Newkirk Wallcovering and Painting

Stripping and repainting a deck

Stripping off previous finish from deck Here I had a deck that 8 months ago I applied a clear water repellant finish to protect it from all the elements. As you can see from the photo the product I used was still beading up the water. The client was not happy with the overall color of the natural wood and wanted a solid light gray stain instead. I knew a latex based stain would not adhere to the clear sealer so I had to strip all of the sealer off of every square inch of the deck before it would hold any stain.

Deckscapes Stain and Sealer Remover Now, this product from Sherwin Williams was recommended to me by my sales rep at my local Sherwin Williams store. I hadn't used it before and was trusting his word on how it preformed. Well I have to tell you, this Deckscapes stain and sealer remover worked like a charm. It was a total blessing.

Applying the deck stripper Applying the stripper was as simple as keeping the deck wet and spraying small sections with a little garden style pump sprayer. Once the chemical set up for 5 to 10 mins we lightly scrubbed the surface with a nylon bristle brush or a green scrubby pad in the hard to get areas. I could tell right away that the stripper was working because it foamed up and lifted the clear coat right off the wood. The trick is to keep the deck wet at all times. In other words you don't want to let the stripping chemical start drying out before you hose it off.

Removing the deck stripper After the chemical has been hosed away it dries out to an even original finish. It did have a tendency to raise the grain of the wood a bit, but a light sanding can take care of that.

After photo of bare wood Here is a great shot of a bench the client had made especially for his deck with the clear coat sealer still in tact, and behind on the deck boards you can see the wood finish after the stripper had been applied. Notice how the water soaks right into the wood again compared to the bench top that still beads up like the day it was put on.

Removing stain/sealer on deck In this photo you can see how the Deckscapes stain and sealer remover foams up a bit and eats away at the clear acrylic sealer put on 8 months ago. Take a good look in the background of this photo and you'll notice I've covered up the plants around the deck to protect them from the chemicals in the stripper.

Removing stain/sealer on deck If you look closely at the grains in the wood here you'll see the stripper lifting the clear acrylic sealer right off the face of these boards before we even begin to start scrubbing. Uncle Jer was mighty impressed with how well this product worked. Not only did it save time and labor but we were able to do the entire deck using less than 3 gallons of the stripper.

Staining the deck We stripped on a Friday, let the sun dry out the deck over the week-end, and by Monday morning were ready to start staining the wood.

Staining the deck We were able to get the entire deck stained in just one afternoon. Using a 4'' mini roller helped move the painting portion of the project right along.

Staining the deck The stain seems to be adhering quite well and its going on nice and evenly!

Staining the deck Saving all the horizontal surfaces for last, were just about finished with the first coat and it is covering just fine. We cut in the inside corners and hard to reach areas with a 2 1/2" latex brush, but the deck boards and steps were rolled out with a standard 3/8" nap roller.

Finished product photo of deck Here's a shot of the finished product with a second coat on all the horizontal surfaces. The client really loved the way the color of the deck turned out. I have to admit, I too think it looks better!

This site is copyright newkirkpainting.com 2006, All Rights Reserved
Steve's free web templates