I bought my first house last spring. It has a large deck that appears
to have been painted (quite awhile ago) with a sort of
"redwood-looking" paint-type finish (have I got enough modifiers in
there?) To me, the finish looks more like paint than anything else (I
think of "stain" as something that colors the wood without covering it
up), and it has worn off to bare wood on much of the deck's surface.
One (mostly exposed) board has started to warp significantly.

Clearly, I need to do something about this. I've been told to start
with power washing; I've been told NEVER to power wash (bad for the
exposed wood). I've been told just to clean off any loose paint and
dirt and paint it again; I've been told NEVER to paint it without
completely stripping it first. I've been told I can repaint/refinish
with whatever I like; I've been told I must ALWAYS match the type of
product last used. You name it, someone has probably told me it's the
only way to go.

I would rather have a natural looking wood and if I had my druthers
(and a lot of time or money), I think it would look best if all the
finish were stripped, the wood scoured back to "raw," stained, and
varnished (or whatever finish is used on a deck).

Advice? Opinions? Donations?

Thanks in advance,
Jo Ann

i have the same stuff,its latex water base barn/fence stain.but is
more like paint.it comes off very easy with pressure washer . thats how
ive done it and it worked out fine.redo mine about every 5-7 years..
lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

Your "Never" to do list is wrong. Powerwashing just cleans quickly. If
the surface finish is not peeling leave it on. Your "paint" is most
likely semi transparent deck stain and going over it with such wont
affect anything, stain does not peel like paint unless improperly
applied. You can take a sample to a real paint store they can find out
what it is. To use Paint you need a primer coat, not so for stain.
Needing product matching is an uneducated statement. Go to a real paint
store, one that only sells paint, use what they recommend and say, not
the wrong information of products that you have learned.

wrote:
I bought my first house last spring. It has a large deck that appears
to have been painted (quite awhile ago) with a sort of
"redwood-looking" paint-type finish (have I got enough modifiers in
there?) To me, the finish looks more like paint than anything else (I
think of "stain" as something that colors the wood without covering it
up), and it has worn off to bare wood on much of the deck's surface.
One (mostly exposed) board has started to warp significantly.

Clearly, I need to do something about this. I've been told to start
with power washing; I've been told NEVER to power wash (bad for the
exposed wood). I've been told just to clean off any loose paint and
dirt and paint it again; I've been told NEVER to paint it without
completely stripping it first. I've been told I can repaint/refinish
with whatever I like; I've been told I must ALWAYS match the type of
product last used. You name it, someone has probably told me it's the
only way to go.

I would rather have a natural looking wood and if I had my druthers
(and a lot of time or money), I think it would look best if all the
finish were stripped, the wood scoured back to "raw," stained, and
varnished (or whatever finish is used on a deck).

Advice? Opinions? Donations?

Thanks in advance,
Jo Ann

Hey - m is pretty right on. if I were to guess I would say its probably
solid color stain, not semi-transparent stain. Either way its likely
some type of colored stain. Despite what m said, he would likely agree
that if it was a solid color stain going over it with a semi or
non-colored stain would be futile to achieve a good looking job. That
could be what the person meant when they told you to use the same thing
as before. So, you can always add a more highly pigmented stain over a
less pigmented stain but not the other way around.

So, if you think you had a lot of color it was solid color stain, if a
hint of color then semi trans stain. If semi trans get another semi
trans or solid color, if solid color get another solid color (Unless you
are stripping)

Get your stain, pressure wash, let dry (Really dry), and apply your
stain. Renew every so often to keep looking good.

Sikkens makes some good products that I have been happy with.

pressure wash, dry for a week of warm dry weather while you replace the
bad pieces, and add your coating of choice wich will only last 2 years.
don't waste money on water repellant oils.

In article .com,
says...

I bought my first house last spring. It has a large deck that appears
to have been painted (quite awhile ago) with a sort of
"redwood-looking" paint-type finish (have I got enough modifiers in
there?) To me, the finish looks more like paint than anything else (I
think of "stain" as something that colors the wood without covering it
up), and it has worn off to bare wood on much of the deck's surface.
One (mostly exposed) board has started to warp significantly.

Sounds like solid stain, which really shouldn't have been used on the horizontal
walking surfaces (but people do). I had the same problem. You're kind of stuck
with it at this point.

Sounds like the condition of my deck, too...


Clearly, I need to do something about this. I've been told to start
with power washing; I've been told NEVER to power wash (bad for the
exposed wood). I've been told just to clean off any loose paint and
dirt and paint it again; I've been told NEVER to paint it without
completely stripping it first. I've been told I can repaint/refinish
with whatever I like; I've been told I must ALWAYS match the type of
product last used. You name it, someone has probably told me it's the
only way to go.

I would rather have a natural looking wood and if I had my druthers
(and a lot of time or money), I think it would look best if all the
finish were stripped, the wood scoured back to "raw," stained, and
varnished (or whatever finish is used on a deck).


Forget natural until you replace the deck. Wash down with hose, then use a
floor brush with TSP, rinse well. Let it dry really well (check the weather
long term forecast in planning this job). Then use a solid stain which is at
least as dark as what's there now. BTDT.

I knew one person who gave up on the stain on a small deck, washed, primed, and
painted. High-maintenance! Needed new paint every couple of years on the
horizontal surfaces. But it wasn't too bad as the deck was small.

Banty


--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Thank you, everyone! Yes, it does sound as though this is solid color
stain (and thanks for the tip about taking a piece to the paint store
and finding out for sure) and yes, they did apply it to the walking
surfaces (including the floor of the large, wrap-around front porch,
where it is also wearing off badly, but that's another story....) The
deck is big, about 50 x 25 with two sets of stairs, handrails,
spindles, ball tops, etc. etc. Sounds like more of the same stain is
the way to go, as I would definitely like to avoid frequent repainting,
especially with all of the other projects I have to do! (Not to
mention learning how to do them!)

Thanks again!
Jo Ann

A complete test and education on stains can be read at Consumer Reports,
it is an ongoing longest life test.

wrote:
I bought my first house last spring. It has a large deck that appears
to have been painted (quite awhile ago) with a sort of
"redwood-looking" paint-type finish (have I got enough modifiers in
there?) To me, the finish looks more like paint than anything else (I
think of "stain" as something that colors the wood without covering it
up), and it has worn off to bare wood on much of the deck's surface.
One (mostly exposed) board has started to warp significantly.

Clearly, I need to do something about this. I've been told to start
with power washing; I've been told NEVER to power wash (bad for the
exposed wood). I've been told just to clean off any loose paint and
dirt and paint it again; I've been told NEVER to paint it without
completely stripping it first. I've been told I can repaint/refinish
with whatever I like; I've been told I must ALWAYS match the type of
product last used. You name it, someone has probably told me it's the
only way to go.

I would rather have a natural looking wood and if I had my druthers
(and a lot of time or money), I think it would look best if all the
finish were stripped, the wood scoured back to "raw," stained, and
varnished (or whatever finish is used on a deck).

Advice? Opinions? Donations?

Thanks in advance,
Jo Ann

I haven't read many of the posts to this thread, but have one idea.
Solid suface coatings, as some have said, don't wear well and peel
easily. That is probably, in part, due to underside of board being
bare. May be worth your while to pressure wash the top, take boards up
and clean and finish all sides. Just a thought. Turning them over
might allow you to use a penetrating stain if that is what you prefer.

In article ,
wrote:

i have the same stuff,its latex water base barn/fence stain.but is
more like paint.it comes off very easy with pressure washer . thats how
ive done it and it worked out fine.redo mine about every 5-7 years..
lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

Every five to seven years!!! Where do you live? Alaska?

Five to seven years exceeds by four years the best results that
Consumer Reports has achieved in its ongoing test of deck treatments.

Please...what brand do you use and which finish, by name.

Thanks,
bob