This post was updated on June 22, 2024
Hi, I am Scott Paul, a leading exterior restoration contractor and business owner with over 30 years of experience in exterior wood cleaning. My HD80 review is based on my history as a wood restoration contractor and actual hands-on testing, all designed to present you with the top deck stain choices. See here for more info about me.
HD80 Deck Stripper Ratings (1-10)
HD80 Stripper Review
Removal of Graying, Dirt, Grime: 9
– HD80 as with most stains stripper scores exceptionally well when it comes to the removal of dirt, grime, and mold.
How I Rated HD80
My HD80 review contains a 4-step process and the final average score. Each step is on a scale of 1-10.
- Cost Per Square Foot
- Removal of Old Stain
- Ease of Application
- Final Appearance after Cleaning
- HD80 Final Score
5-Step Review of HD80 Stripper
1. Cost Per Square Foot: 8
Scores very well when it comes to cost-effectiveness. One container of stripper sells for $39.99 and makes 5 liquid gallons. This translates to about $7 per liquid gallon. Each gallon covers 150 square feet.
2. Removal of Old Stain: 7
HD80 contains a mixture of sodium hydroxide and surfactants. When stripping the Olympic deck stain, the HD80 had little trouble. The coating was softened to the point that light agitation removed the Olympic. A small test on a difficult-to-remove acrylic stain (Behr) showed adequate results. The HD80 darkened the wood considerably, but the use of its sister product (Citralic Wood Brightener) reversed the darkening and significantly lightened the wood.
3. Ease of Application: 7
– HD80 is a very strong formula; special care must be taken when mixing the powder with water. It is important to wear protective gloves and eyewear. If any of the HD80 gets on your skin, rinse immediately. Once the powder had dissolved in the water, the Hd80 was easily applied with a pump sprayer. Coverage was better than average at 150 square feet per gallon.
4. Final Appearance of Stripping: 7.7
The Olympic semi-transparent stain was 70-80% removed when done. A few small areas of unexposed stain did not come off.
Overall Score HD80: 7.75
HD80 gets a better-than-average score for a deck stain stripper. Its low cost allows for repeated applications if necessary for difficult stain removal.
Product Information:
Where To Buy: Select Stores or Online
Product Type: Powdered Concentrate Deck Stain Stripper
Available Sizes: 2 Pound Container Makes 5 Liquid Gallons
Application Temperature: 45-95 F
Coverage Per Gallon: 100-200 sq. ft
Application Tools: Scrub Brush, Pump Sprayer
Manufacturer: Extreme Solutions
Test Deck Stats:
Deck Wood Type: Pressure Treated Pine
Deck Square Footage: 400
The condition of Deck: Heavily worn Olympic Oil-Based Semi-Transparent Deck Stain
How Much Product Used: 2 Pounds. Retails for $44.99.
*All products tested and results are from our experience. We offer no guarantee of similar results. Consider that results may differ due to different wood types, exposure to UV radiation, and natural weathering.
The Best Deck Strippers Video – DeckStainHelp.com
How long should you let it dwell?
20 Minutes.
It there a MSDS fo HD80 stripper?
Check with the manufacturer.
Do you have a MSDS for HD80 stripper?
Check with the manufacturer.
Unfortunately, this stuff does not work on peeling solid stain. Kept it wet for > 15 min section, scrubbed the boards, and used pressure washer on low power. Even tried double treating several sections, still failed. Only removed about 25% of stain. Big fat waste of time that cost me $50. I need to find a new product to finish cleaning my nasty looking deck. Any suggestions?
Stain strippers will not remove solid stains effectively. You will need to sand it off.
Do you think this product would work better than restore a deck stripper to remove sikkens srd?
Not better.
Help! We have a western red cedar home and deck and have 2 coats of Olympic Maximum semi transparent stain on it from 2007. Some of the stain has turned black. We have just attempted to strip a small part of our siding using Restore a Deck stripper and after 2 attempts, it’s just not coming off that easily ..including scrubbing. We are concerned as we have a huge – nearly 3 story high wall to do that has a lot of black on it. (we have an entire house but it’s not blackened by the sun exposure) We just need to know if we should switch strippers? I didn’t buy a different brand? I didn’t buy a lot of Restore a Deck – just a few bags to try. Should we try this one instead? Thanks
This stripper will not work any better than the RAD Stripper. The RAD or this HD80 will remove the Olympic. It might be your technique that is the issue rather than the stripper. In addition, verticals are going to be harder as the stripper will run down the wall. Try smaller sections at a time. Really saturate the wall with the stripper. Make sure and pressure wash so you are perpendicular to the wall. Swing the wand like a pendulum getting slightly closer to the wood as needed to remove the coating.
Thank you
Used BM Arborecoat semi-trans 3 yrs ago – it’s flaking off in full sun areas and stuck on in shady areas. 1150 sf deck so working in sections. I’ve cleaned, power washed and just re-stained a section with original product in different color- It looks like plastic to me. Q1: can I use this product on 20 yo cedar to removed the original stuck on stain? Q2: can I use it to remove newly applied stain I just applied this week so I can re-stain with one of the superior quality products I’ve been reading about on this great forum. Q3: if I get everything free of old stain and then run out of good weather (we know what’s coming) would it hurt the deck to leave it totally untreated until the spring? Thank you for your suggestions.
Tina
The BM Arborcoat cannot be stripped off. You will need to power sand to remove it. You can leave it untreated for one Winter.
I used this to strip my massive wrap around deck and it made it so much easier. It works great on semi solid stain. pretty much came off like butter. we applied, kept the product wet with product during the 15 minutes. on some sections i would let it sit longer. Used the pressure washer.
will this hurt vinyl siding
It shouldn’t.
A berettine oil based wood treatment was applied over some dirty footprints. Will hd80 remove the wood treatment oil? Thanks
Not sure on this. I would suggest contacting the manufacturer for help.
I just stained my 5yr old deck with Cabot Gold Fireside Cherry. The color looks terrible next to my house. Will the HD80 remove the new stain?
Really depends on the \”type\” of stain that the Cabot was. It is also much more difficult to remove a newly applied stain compared to a weathered stain.
Do you have to use a pressure washer with this product to remove the old stain once it has been applied or can you use a regular water hose?
Best to use a pressure washer.
I believe the best way to do this is with a nylon brush and actual work. The PW can easily damage cedar, as this product softens the wood as it works. They manufacturer states 1000PSI, but then this depends on what size nozzle. A garden hose is at 50PSI or so.
Just do the work. This stuff works pretty good.
We also have a 20 year old deck with a solid stain on both horizontal and vertical surfaces. I see how to remove the horizontal stain from response to RWS. I already wanted a two toned deck but want the color of the rails to be white; a brick color is on now. Can we just apply the white solid stain over what's left of the brick solid stain?
Yes but you may need 2-3 coats to cover.
Any opinion on the newer EFC 38 from Woodrich? I'm guessing it was developed to be a "mild stripper" — one that's more eco friendly than the venerable HD-80. (Unsure though if "milder" means less powerful, or just less harsh….? I'm reading conflicting guidance on whether EFC 38 requires a "brightener" afterwards.) Have need to remove CWF-UV cedar semi-transparent from several years ago — that went on too dark. (thought I was putting on "tinted toner" — but apparently not)
EFC-38 is more of a cleaner then s tripper. To remove the CWF you will need to HD-80. Neutralize with the Citralic they sell.
Will most deck cleaners neutralize different types of strippers? Been using a big box store brand stripper which is quite expensive and still have rails and residual deck stain to remove. I would like to use a more efficient and economical stripper like HD 80.
Deck Cleaners do not neutralize strippers. Deck Brighteners do and most should work but some are better then others.
I have a deck in which the previous dunderheads apparently used acrylic latex paint. Very strong NaOH in water pumpsprayer (4 lbs NaOH dissolved in 2 gallons) will not really take it off. What can I use? Thanks.
You will have to sand it off. Deck stain strippers will not remove a latex paint.
We always stripped decks with sodium hydroxide, let it do it's work for 30 minutes or so, then pressure wash it off. The pressure washing dilutes it to such an extent it's no longer aproblem
Has anyone tried this with Rustoleum Deck Restore latex paint? We this dark brown paint on our deck that is peeling & need something we can use to strip it easily.
No this will not remove this product. No deck stain stripper will. You will have to sand and or scrape it off.
Also is 2lbs enough for a large 2nd story deck with a staircase to the ground level?
Depends on the total sq. footage.
Hello,
I am taking on the project of restoring a 20 year old deck. I believe it is made of pressure treated pine. The current stain is a red/brown solid stain that was applied ~5- 7 years ago. I am a new home owner, and looking to completely remove all of this stain so that I can apply one of the highly recommended stains on this site. Upon looking up HD80, I see that it is contractor grade and it is not recommended for shipment to homeowners. Assuming that I follow instructions, use common sense and safety precautions, is there any reason that I should not purchase this product?
Also, my general plan of attack is:
1. Use a grinder with a wire brush attachment across the whole surface of the deck.
2. Use a stripper, HD80 and power washer to remove.
3. Sand the deck with a belt sander.
4. Apply a new stain.
Any flaws in my plan or other helpful recommendations?
Also, this site is awesome, thank you for the amazing amount of information that has been posted already!
RWS, this stripper or any stripper will not remove a solid stain very well. This is what you should do.
1. Do not grind. Score surface first with sanding to allow the HD80 to penetrate into the wood grain.
2. Use stripper to remove as much as possibly from the deck.
3. Sand the rest off.
You might really want to consider a two toned deck as getting off the floor is not that hard but removing from rails is very difficult. Please read this: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/advantages-to-having…
Thank you for the insight and guidance! Much appreciated!
Where can we find HD8o stripper in Amarillo, Texas?
I would check with the manufacturer.
The HD-80 does a great job stripping old stains including oil-based ones but we have found that it leave the wood surface with a significant amount of 'fuzzies' that need to be sanded. This especially happens on teak furniture. Can this be avoided so not as much sanding is required after stripping?
Drew, stain stripper work by softening the wood cells where the stain is attached to, allowing the stain to be removed. A side affect is you will sometimes get fuzzies. This is normal with any stain stripper and certain woods will show this more. To minimize you can:
1. Use weaker concentrations for easier strip jobs
2. Use a wood brightener as soon as possible to neutralize the caustic of the stripper, reducing the chance of the fuzzies.
3. Lightly buff the flooring with a sanding pad to remove the fuzzies.
Hope that helps some.
Need your help. It was cobat clear natural stain (oil based) on my deck in 5 years ago. I believed my deck is about 23 years old and good condition. I have been sanding, cleaner and then brightener. So I looked at my deck which I thought it was done. But I noticed when the rain come down and then the water beaded still there. I'm surprise to see the deck is not absorbed the water ( in some area). What should I do?
Fran, not sure why it would be beading. It may be that you over sanded the wood and now it the water cannot penetrate. You may need to let it weather for a couple of months than clean and brighten again.
Should I use remover stain( can't see stain)? Or should I show u the images when u able to give me some answers? Where should I upload?
You can upload photos in the forum.
Kathy, try cleaning off the white with a deck cleaner and a light pressure wash. Use a brightener when done.
Update: My contractor just finished stripping and brightening our back deck using the HD-80 & Citalic kit from Woodrich. He never used this product before but I think he will for now on. He said they both worked great! Here is a link to before/after photos. Note the "after" photo is before staining but after using the stripper & brightener/neutralizer. If link below is not "clickable" you'll have to copy & paste into your browser.
RJ, he did a great job with the prep!
We thought so as well. Oh…I just uploaded a new photo to that link I posted above. The deck is now stained using Armstrong-Clark's Rustic Brown in semi-transparent. Not too shabby I believe.
Thanks so much for the pics! This is exactly what we are going to do with our deck.
Agree with Sally. Order it from the woodrich-brand site. Good price and free shipping. I got the "Kit #2" which is the HD-80 stripper along with their Citralic Brightener/Neutralizer. Forty nine bucks shipped.
I have used HD80 for removal of Sikkens Dek. It works well. Deck and porch have had multiple coats so it does take some time. I order it direct from Woodrich. They have excellent customer service. I have called and gotten very detailed info about the product.
The only Behr product that is worth anything is the Behr stripper, which was our stripper of choice until we found HD-80. HD-80 removes Sherwin Williams Semi-Trans (which is more like a semi-solid), so I would imagine it would do a pretty decent job removing the Behr acrylic.
Larry, what brand or type of stain are you trying to remove?
Ditto for us too. The Behr product is horrible and the stripper doesn't work.
Brad, I have the same question. The Behr product is awful and needs to come off. Hope someone can help us both.
Has anyone tried HD-80 on Behr acrylic stain? We made the mistake of using the acrylic semi transparent last august and this spring a massive amount of the stain on the flat boards had flaked off after the snow melted. I just tried the Behr stripper this weekend and also the Benjamin Moore stripper today and neither of them worked very well at all, even with LOTS of scrubbing. I have a huge deck that I built around my pool that I need to fix, so I need to find a stripping solution that won't take forever, it's about 1000 sq ft.
I also had poor results with Behr (high priced) acrylic deck treatment. I have stripped my 1500 sq ft deck and reapplied One-time Wood preserver. I hope for better results. I used the One-time Wood stripper – it did a credible job of removing the Behr acrylic stain. I had to a minimal amount of sanding to remove the Behr stain in a few areas where it was applied very thick and the areas were not exposed.
Hi,
Is there a local store near DC or Baltimore I can buy HD-80? Please let me know. Thanks.
I do not believe there is a dealer in your area.
Is this hd80 produced by Woodrich Brand? I'm trying to find out the exact brand name and am running into confusion.
Thanks!.
Ryan, yes it is.
where retail stores carry HD-80?
I DECIDED WEEK AGO FROM MY RESEARCH NOT TO USE ANY OF THESE Restore PRODUCTS. My deck was painted dark brown (when purchased home) It is like a paint. Took on big job of flipping all boards. BIG JOB! After washing, bleaching, pressure washing again. Applied TWS with garden sprayer. Unfortunately mixed part of can newer protection with older product. Didn't realize one was water base and older stuff was not smelled differently. Like turpentine. What a mess. Now on search to find best product to remove. Wrote to TWS. They gave me a list of products I could use. Theirs was only one found would take off both water and other based sealer .Could not find at HD or Lowes. Found this site tonight.. Did buy JOMAX by Zinsser (read reviews – mixed) Will try to find or order HD-80. Then must try to find best sealer. After all this wk. want to get what will work. how did this wk for you? what did u use after it. Did u use brightener? 71 yr young female with 1080 sq feet to flip.. Only put my concoction on 400 sq ft I live in Fl. Where did you find HD-80? Thanks Yes this is great site.
HD80 can be found online.
To have gone through flipping the boards & then to discover you'd applied oil/water gunk, must be something else. Good for you for not engaging in paint rage.Nice to keep learning too. How did you solve it?
I wouldn’t recommend flipping the boards. Deck boards aren’t flat because of the way wood grows and boards are cut. If the deck was properly installed, they are convex on the surface and will shed water. Flipping them makes them concave and they will collect water in the center of the board. This will stain them as the collected rain water evaporates, keep them wet and promote rot and insects.
[…] and stain strippers. Manufactured by Extreme Solutions, Citralic works with EFC-38 Wood Cleaner and HD80 Stain Stripper but can be used to with any wood cleaner or stain stripper. Citralic is a professional grade wood […]