and smooth. Glad I did.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Oil base can yellow over time. If you had to clean up with thinner, then it was oil obviously. It’s it’s flaking then it may have been oil and there was just too much moisture or some type of residue under it. Also can deal with the wood. If it’s treated wood and hadn’t weathered, the stain won’t take, but if you wood was old at the time of staining that would be the issue. Sanding it will solve the oil or latex question. The problem you’ll have if you can’t get all of it up is if it was oil, and you put water on it this time, it will struggle to take. Oil can go over water, not the other way. My suggestion is sand, clean, once you think it’s clean, clean again. Give it plenty of time to dry out. Then put whatever you want.
One more thing you can do. Go to your local Sherwin Williams, tell them your problem, say you want to use their product and ask them to get their residential sales rep to come by your house and see what’s going on. He/she will tell you exactly what to do

 

[NTDawg]

What if unscrewed each board and flipped it over? Would be a lot of work but probably less than sanding it.

Seems to simple of a solution. What am I not thinking about? BTW I dont have any rails or posts above the deck surface

 

[T-TownDawgg]

I'd guess the deck builder put the knotty, ugly, and dished sides down, so beware of simply flipping boards.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

What if unscrewed each board and flipped it over? Would be a lot of work but probably less than sanding it.

Seems to simple of a solution. What am I not thinking about? BTW I dont have any rails or posts above the deck surface

Might be a solution. Sanding is less work though.. I know I was joking about the work load,but a lot of that had to do with the type of stain (solid stain), the open pores of cedar, and all of the obstacles on my deck I had to hand sand. The solid stain was horrible because it penetrated like stain, but peeled like paint. It gummed up the sander belts every 50 square feet.

I would not flip them. I think you will be okay sanding. Try a little test area with a hand sander. You will know quickly if it's going to be a nightmare to sand.