Deck Restaining Confusion.

12 years ago

- When we bought our house, the deck had a brown semi-transparent stain covering the sides, posts, and spindles, and a half-ass covering of what I believe to be paint (or solid stain?) on just the flooring and railings, dark red in color. I disliked the color and wanted to start over.

- I've tried stain stripper and power washing. That removed most of the red paint, but the boards still have a heavy hint of red.

- I've spent a lot of time sanding with an 80-grit orbital and what I've done looks good, but I simply don't have time to do every last inch. I may rent an orbital floor sander for the bulk.

My questions:

Do I need to remove the previous stain which I think is semi-transparent? The spindles will take me forever and I'm waving a white flag.

Can I stop working today and just slap on a stain? Basically the deck is showing two different stains in various spots. Can I cover those with a semi-transparent or solid stain?

Thanks for your help, I've become extremely overwhelmed. I've spent so much time on this site and others trying to find some answers and I'm more confused than ever.

Comments (4)

john_hyatt
12 years ago
Your work so far shows an industriousness sprit.

I might be good to continue the work on the decking itself. Even though the orbital will be a lot of work you started with it I vote to stay with it.A biger machine might be faster but you will have less control. Dont try to get every last bit off just hit the high points,even the look out.

On the rail system try hand sanding them with the same 80 grit. Again your goal is not total removal but geting off the top layer in an even way. Go slow your not killing snakes. If 80 grit seems to rough to you move up to 60.

Best case after the project is done with sanding prep to your liking an oxalic acid wash would help. Pick a quality outdoor finish,like twp, the color you like and try a test area first.

Your almost done no need to stop now after all the work in it already. J.
dooer
12 years ago
If the spindles are a semi transparent, you should not have to remove it. Any color left, will show through using semi transparent stains. Try a sample in a inconspicuous place.

We recently stripped a 1750 sq. ft. deck that had a solid stain on it. The stripper got most of it and spot stripping and sanding got a little bit more. We definately did not get it all, but after applying the semi transparent stain, it wasn't obvious. We did not attempt to strip the railing, we just went over with another solid stain.
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myphriendmike
Original Author
12 years ago
Follow up:

I rented a floor orbital and it did a great job. That went quick, but I got a little obsessive with the touch ups and spent a lot of time sanding. I didn't touch the spindles. The wood was looking fantastic, almost new, and after a LONG day I was able to stain the railings and posts. They turned out great but I wasn't able to finish the flooring the next day as planned cause it rained.

It has not stopped raining since.

I've never been so pissed at the weather. Here it's nearly October and it's supposed to rain from now on.

SO........ WTF do I do? I can't stain a wet deck. I can't get so much as 36 hours of dry sunlight. Is there anything I can slap on for the winter to protect until I can stain in the spring? Will it survive a winter without anything? I had just sanded it really well before this perpetual downpour, so it's certainly soaked.

Thanks again for any advice.
weedyacres
12 years ago
Hey, I feel your pain. A deck re-stain has been on my list since the rainy spring, but I decided to wait until it cooled down a bit, missing the 2 months straight of hot and dry that we had here. I finally decided to take the plunge 2 Saturdays ago, and scrubbed the whole thing down with oxalic acid, and it has rained every other day since then. I've got a month or so before it's too late, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed we get some dry weather.

And yes, it will survive until spring. You'll just need to clean it well again before staining.