What's the right way to finish a deck?

Question

I've got a 4-year old deck and the stain on it has started to peel and flake off. I finished it with Sikkens stain the year I built it (2002) and in 2004. We were thinking we had to strip off the old stain -- but now I'm not so sure. Should we sand it or strip it?

Answer 1

Jevint is on the money about most of what you should do, but I just finished re-finishing a deck that had Sikkens peeling on it and the pressure washer didn't cut it. That's the problem with this type of Sikkens you used, looks great till it fails then it's a pain to remove. If you do not get all the old sealant off, no matter what you put down, it will not soak into the wood and just puddle in the areas missed. We wound up renting one of the new orbital floor sanders, the one that works like a random orbital, sanded off all the old top coat, then pressure washed it with as Jevint said, with a powerful washer (at least a 2500). The power washer made the deck look uniformed.
When applying the new finish coat a garden sprayer is quick, but you have to be pretty good at it or you will get it all over your house and plants. If the deck is not too big, I suggest a medium nap roller and a brush. Start at the far end of the deck and do 4 boards at a time from one end to the other or you will leave lap marks where it dried and doubled up. Roll aways and brush it in so no puddling happens. Lot of work, but it will look great and last you for years this way.

Answer 2

Okay, so far you have gotten some good advice with the pressure washer. Here is some complete information for you though.

Certainly feel free to use a pressure washer although I would probably go with something closer to 2700 PSI cause most respectable stores shouldn't cary anything less than that, just make sure you use the fan tip so you don't damage the wood.

Once you power wash the deck find a sherwin williams and look at thier cuprinol line. They should have a cleaner, a reviver, as well as sever finishes to choose from. Now I would use the reviver and the cleaner as instructed. I would then look for a brand called "Armstrong's" deck stain. This stuff is good because it uses a special oil that will condition the wood from within. The oil itself is non-drying which will not keep the surface wet so as to transfer from the surface but it will keep the inside of the wood conditioned kind of like lotion does for our skin.

As for application, you can use a short nap roller but it is likely to take some time doing it that way. What I recomend is a hudson sprayer (kind of like the ones you use for weed spray or bug spray) and Sherwin-Williams should cary those as well. Then you presurize by pumping the handle and just spray it on the deck, once it is on what you want to do is take that roller just to apply pressure to the surface and use a brush in the hard to reach areas, this will insure proper penetration. Don't spray too much cause you might end up with a spot that wont dry, if you acidently spray too much in an area use the roller to spread it out or just wipe off with a rag. Be sure to put any utincils in a metal container with a lid until dry, I have heard stories of spontaneus combustion and it really can happen.

I can pretty much garanty if you take the time to do it right you won't be sorry. It will look like a new deck.

Answer 3

If you have peeling and flaking, it's better to get the rest off best you can. Moisture trapped under peels and flakes will unnecessarily age the wood.

Here's what I would do:

(1) powerwash the deck. 1500-2000PSI or so and then let dry for a couple days. Much faster and easier than scraping or sanding.

(2) Apply new deck stain with a thick-nap roller.


Good luck.

Answer 4

Call a Carpender

Answer 5

a pressure washer will do a faster job you can buy one or rent one