This post was updated on January 30, 2023
Behr Stain Stripper Review
Update 2023: Behr Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper Review
We would love to hear from you if you have used Behr Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper. Please post a rating in the Consumer Star Ratings below. Behr Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper has continued to show moderate effectiveness when stripping deck stains.
If you have any pictures of your experience with the Behr Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper Review you can add them in the comment area with a detailed description.
Behr Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper is designed to remove exterior latex, oil-based and 100% Acrylic coatings on Wood Decks, Siding, Fences, Shakes, and Shingles.
Behr Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper Scores (1-10)
Removal of Graying, Dirt, Grime: 7
– Behr Stain Stripper removes general dirt and graying with relative ease. The deep penetration of the stripper softens the dirt and grime so it can easily be rinsed from the wood.
Cost Per Square Foot: 6
– The cost to use the Behr Stripper was high in our opinion since it did not work to remove the wood stain from the deck.
Removal of Old Stain: 3
– We used the Behr Stain Stripper to remove a failed, peeling coat of Behr Semi-Transparent Stain. The stripper did little for removal as maybe 50% of the stain on the flooring came off. The stripper had little to no effect on removing the finish from the vertical railings.
Ease of Application: 7
– The Behr Stain Stripper was applied with a garden pump sprayer to the deck surface. We had a few issues with the sprayer clogging otherwise there was no issue with the application.
Final Appearance of Stripping: 3
– Poor! Barely removed the Behr Stain. We would ask for a refund.
Overall: 5.2
– The Behr Stain remover did a poor job removing the Behr Acrylic Deck Stain. We asked the manager at Home Depot and he suggested stripping the deck numerous times until it finally came off. We would not suggest this product.
Product Information:
Where To Buy: Home Depot
Product Type: Liquid Stripper For Exterior Stain Removal
Available Sizes: 1 Gallon
Application Temperature: 45-95 F
Coverage Per Gallon: 100-200 sq. ft
Application Tools: Scrub Brush, Pump Sprayer
Manufacturer: Behr Corporation
Test Deck Stats:
Deck Wood Type: Pine Porch
Deck Square Footage: 250
The condition of Deck: 2-year-old Behr Premium Wood Stan Semi-Transparent
How Much Product Used: 3 Gallons. Retails for $29.99 a gallon
*All products tested and results are from our experience. We offer no guarantee of similar results. Take into consideration that results may differ due to different wood types, exposure to UV radiation, and natural weathering.
The Best Deck Strippers Video – DeckStainHelp.com
Deck Stain Help & Questions
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Stain Reviews & Comparisons
As an article and comment contributor to the site, Scott has been around the pressure washing industry since attending college. In 1993 he started his first company called Oakland Pressure Wash specializing in exterior pressure washing and deck staining. That company evolved into OPW L.L.C. shortly thereafter concentrating more on exterior wood and deck restoration. Scott and his Deck Cleaning Michigan company have restored over 10,000 decks in the Metro Detroit area since the early years. He has become an authority in the deck restoration industry and has contributed to numerous wood restoration forums and informative sites.
All the products he suggests through this site are sold through online sites and in retail stores, allowing the consumer to choose their own means of purchase. Scott’s eCommerce sites do sell many top brands he endorses and if you appreciate any of the help he has offered then feel free to purchase from one of them.
Family member got second and third degree burns on arms and neck. Wear long sleeves, goggles , gloves. Tried to post comments on bear site and they rejected them. Doesn’t meet their criteria. They apparently only want good reviews! And we had to apply twice.
Very slippery
Terrible product. Our deck wood is all shredded and the deck is destroyed. Don’t buy this product you will regret it. We applied per directions and it’s a total disaster. We need to redo the entire deck and the wood is only 3 years old.
would this product be harmful to a plastic corigated under deck ceiling ? The roof was put in place under the deck as it is a storage area for off season furniture
No, it should be fine.
I purchased the Behr wood stain and finisher stripper and was very disappointed. We followed the directions carefully several times and rinsed the deck thoroughly with low pressure washing.
after the deck dried it left my wood with a film residue and where it did try to come off there small rolls of ?.
We tried 150 grit sandpaper and it did not remove the rolls which could possibly be stain.
We do not know how to remove the ashy film on the deck, we did try using deck cleaner to revitalize it. Didn’t work.
Help!!!!
Post pictures.
Just a warning post. Last yr built a brand new pressure treated deck
& prepared & applied stain right. Bought PREMIER SOLID STAIN from Canadian Tire $55.00 a gallon & needed 5. 1st winter it chipped, peeled, & scaped off like butter when using snow shovel lightly with no steel blade. Advised on stain that all the above is guaranteed not to happen. Looked like a 100yr old deck by spring. Lightly sanded all bad areas & put 2nd coat on. Next spring looked even worse. Then applied Behr wood deck stripper properly & it would not budge with water pressure washer almost on board. Re did again & still only came off in certain areas. Now im going to try sanding the entire deck & im not happy I will NEVER use a solid stain again. Wish me luck as im struggling with this right now.
Thx for your helpful info on this site
The product worked but was not as easy to use as Defy (used both on different sections of deck since ran out of Defy). Used to remove semi-transparent SW stain applied 3 years ago. Per instructions, did not use sprayer and brushed on. Let sit 30-40 minutes, brushed with stiff brush on a handle (had to brush more and harder than with Defy), rinsed with garden hose. All stain was removed and deck looks great after brightener. Recommend Defy over Behr for ease of application.
Terrible product! Not worth the price of the label yet alone the price of the stripper.
I used it in an attempt to remove Behr Deck Over on my deck. After carefully following the directions and adding an additional 3 layers of the stripper to a test area I did not even notice 1 bubble of separation! Brushing in the stripper made no difference.
Returned the unused portion for a full refund. I would never buy the product again.
While we agree Behr does not make a good stripper, there is nothing on the market that will remove Behr Deckover. That product has to be sanded off.
it dose not work I worked on my deck for two days with Behr striper.It could not take off the Behr stain which did not lase for the time on the can only two befor it got bad
Are use this product because it was the only thing available at Home Depot. I had to apply at using a brush and a roller, the directions said it was too thick for a pump. It only partially removed my stain and seal combo by Preserva. I did not apply the Preserva correctly, I used a paintbrush and did not wipe away the excess, consequently leaving a tacky film that did not dry after waiting a week. So I started again and used the Behr Wood stain and finish stripper followed by Olympic deck brightener and wash. I power washed in between and afterwards. Not happy with the result, some spots have natural wood, other spots are still tacky and stick to your feet. I will try a second application before trying another product. I will include some pictures of the results.
This is a dangerous and ineffective product. It ruined the section of my fence that I applied it to. However, this was partly my fault as the skin on my right arm and left leg were melting off from getting splashed and I had to attend to my limbs instead of rinse the product off. Didn’t realize i needed a HAZMAT suit to use this product. Then i posted a review on their site and they refused to post it. Honestly, I was very nice with my post but i guess they didn’t want the negative publicity about my saying the warnings were inadequate.
Same here! They refused my post
The Behr stripper did not work for me. It is hard work and I was okay with that if the outcome was the stain was stripped from the deck, but it was not. The Behr associate told me the stripper would make the stain bubble up, and then I scrub it off. It NEVER bubbled up, so it is not strong enough, in my opinion to do the job.
If it worked they would charge $40 a gallon, but it does not work. I posted a review on the Behr website and they refused to accept it. That says bad things about the integrity of that company.
I just finished stripping our deck with this product. It worked pretty well once I got my routine down. A lot of the reviews I see didn’t follow the directions it seems. First of all it states on the bottle it is not to be used with a pump sprayer….
My process (which pretty much follows the directions, with an additional scrubbing)
1. pre-wet the boards, not soaked, just damp
2. apply the stripper with a paint roller liberally over the boards, working it in well
3. spray a little more water over the boards
4. with a strong bristle brush, scrub the stripper into the boards well
5. wet again, with a light cover
6. wait about 15 mins, and scrub well again
7. wet again with a light cover (the bottle says to keep the boards wet) not drenched, but just wet/damp
8. let sit for another 10-15 minus, keeping damp as needed
9. rinse well!
This worked pretty well for my deck, and it was hard work. But it did remove the stain. I wouldn’t have done my whole deck if it wasn’t working. But it is hard work. My thought is people aren’t putting in the effort to make this product work…it is hard, long, wet work.
I wish I had found this site earlier as I would probably try the Restore a Deck product if I could find it as it looks less expensive, but much better and easier to apply as well. Behr was a Home Depot…
OK so I’ve had some luck with 17 gallons of this product. I’m in AK where most of this sites recommended products are not available. I have a 2000 SF cedar deck that had 4 year old Flood UV5 oil to remove. I didn’t hate the stain and may do it again. I waited for a cloudy rain forecast day. While the deck was dry I applied Behr no.64 using heavy duty 2 gallon Chapin poly pump sprayer. The product is thick so the cheap model sprayer won’t work! No. 64 clearly separates while sitting on HD shelf for years, this is a big problem if you don’t notice it. To fix, open container and poor half the gallon in the 2 gallon sprayer. Close half full jug and shake vigorously to get contents off the bottom of jug. Poor remaining in sprayer and shake in larger volume sprayer to completely mix the product. Mixing very important! Spray on deck in 30 minute sessions. Do not let dry. I worked in sections so I could apply product without it drying. High humidity days slow down drying and help a lot! Using the product full strength without water misting greatly improved results. Do NOT work in direct sun or wind. Moist cloudy calm morning best! If it drys simply spray more no. 64 on top. Keep water close and wear full rain gear, rubber boots and safety glasses. When the mist hits you in face it BURNs! If it starts raining you can simply look up to help with the burn! After 30 minutes at full strength I used a stiff push broom to quickly work the deck. It was a big mess but the product dissolved most of the oil based stain as advertised. It seemed to really soften the top layer of wood so I opted for garden hose rinse vs pressure washer. (Mine is 70 psi so a bit higher than most). Interesting enough I also tried warm water (100 Deg) which improved rinsing of the stripper and removal of stain. Note that this stripper stays active until you spray on brightener. So after you have fully rinsed you can wait another 30 minutes and rinse again until rinse water clears. Overspray of this product kills green leaves quick! Water all plants thoroughly then cover with plastic. Grass got a little yellow but did not die, water it first too.
I applied Behr Brightener as a follow up while deck was still wet. I got a cheaper second pump sprayer that worked fine for this thin liquid. Use at full strength on wet deck vs suggested 50% dilution on instructions. Rinse fully and let dry.
After deck dries you can clearly see where you have missed. Repeat strip/brightener on those spot areas as needed.
I have also tried this product on Behr Acrylic stain which it does not work. Paint or solid stains nope! For oil based clear or semi-transparent stains it works ok, albeit expensive.
I’ve found that Behr products are substandard. Behr deck stain barely lasted 6 months and most recently I found that their Deck and Stain stripper was next to useless. I will return 4 gallons I bought to strip a large deck.
Bear Premium Stain and Finisher Stripper dead really ineffective. A waste of money and time.
Have you done a review of the Gemini stripper? I was curious how it rates with these other products.
Which Gemini Stripper?
Used Behr Stripper on a deck and it was a 1 out of 10.
Bought this product this weekend! Totally useless! It didn’t change anything and didn’t remove a part of the old painting! We should of follow of first idea to either sand or buy new deck wood! Waste of time, water and money!
I tried this twice. The first time it didn’t remove anything, just turned multicolor, pink and yellow mostly. I left it overnight, reapplied it this morning, sat there and misted anywhere that started going dry, and after 45 minutes, it lifted a little, but not much.
In the process of trying to remove Behr Deck Stain (failed after 6 mos.) I hand brushed product on waited, scrubbed with stiff broom, and attempted to rinse loose paint off. It requires 3 to 4 rounds of this before 90 % of the stain is lifted. After the deck boards dry, they are very rough up as if I had used a pressure washer. Now I will need to sand the deck as well. I would not recommend this product nor the Behr deck stain to anyone!!! Go with TWP 100, I had used that for years and works great!
Nope didn't work at all
Crap!!!!!!
Don't waste your money, this stuff is a waste of time and money!
Probably the worst way to strip a deck is to use Behr 64. Very difficult and dangerous to apply. Dries far too quickly and stain removal was minimal at best.
Do not use this product. Easier to just sand the deck surface….which I ended up doing anyway. Also have some significant chemical burns on my forearms, and I followed the directions to the letter. Water flush did not stop the burn action.
STAY CLEAR
Behr product sucks!!!! The whole deck is peeling after one year!!!!
I bought this product to remove some stubborn areas. It was at Home Depot and I didn't have to wait for shipping. This product is useless and frustrating to say the least. It doesn't remove stain very well and it causes alkaline burns on skin. It didn't work in my garden sprayer because it's too thick. The directions state to use a roller or a brush. Follow these directions only if your wearing a hazmat suit as alkaline burns will occur. So if you have a week to strip your small deck, have a hazmat suit, and want to repeat the process several times then buy this junk. Save yourself the hassle and buy restore a deck the FIRST time. Home Depot will lose most of my business since I can never seem to find a quality product…
Using Behr #64 to remove old deck stain. Very poor results. It takes 4 applications in some areas and still do not have the stain removed. Home Depot recommended this product so I am very unhappy with HD and Behr. Plan on using a lot of water and a lot of remover to achieve even poor results.
Behr wood stain and finish stripper # 64. This product is not good. I tried this product to remove ols paints as per the instruction. I waisted my whole day. I will never recommend this product to any one. MM.
I will not use Behr again…I was a loyal customer for years, but they must have changed something…same results on my deck with peeling after the first year and now I can't get the rest of the stain off….their strippers do not work….and in fact stay embedded in the wood and deter future applications of stains…I am going to let mine sit as is for a year to allow the stripping agent time to leach out of my deck boards…baaaad experience!
This is a terrible product, barely works as noted above. Followed all the directions and I am really disappointed in Home Depot and Behr for promoting such a useless product. Avoid Behr for deck stains and the resultant need to strip off their product that fails in just a few years.
I see all of these negative comments and I can<t believe it. I used Behr Stripper then the Cleaner and my deck is ready to go! I'm just trying to decide which type of Behr stain to use. I always read the reviews but once in a while I take a chance. It worked well for me.
I would not use any Behr stain unless you are okay with heavy peeling.
Wow, I really appreciate reading everyone's comments. Last summer, we used Behr Semi Transparent Weather Proofing Wood Stain and this year, you would not even know that we did. Our cedar deck is only three years old. With the way the peeling stain looks this spring, you'd think it was about 25 years old. Our situation seems to be much the same as yours, Elvy. Behr is sending us reimbursement for the four cans we purchased, but it is the time that it will now take us to get this problem fixed.
Does not work well.
I also purchased this product and it did not work. I was positively not happy with the results. Said it would work in 5 to 45 minutes and should wash off easily with pressure from garden hose. I think all I did was run up my water bill as it took forever just to clean one area of the deck and it still did not look ready to refinish. I wish I would have seen these reviews before I bought it.
I purchased the product to remove lacquer from cedar garage doors. It did not work well and I would NOT recommend the product.
Jonathan, no deck stain or wood strippers will remove a lacquer well. You would need a methylene chloride based furniture type stripper. Not fun the work with.
We used the top Behr solid stain on the deck and followed all the directives first re. stripping and cleaning, allowing for thorough drying and finally applying the stain in idea conditions. By the next summer, large strips of stain were coming off the deck. We contacted Behr and they said they would pay for the product but the work was our concern. This spring we did a thorough cleaning of the deck during which another 4O% of the stain came off, let the deck dry and then applied the stain remover, waited the full 45 min. keeping the deck moist with a fine spray on a cloudy day. I used a scrubbing brush and none of the product came off the deck. I phoned Behr and he suggested giving the product a thorough mixing so will try that again but am at this point very disappointed in the products and the phenomenal amount of work trying to deal with a failed product. If I have any luck at all next try–I will leave comment.
I had the same problem. Multiple applications and then I applied bleach and sanded to remove old deck stain.
This product did not work. Claims to work in 5-45 minutes. I had to leave it on and reapply for three hours before I noticed ANY change. When all was said and done only about 10% of the deck was stripped. Wasted my whole afternoon.