Please ans, do you have to remove old stain before restaining a deck?

Question

Hi,
I've seen some ans but no one really comes out and gives a complete ans on this one.

We have a deck that we used deck wash and a pressure washer on. The railings and part of the floor still have some old stain on it, however. I'm wondering, since stain will repel itself anyway, can we go ahead and use a similar color and just restain the deck at this point? Or, do we have to use a stripper first, then restain? Seems to me that if we match the color closely, we only have to restain.

THanks!

For those who say you can restain over old stain, will it be darker where the old stain was? (Really blotchy, in effect?)
THanks

Answer 1

Cleaning it was good,but if your looking for an even color through out, you need to remove as much of the old stain as possible.Or try a close match in one spot and observe the results, only you have to be satisfied with the results.No one on this forum can predict that outcome.

Answer 2

You should take the floors back to bare wood before you restain. Not taking off all the old stain means your new colour won't come out exact, because of the old colour underneath. The bottom layer could also peel, causing your new stain to come with it. If you use a latex based stain this time, and the old stain was oil (it most likely is) the latex will peel right off. You can rent a floor sander from a good diy hardware store, they have a vaccuum attachment that takes up the dust, and makes sanding much easier! Tape off the doors and wear a mask though.

Answer 3

Restaining A Deck

Answer 4

You shouldn't have any problems reapplying stain to the deck. Stain doesn't actually repel itself. The chemical composition of the stain is designed to repel water and not a second application of stain. I'm not sure how long it's been since you last stained but if it's been a few years, then the wood should soak up the new stain without any problems.

Answer 5

no just stain it no problem .......stripper removes paint not stain the only way to remove stain is to sand down below where the stain permeated which would be madness for a deck ...a piece of furniture maybe but not a deck, also you will be surprised how the repelling factor of your old stain is greatly exaggerated good luck from TEXAS

Answer 6

Yes you can re stain over it, but it will show up darker if your using a light stain. If you sand it lightly, and reduce the color of the stain, it will be less obvious after the re stain.

Answer 7

If you can closely match the stain you should be able to restain it as it is now. When my husband and I restained our deck we pressure washed it and then lightly sanded it and then restained it.

Answer 8

You can easily stain over old stain, as long as the color is the same or darker.

Answer 9

if the stain is the same type ,
no just re-stain it,