Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm in the process of preparing my deck for either painting or staining. It currently has a light coat of brown paint on it that nearly half of it has chipped away. I've read online the pros and cons of both approaches, but wanted to see opinions here. At this point I've power washed it and plan to buy a hand sander to continue to attempt to remove the remaining paint. I'm wondering if I'm putting too much work into the pre-work if I do end up painting it. If I do go that route it would seem that I'd be ok just removing the remaining loose chips, cleaning it and putting down a coat of Kilz before applying the final coat. As it is, there is still a lot of paint on the rails and around the outside frame that hasn't started chipping. Staining it seems more labor intensive up front because of the need to remove all the paint. My primary goals is to both make it look the best it can and to have it near maintenance free for the next several years. I moved in less than 2 years ago and the deck looked perfect then. I soon realized that what looked fine was merely a hastily applied single coat.
One other thing, for some reason it was built with a screen stretched all along the bottom, underneath the floor boards. I assume this was an attempt to prevent things from falling through the cracks or having weeds grow through (it's got enough space to crawl underneath but it's ground level). I was intending to get under there with a box cutter and get rid of the screen as all it does is collect pine needles and such between the cracks that even the power washer was unable to fully remove. Is putting a below floor screen common and does it actually serve a practical function or should I proceed with getting rid of it? I'd rather crawl underneath for the occasional lost fork than to deal with the immovable pine straw.
Is the screen fine enough to keep out insects? I know this is common with screened in porches...maybe the previous owner intended to screen in the porch but never got around to it? I've considered adding a screen to the bottom of my deck in the hopes it'll keep the insects from coming up through the bottom to bite my ankles...but I'm not sure how effective it would be without screened in walls...
I have a solid stain on all of my barns. It may fade, but it NEVER peels! After you remove all of that old paint, you will appreciate why this is extremely valuable. Not only that, but the stain goes on like paint (it is easy to spray or brush), is water soluble (easy clean-up). You will need to reapply it more often, but it is SO much easier than scraping paint. Not only that, but you can get it made up to match any color of paint that you want.
As for the rails, you could possibly repaint them, and there is a product made especially for peeling paint that supposedly seals the edges of the remaining, firmly attached paint. But wherever you can, stain is a good long term solution. IMHO.
I would prefer stain.
But, since it's already painted, I would probably repaint, unless the paint is very loose and easy to remove to bare wood.
If you're going to sand treated wood, be sure to wear a mask. Nasty stuff in that dust.
If you're willing to put them prep work in to remove the paint, or if you're willing to pay someone to do that, then I would highly recommend going with a stain instead of paint. Specifically, I recommend TWP 1500. TWP is one of the highest rated and highest quality stains on the market. I used it on my deck and am still 100% satisfied after 2 years. TWP 1500 is a low VOC, oil based stain. It's the only deck stain recognized by the EPA as a wood preservative. It wears extremely well and the darker colors block UV damage well. The TWP penetrated very well and went on easily with a deck brush. You just need to keep a wet edge. If I recall correctly, shipping is free for orders over 5 gallons.
Here's some before and after pics of my deck. It was in terrible condition when we moved in. I cleaned with sodium percarbonate (oxiclean), pressure washed, used a brightener (oxalic acid), let dry, then stained. The color is dark oak.
Paint sits on top of substraight. Stain penetrates. If you have existing paint, stain can not do it's job. So knowing that, you decide.
Also, kilz if a primer for a verticle surfaces. If you are going to prime and paint, make sure it's for horizontal and walkable use.
In my opinion, oil-based stain on wood, outdoor or indoor is more compatible with wood. And for outdoor, make sure stain is for outdoor use. These have much more protectants for weather and UV rays.
OP-
I often mention and recommend TWP for decks; its the only stain/sealer I spec for decks.
But in your case, I wouldn't recommend it. As previously mentioned, with existing paint still on the wood it won't allow the stain to penetrate. And when it finally does let loose, you have a "bald spot".
The one thing that most people don't understand about PT- it's not really compatible with paint. And "primer" (Kilz) is not going to help with adhesion. Most recommend an acrylic primer and acrylic top coat. The problem is not just the treatment (CCA), its also the wood itself. Southern pine (majority of PT) is just no a good substrate for paint.
I often get questioned about this very problem-
I usually answer- rebuild the deck and religiously maintain it the right way; or, let it go a few years, power wash, let it go a couple of more years, pressure wash, most paint should be gone, a little sanding, and it will take a stain/sealer marvelously.
Our deck had a solid stain on it that was flaking off horribly. We ended up using one of those restoring products on it and it looks really nice. This is the stuff we used:
We ended up putting dark brown on the horizontal surfaces and a cream color on the vertical surfaces. It looks a lot nicer now than it did with the awful redish stain the previous owners hastily threw on the deck when they were trying to sell. It's been a year now and it looks as good as new so far. I'll have to see if I can find a picture...
Not to hijack but I'm considering doing the same thing, stain or paint my deck. But I was hoping to do it in a grey color of some sort. That TWP looks nice but there's no way to get it in grey, I assume.
Not to hijack but I'm considering doing the same thing, stain or paint my deck. But I was hoping to do it in a grey color of some sort. That TWP looks nice but there's no way to get it in grey, I assume.
No; it does not come in grey.
However, if you're willing to experiment a little I bet you could take the "natural" TWP 1500 and have it tinted to a grey-like color. Obviously the tint isn't going to be absorbed into the wood- meaning it would probably wear-off rather quickly; as like other "opaque" type stain/sealers.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
