I just moved into a house with a large two-level deck in the backyard. The
wood is in good shape for the most part, but it has been poorly painted and
is now peeling and in need of repainting. I would like to strip this down to
bare wood and use stain as opposed to repainting it.

Does anyone have any advice for this kind of project? I am trying to keep
things low cost, but I also don't want to spend weeks sanding old paint off.

Thanks,
Richard

Find a guy to sandblast it. Don't do it yourself, you'll poke holes in
the siding. It takes a little bit of practice. Do check out references,
this is a messy job. You want a clean worker who won't leave behind an
ugly toxic mess for you to clean up.

Don't faint at the price if she says she must use baking soda media to
prevent damage. It's expensive but won't harm even old Victorian
shingles.

This is the cleanest, most efficient way I know to rip off layers of
paint and leave an intact surface suitable for staining without a lot
more work. People can spend umpteen years with a torch and a scraper
and not do half as good a job as a single afternoon's blasting with the
right media.


Richard Green wrote:
I just moved into a house with a large two-level deck in the
backyard. The
wood is in good shape for the most part, but it has been poorly
painted and
is now peeling and in need of repainting. I would like to strip this
down to
bare wood and use stain as opposed to repainting it.

Does anyone have any advice for this kind of project? I am trying to
keep
things low cost, but I also don't want to spend weeks sanding old
paint off.

Thanks,
Richard