We have been slowly making headway on scraping the deck with the Wagner
paint eater. 4 ($14) replaceable pads have come and gone and the end
is in sight (oh! all those spindles!).

The deck looks like an archaeological dig. In places it is scraped to
the old (faux redwood looking) stain, in others down to the weathered
layer of pressure-treated wood and others to more raw looking wood.

Now, before we finish-stain it, is it a good idea to put on an
additional layer of anything or merely apply one or two coats of the
chosen stain?


Cheers,
HankC

Don Phillipson wrote:
"HankC" wrote in message
oups.com...
My deck was painted three years ago. Weathering has peeled a lot off
except for the railing where most of the paint is yet adhering...
That is why decks are usually stained, not painted. You can
touch up stained timber or recoat it overall much more easily
than you can prepare for thorough repainting (and old paint
cannot really be touched up at all.)
I have tried 3 different paint removers with lousy results. Pressure
washers did a good job of washing but the effort required to remove the
paint also removed the soft wood.
I'm wondering if staining over the remaining paint would give me
anything close to tolerable results or just look like some awful tiger
stripe impression.
Probably the latter. You can experiment by replacing
one suitable deck board today, staining it, and leaving it
out in the sun and for a few months.

I see Wagner has a new tool called the 'paint eater'.
Does anyone have a review of this unit? Obviously on a deck not
everything is flat or level...
HankC

If it's a wooden deck try usung a heat gun to lift the old paint.

HankC wrote:
We have been slowly making headway on scraping the deck with the Wagner
paint eater. 4 ($14) replaceable pads have come and gone and the end
is in sight (oh! all those spindles!).

The deck looks like an archaeological dig. In places it is scraped to
the old (faux redwood looking) stain, in others down to the weathered
layer of pressure-treated wood and others to more raw looking wood.

Now, before we finish-stain it, is it a good idea to put on an
additional layer of anything or merely apply one or two coats of the
chosen stain?


Cheers,
HankC

I just rented a floor sander from Home depot. Had to pound all the
nails down,
which was the hardest part, then sanded it smooth. Not that much work.
Then restained it. One day job start to finish (16 x20). It was an 18
year old deck that looked pratically new when done.

Tom

TH wrote:
HankC wrote:
We have been slowly making headway on scraping the deck with the Wagner
paint eater. 4 ($14) replaceable pads have come and gone and the end
is in sight (oh! all those spindles!).

The deck looks like an archaeological dig. In places it is scraped to
the old (faux redwood looking) stain, in others down to the weathered
layer of pressure-treated wood and others to more raw looking wood.

Now, before we finish-stain it, is it a good idea to put on an
additional layer of anything or merely apply one or two coats of the
chosen stain?


Cheers,
HankC

I just rented a floor sander from Home depot. Had to pound all the
nails down,
which was the hardest part, then sanded it smooth. Not that much work.
Then restained it. One day job start to finish (16 x20). It was an 18
year old deck that looked pratically new when done.


Did you do rails, posts, spindles, bannisters, etc?

The deck floor is not too difficult - it's the jointed areas and
spindles...


HankC

HankC wrote:
TH wrote:
HankC wrote:
We have been slowly making headway on scraping the deck with the Wagner
paint eater. 4 ($14) replaceable pads have come and gone and the end
is in sight (oh! all those spindles!).

The deck looks like an archaeological dig. In places it is scraped to
the old (faux redwood looking) stain, in others down to the weathered
layer of pressure-treated wood and others to more raw looking wood.

Now, before we finish-stain it, is it a good idea to put on an
additional layer of anything or merely apply one or two coats of the
chosen stain?


Cheers,
HankC

I just rented a floor sander from Home depot. Had to pound all the
nails down,
which was the hardest part, then sanded it smooth. Not that much work.
Then restained it. One day job start to finish (16 x20). It was an 18
year old deck that looked pratically new when done.


Did you do rails, posts, spindles, bannisters, etc?

The deck floor is not too difficult - it's the jointed areas and
spindles...


HankC

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the deck. I did use a stripper
and then a power washer for the railing and spindles. I recommend an
oil penetrating stain. I used one called Penofin, soaks in deep. Apply
to bare wood.