Best Way To Ressurrect A Deck

Jason@API

For all involved in this topic, I thank you!

Wow.... I have learned more than I anticipated. Especially about "furring" and deck stripping. I am a paint contractor on the west coast and have recently (last year) dove into deck restoration. I only have a couple decks under my belt. I have always wondered if "furring" was normal or not. Now I have something to work on: mastering a nonfurring result. Sounds fun! Seriously!

Sealerguy, thanks for the link about that deck stripper. I have a 3000psi 3.5gpm PW'er, is there a particular tip you would recommend for this product and an approximate psi for application? I'm ordering a 5'er today.

This injected stripper, how well does it work to remove Behr stain?

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tom connelly

I would use a 25 degree tip.. that's the green one. I usually use a higher orifice tip, such as a 6.5 or something like that. It helps to lower your water pressure, which is more gentle on the substrate and releaves stress from the unloader, it's also more ergonomical for the user, allowing him to work longer without getting as tired, and it might even help to increase your water flow some, which would aid in the rinsing process. (It wont increase your water flow much seeing as the pumps are generally regulated for only so much water flow, but it would help)

Oh.. and keep the tip approximately 8 to 12 inches from the surface. You may want to try using a trigger gun without the lance, just clip the tip directly into the trigger gun. This would help with flexibility and getting in tight spots. (especially the railing)

When you are cleaning go either the full length of the board or utilize arching motions at the end of each pass, doing this will aid in preventing scars. Overlap each pass in half.. any other questions.. give me a call.
my name is Tom Connelly
(828) 413-2642

KennMacMoragh

I am about to resurrect a deck by sanding. Reason is because there are marks all over the deck from someone pressure washing it in the past. They didn't pressure wash it doing one board at a time, they just took the wand and went crazy with it, so now there's marks. I think the only way to get rid of the marks is by sanding now.

Does anyone know the best kind of sander to rent? I've seen multiple kinds.

Tom Struble

do you really need a pressure washer when using a stripper?

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Tom

KennMacMoragh

I think the pressure washer is supposed to rinse everything off after the chemical clean. So you wouldn't dig into it but you would hold the wand further back and do a light rinse.

Giftcard

Cedar deck, no pressure washing/chem skills, it's ezer to sand.

NCPaint1

Gemini's Safe Strip or my locally made "Powerstrip" does the trick. It will remove transparent and semi-transparent stains easily. Pump spray or downstream it through a powerwasher at a 4:1 breakdown. It's safe for plants, people, grass, and painted surfaces. You still have to know what you're doing though, cedar being soft will mar easily. Even so, I guess it depends on what you're expecting for an end result. You want a brand new looking deck....nothing beats the sander. Problem is, time and cost, most of my customers are happy with a strip and seal, although I occasionally get a few that are willing to spend the money to have it sanded.

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KennMacMoragh

I just finished sanding a deck, I ended up having to do a chemical clean and pressure wash even after sanding it. I rented the most powerful sander you can get, a drum sander, it ground down about four large trash bags full of sawdust, but that still didn't get rid of all the old stain. For the new stain I used Extreme Solutions, Wood Tux as recommended in the second post. It turned out great, it's expensive, $50 a gallon, but I found it covers more area than ordinary stain.

I think if I were going to do this again, I would estimate 10 days labor on a large deck. That includes sanding the railing and decking, chemical clean and pressure wash, stain, some touch up puttying, and clean up. I would only do it for someone who really wanted a perfect deck. It will look better than when it was brand new.

cascapi

Make sure you're letting the chem's do the cleaning. The PW'er is just for rinsing ("low pressure, high volume," as has been said already). I use the F-18 wood stripper/cleaning from Pressure Tek.

Just cleaned a deck and removed Sikkens SRD that was applied about 3 years ago. 20-30 min. dwell time, but came nice and clean.

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Craig Wigginton - Cascade Powerwash, Inc. (360-907-8255)
Pressure Washing Vancouver WA
Deck Cleaning and Refinishing Vancouver WA
Non-Pressure Roof Cleaning Vancouver WA

TheCleaningDoc

If you sand, you have to be aware of the grit you are using. Fine grit is NOT what you want. All that seems to do is close up the pores and not allow the stain to penetrate as well. You want to go no less than 80 grit and I never go below 60.

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