Best Deck Prep? Clean, Strip, or Sand the Deck? 4.8/5 (5)

Trying to find one of the cleaners you recommended.
Would have to order your top 3.
Want to get started today
You seem to like the Flood Brand.
How about their wood cleaner?
I also see Thompson, Cabot,
Thanks!
This is for a new deck. I’ve waited a couple months now. I was going to sand but you recommended not to.

Have a 15 year old balcony in decent shape. Location is Baltimore County Maryland. Had it power washed about 5 years ago and applied TWP oil based stain. Want to use the TWP product again but questioning whether to power wash, stripping/brightening, or just cleaning/brightening. Concerned about plant life below the balcony.

My 2000 sq ft deck is a mess. Brand new deck that I let cure for one year and followed the Behr directions to a T in prep and application. The semi transparent deck stain started to peel after year one. Also lots of mildew. It was tacky forever after application. Vertical boards seem to be ok and I have a covered porch area that is also fine with no peeling. I have power washed and will apply the Behr cleaner…I would like to use a different product this time but because the deck wraps all the way around my house and the vertical boards are all ok it would save a LOT of time if I could just reapply what was on there. I do not want to strip and sand everything off. Ugh. Any suggestions? FYI – Behr paid me $5000 for ruining my deck. I had to sign an agreement that I would not sue them later. Lol.

Also of note – The house is in the woods by a lake…so the deck is in the shade most of the day and we live in Ohio. I am not sure that any stain will work well.

What is the best way to remove mill glaze on new Douglas fir deck?

Really appreciate all the time you’ve put into this web site. Wish I had discovered it before having stain issues!

Brand new deck in spring 2016. Sanded, cleaned, stained with Olympic Maximum semi-trans in fall 2016. Stain failed miserably within 18 months. Reapplied in fall 2018 following same steps and failed within 6 months! Planning to now do probably with your well-rated Restore-A-Deck. Want to be sure I do it right so it doesn’t fail again!
1) Wood is now 3 years old
2) Yes – Has partially failed coatings of Olympic Maximum
3) Switching brands
4) Olympic Maximum water-based Semi-transparent in Caramel
5) water-based semi-transparent
6) no mold or mildew
7)Reason for previous failure – product formulation

What do I need to do for prep this time? Want to stay with semi-transparent stain and as close in color to the Olympic Caramel as I can. I’m thinking the Light Walnut for Restore-A-Deck. Pictures attached are of the above mentioned deck as it looks now.

Also, have 2 other decks that are 20+ years old that have been stained maybe every 6 years with Olympic Maximum BEFORE it became water-based. These have had no problems at all and have held up well & look good. But it’s now coming up on time to re-stain and I definitely do not want to use Olympic Maximum again after this last fiasco! Current color is still good on these but they are not repelling water like they used to. Would a clear waterproofing product be best? What about for future applications? Suggestions?
Thank you!
Sandy

Older deck in a heavily shaded area. I am not certain if any protection was applied by the previous owner. Definitely has mold/mildew issues. Boards were fastened with nails and I have some ‘pops’ as well. Appreciate the guidance.

1. old wood
2 yes I think Super deck semi transparent
3. New not sure which one
4. Super Deck
5 oil base
6 mild mildew
We are currently redoing our deck. We will be adding new wood and saving some of the old wood. The new wood is Western cedar which we have cut and milled from dead trees on our land and the old is Port Orford cedar.
The first picture is of part of the deck that is badly damaged and will be replaced, second picture is the part of the deck that is covered and in good condition and the third is some of the deck that I have applied stain stripper to and I am waiting for it to dry.

My main question is since we are combining the two different woods as well as using some old and new woods together, should i stain the deck with a solid stain to get more consistency or would I be able to use a semi transparent? What steps should I take to prepare the deck. Thank you so much

So I cleaned and brightened my deck to prep for stain a week ago only to open my leftover can of stain and find that it was now jelly (lessons were learned). I am now waiting for some new TWP 100 to arrive. In the interim I have kept my deck sealed off from people and dogs walking on it, to try to keep it somewhat clean. I’m not sure how soon the weather will allow me to stain once my stain arrives. If my deck has been kept clean would I need to re-clean and brighten again before staining? How much time can elapse between cleaning and staining? Thanks. Obviously going for best results here.

1.) Deck was built new in July of 2015. Southern Yellow Pine
2.) Yes, applied in 2015
3.) I am staying with the same brand as used previously for the sake of simplicity.
4.) Olympic
5.) Stain + sealant in semi transparent red. Acrylic water based
6.). Yes both in various parts of the deck. Not terribly infested with either but it is here. The deck does not get a bunch of sunlight. Only sporadically throughout the day.
7.) It lasted longer than I expected. It is currently almost 4 years old.

I am scheduled to get it restained in July. Would cleaning it with a power washer and a bleach solution be sufficient prior to applying the same stain as used before? Should I reuse semi transparent or go solid?

What a great site, thanks for all your work.
I have a one year old pine deck that was originally stained with Sherwin Williams SuperDeck SemiTransparent stain. It has a lot of mud stains that will not fully come off with pressure washing with water so I was going to restain with the same Sherwin Williams stain mentioned above.
Should I just pressure wash and apply a new coat of stain?
If I use a mild cleaner/brightener like the Behr Premium All in one deck cleaner would it remove the original stain?
Would you recommend another product for a situation like this- where only a light cleaning/brightening is necessary?
I would rather not take the deck down to bare wood.

This semi-transparent stain (Sherwin williams) was applied 3 years ago on a 10 year old deck. Going with a darker semi-solid color (differnet brand) this year. Should I sand this old stain off, strip it, or can I just apply the darker semi-solid stain over it?

Great forum, thanks for the work behind it.

I have an older deck, which I stained with a semi-transparent Behr stain 4 years ago. To prep for new stain, I cleaned and power washed a portion of the deck, as shown in the first photo. I still have a lot of deck to go; the second photo shows the green grime. A few questions:
– should I stop power washing and strip, brighten and stain? Or keep washing then strip?
– can I use another product? I’d like to get away from the Behr semi-transparent product as it didn’t hold well. If so, must I stick with semi-transparent?

Thanks,

New Wood or Older Wood? 1 year old cedar deck
Does the Deck have a Current Coating? Thompson’s water seal
Are you Switching Brands of Deck Stain or Applying a Maintenance Coat of the same Brand and Color? Switching brand of stain
Deck Stain Brand Previously Used? Only Thompson’s water seal has been applied.
What is the Current Deck Stain Type? Oil-based or Water-Based? Clear, Transparent, Semi-Transparent, Semi-Solid, or Solid Stain? See above
Mold or Mildew Issues? No
Reason for Previous Stain Failure? N/A
You Must Include Picture(s) of the Current Condition

We have a large 2 year old cedar deck with Cabot clear protector. Most of the clear coat on the lower level appears to be gone (especially where we manually scrubbed berry stain in a large section using Dawn dishwashing detergent) but under a covered area it’s not. Water does not bead up on any of the deck. We’re wanting to use PPG ProLuxe CETOL SRD transparent stain this time. Do we need to use a stripper first? Or maybe just sand? And, if we use a stripper, do we need to use a cleaner or just a brightener? We’ve been told both ways about using a cleaner after the stripper. We’re considering using Penofin stripper, cleaner, brightener since we can purchase it locally. Opinions on Penofin, please.

Your opinions are appreciated.

I live in the Chicago area and have a 4 year old cedar deck I stained with TWP 1501 Cedartone after waiting 6 months. 2 years later all the horizontal surfaces were worn and I had black mold. I power washed and prepped with RAD stripper and brightener and restained with TWP. Now it looks terrible again so wondering the best way to prep and whether I should switch to the top rated water based RAD or Defy or should stick with TWP. With all the great reviews of TWP, was surprised that it didn’t hold up well. The vertical surfaces are doing better than the horizontal, but I can see mold so probably should be restained at some point. My yard is heavily wooded so the deck gets a limited amount of morning sun. Appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Hi. I was planning to stain my deck, so I cleaned and power washed it. Then I realized I needed to replace a few board, including the handrails. From everything I read I need to wait before staining the new pre-treated boards, but I am concerned with the fact I have already power washed everything. My deck is really old, 25 years. I feel like it would not be good to leave these older boards unprotected very long. How should I handle this situation? Do I stain the old boards and wait to stain the new boards in a few months, or is it okay to wait several months before doing it all at once…..meaning the old boards will be okay?

Also, please give me more information on the brightening product you mentioned. Is this an additional step and product then just power washing my deck? How is it applied, etc.

Lastly, what thoughts do you have on using fillers for cracks in the wood? Is this advisable?

Thank you for the help!

1. older wood, 10+ years
2. Cannot see any sign of current coating
3. Yes, not sure what to, would like a semi transparent
4. Behr weather proofing woodfinish
5. oil based
6. Mold in one place where deck meets siding
7. Age, just looks grey

I live in Chicago, deck is on roof so mostly gets full sun.
I’d like to know what you suggest for prep and type of stain.
Thank you

We are trying to get our fence in shape to stain it. It’s about 2 – 3 years old, never been stained. We have power washed it and scrubbed and bleached and scrubbed the bottom and the algae and mold continue to be there. My goal is to keep the fence up and functional for as long as we can. Is it imperative for us to remove the mold and algae? I am thinking so; it’s just been so much work thus far! After reading here, it sounds as if sanding may be our only option. These stains are just above ground level. We will take any advise you can give us. Thanks in advance!

Hey, bought a house in the autumn and looking to rejuvenate the deck. We’re in the process of jet washing but it looks very tired and there’s still some paint/stain left, especially in the grooves.

Just wondering what to do next, whether it’s worth applying any stripper or cleaner or whether to crack on with treating it.

Also whether we’d be best using oil or stain (we’re in the UK for the record).

We used RAD stripper and have leftover RAD water. Can you tell me how we should dispose of that?

Hi. Great site!
I am looking to help a friend refinish his deck. We were planning to reuse the same product that his son put on three years ago, but after I read the review on here, I’m thinking we should go a different route. The horizontal surfaces are extremely worn. The vertical railings/balusters are not too bad. Should we use the RAD stripper with additives on everything, and resort to sanding the horizontal surfaces if need be to get old coating 100% off? Or can RAD solid surface be applied over any remaining old stain that doesn’t come off with stripper and power washing? Is a brightener required for the RAD solid surface product, or does that only apply when using a transparent stain? Is it better to try and utilize a transparent stain rather than go back to a solid color stain, to improve wear and tear, and to simplify future refinishing? We really don’t want to have to sand all of the railings and balusters in order to switch products, but original is a redwood color, and RAD does not have that available. Would one of the darker RAD solid colors effectively hide the redwood if we don’t sand the vertical surfaces? Thanks for any help!
1) older pressure treated wood (appox 9 years old)
2)current coating is 3 years old
3)looking to switch to a better option
4) BEHR solid color all-in-one wood stain and sealer
5)100% acrylic solid stain
6)minor near where bushes overhang
7)wear and tear is some of it, but seems excessive for only a few years
8) sorry for lack of pics. I only took a couple for color reference when measuring deck the other day. One is a post, showing vertical surface isn’t too bad.

I bought a house in upstate NY in Aug ’18. The deck wasn’t in horrible shape when I moved in but after the winter it has started to peel fairly bad. I think the previous owner threw a quick coat of stain on before selling the house and didn’t prep the wood (can’t blame him).

1. Old wood
2. Yes
3. Switching brands
4. Previously finished in Olympic Elite
5. Water based, semi-transparent
6. Yes, but not too bad
7. Unsure, likely poor prep by previous home owner

I’m assuming the steps will be strip, dry, sand, brighten, dry, and stain. Is the sanding step always needed or is it a case-by-case basis? Also, the weather doesn’t always cooperate where I live… if there is rain in between a step will that cause any issue?

Looking to get rid of failed solid stain (last years) and planning strip and sand. Finding a bout of nice enough weather up here to finish the job in a single shot is next to impossible. Is it ok to strip and sand and then allow to get rained on, or will I just need to sand again? Thanks.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this awesome site!

I’m in western NC and have a lot of deck space: largest on the SE side, with 2/3 of it getting full sun; small one on the NE side which gets sun in the morning; and a small one on the SW side which is mostly shaded. They’re all on the second level, so there are also about 15 steps – which are on the NE side. I’m pretty certain it’s all PT pine. It’s been fairly well maintained but was NOT properly prepped in the past prior to being stained.

Answers to your questions:
1) 15 years old
2) Yes, but it varies tremendously from almost none on the SE side to almost new under the doormat on the NE side.
3) I plan to use the TWP 100.
4 & 5) Last couple of times: Olympic Wood Protector / Sealant / Clear – which I’m pretty sure is oil based; prior to that I don’t know other than that it was semi-transparent.
6) Some but not extensive
7) I can’t say that it failed, just that it’s been two years and the horizontal surfaces need a new coat.

Now my questions:

1) For the HORIZONTAL surfaces, I plan to use RAD stripper then citric acid (want to avoid oxalic acid for environmental reasons). Would those be the proper steps?

2) For the VERTICAL surfaces, they are in pretty good shape so only need a good cleaning. Would using sodium percarbonate on them damage the coating that’s there? Would I need to follow with citric acid if I’m not staining, or would just the SP be OK?

Again, thanks a million!

My question, have a 16 year old cedar deck that was never stained (left natural by original owner). About four years ago used Home Depot Deck Over thinking it would be best for this older, weathered deck. It looked good for less than 2 years, started peeling, etc. and still is today. This year wish to upgrade this surface but this time with either a oil based or water based stain. Unsure if I should use a solid or semi-transparent stain. Live in the Spokane, WA area, hot sun in summer (deck faces South) and heavy snows in winter and cold temperatures. What would you recommend, starting with stripping this deck, will it need a cleaner, etc. I have access to a power washer and was thinking of using it to clear the old Deck Over as it is easily peeling all over. Deck size is (1) 12 X 44 and lower deck is 10.5 X 14.5. Thank you for any help, ideas, etc. PS I will replace a few worn out and rotted boards, most of the decking cedar appears to still be in good condition.

My question is:
– If I replace only a portion of the decking, when it comes time to stain, can I just use Stripper/Brightener on the entire deck, or would I need to treat the old and new boards differently?

Below are my answers to your 8 questions above:
1 – Older, assumed based on condition
2 – Yes
3 – Unknown what they use; planning on using Restore-A-Deck, per your recommendations
4 – Unknown
5 – Not sure if oil or water, but it is semi-transparent, a medium to darker tint
6 – There is some algae/green in the crevices of the railing; assume that will be taken care of with the stripper/brightener
7 – While aged, the previous stain is acceptable, but some of the boards are rotting; stain was potentially applied in order to sell with wood already in a compromised state
8 – See pictures below

We have a cedar pergola that we purchased from Costco years ago. It had gotten very gray and weathered so I sanded and stained it with Thompson’s water seal in the fall of 2017. It was peeling a nasty within weeks! It continued to get worse over the course of the past year. We power washed it a couple of weeks ago and most of the Thompson’s came off easily. There are a few surfaces that are hard to reach that still have a little bit of the stain on them. I have been trying to sand it all off, but it is difficult to get it all. Would it be better to use a stripper on it instead or should I just try to power wash it more? Also, after that do I need to use a brightener ? This thing is such a pain to stain. I want to do it right so it lasts as long as possible! I live in Utah so we get both really hot and cold weather. Which product would you recommend using on it?

We have a cedar deck that is 3 years old and we haven’t re applied a stain since we built it. We used a Sikkens deck stain and it looked good initially, but after about 3-6 months, it started to dry out. We are in Moab, UT so we get A LOT of sun! We want something better. After looking on your site we think that the Armstrong Clark is the way to go. We don’t want to change the color of it by going with a darker pigmentation of stain. Is the Armstrong Clark the best option for us? Do we need to sand before re applying? Then go with a deck cleaner/brightener? What would be the step process for that? Thanks!

We stained our large deck in Oct 2018 with Behr premium solid color waterproofing stain and sealer. No rain predicted but it did as we finished the project. We watched in horror as blue and white puddles formed on our 30 year old pressure treated cedar deck and benches. Due to weather and life interfering, , we are only now facing what to do with this deck, short of replacing it. Please let us know what we need to do. Thanks so much

Please help with my deck disaster!

1. 2 years old cedar
2. Yes
3. Want to remove the coating
4. Behr Deckover
5. Supposed to last 5 years. Solid paint type coating.
6. No mildew
7. Peeling bad

This product is terrible! Applied last year and it is peeling in chunks. What can I do to remove it? It makes me feel sick to my stomoch when I look at it!

Hello,

1. 10 years olf
2. Yes
3. I want to use the TWP 100 Series
4. Behr Stain from Home Depot
5. Water Based. Semi-Transparent
6. No mold
7. Peeled

Pictures attached.