How To Remove a Solid Deck Stain 2026
Thank you for your feedback and support at DeckStainHelp.com! We’re proud to remain your trusted source for the latest in deck restoration news and trends through 2026. This updated article covers the challenging process of removing a solid deck stain. It can be tough, requiring time and patience, but with the right tools and guidance, it’s achievable. Have questions or insights? Feel free to share them in the comments below—I am here to help!
- Solid deck stains build up over time, causing peeling and adhesion issues that make complete removal necessary before recoating.
- Use a product like RAD PaintStrip Solid Stain Stripping Gel to emulsify the stain, then pressure wash at 1500 to 3000 psi.
- Power sand remaining stain using 60 to 80 grit sandpaper, starting with 60 grit to avoid closing the wood pores.
- Apply a deck brightener after stripping to restore the wood's natural pH and open pores for better stain penetration.
Peeling Solid Deck Stain
Help With Removing a Solid Deck Stain
Decks stained with a heavy pigmented or solid stain can be challenging to maintain over time. Solid deck stains function like paint, forming a protective film on the wood surface to guard against weather. However, as the years go by, regular cleaning and recoating become necessary. Eventually, the solid stain starts to build up, leading to adhesion issues that cause peeling and flaking.
To avoid these problems, it’s best to completely remove the solid stain and return the deck to bare wood. This approach not only resolves adhesion issues but also allows you the option to switch to a different type of deck stain. Keep in mind that removing a solid deck stain requires patience and effort, but the results are worth it in the long run.
To remove a solid deck stain you need to start with the RAD PaintStrip Solid Stain Stripping Gel Stain strippers contain aggressive ingredients to help break through and soften tough to remove deck stains. Once the stain begins to emulsify, it can then be pressure washed off.
RAD PaintStrip is eco-friendly, works fast (starts working within 5 minutes), and removes up to 5 layers of most paints in 30-45 minutes and up to 15 layers in 24 hours. Apply, and let the stripper work its magic. You can test the effectiveness by scraping paint off the surface down to the bare wood. Once it starts to lift easily with the scrapper, pressure wash it all off.
Pro Tip: The longer you let the RAD PaintStrip work, the easier it will be to pressure wash it off.
See Full Review: RAD PaintStrip Solid Stain Stripping Gel
| Image | Title | Price | Add to cart | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $69.99 | |||
 | $259.99 | |||
 | $24.99 |
More Info on Solid Stain or Paint Removal
Start by covering any nearby plants and landscaping. Put plastic and tape over windows and any areas that aren’t being stripped. Wear protective gloves and eyewear. Coat the deck with the stain remover in a uniform manner by applying it with a brush or a pump sprayer. Allow the product to remain wet on the wood for 10-15 minutes. For harder to remove solid stains longer dwell times may be necessary.
Once the solid stain begins to break loose from the wood surface, use a pressure washer at 1500-3000 psi to remove as much as the solid stain as possible. Reapply the stain stripper and repeat the process if stubborn areas remain. Rinse thoroughly.
It is very hard to remove all of a solid stain with a deck stain stripper. Once you remove as much as you can, let the wood dry and then power sand to remove the remaining solid stain. When power sanding your solid color deck stain, it is important to use the correct sanding grit on your deck. The recommended sanding grit is 60 to 80. This is because a higher grit could make the deck too smooth, and will close down the pores of the wood. Start with 60 grit paper and finish with 80 grit. Make sure to sand all wood evenly.
After you are satisfied with the results, applying a wood deck brightener is important. After the wood is stripped it will appear very dark in color. This is due to the caustic stripper raising the pH of the wood. This is the case with using a stain stripper or wood cleaner and is normal. To reverse this effect, apply an even coat of deck brightener to restore the wood’s natural color and pH levels to a more neutral state. This will enhance the grain and open the wood pores for better stain penetration. Rinse thoroughly.
Allow the deck to dry for a minimum of 48 hours before applying a new deck stain.
Have a Question? Ask Below
Pro Tip: The Best Stripper to remove a solid color deck stain is the RAD PaintStrip Solid Stain Stripping Gel
This is much easier than power sanding your deck.
Great article! If I apply the stripper, how would you suggest removing the stripper if I don’t own a power washer? Thank you
You need a pressure washer. There are not other viable options.
I have a large wrap around 10-year-old porch that was originally professionally prepped and stained with a solid stain that has been progressively peeling over the years. Many places we’ve pressure washed and repeated the solid stain but I see we’re losing the battle and I know I need to strip hand start all over with something that doesn’t peel. I know with work schedule I’m going to have to strip this in sections, my questions 1) can I work on stripping, sanding and neutralizing in sections then come back when I have time and do the stain all in one application? If so is there a time frame between the stripping/sanding / cleaning process and staining that I would need to redo possibly neutralize again right before I stain?
2) I just want to clarify what exact product you think would be the best for me to work on stripping, I know I’ll have to do some scraping and sanding
3) to avoid a solid stain look and peel is the TWP 100 Pro Series semi-solid oil scene the best that you would recommend?
I have a huge project ahead of me and won’t have to be doing this summer weekends and an evenings so your advice is greatly appreciated thank you
1. You can prep in sections. About 2 weeks is max before you should redo the cleaning.
2. You will need to power sand and or use a paint stripper like the RAD PaintStrip to get this off fully.
3. Yes, that would work for you.
Thank you
Which type of sander do you recommend for removing leftover dark stain? I am in the process of stripping and it’s turning out to be more difficult than I anticipated.
Thank you!
See some tips here: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-to-sand-your-wood-deck/
I just had most my deck replaced, leaving only the structural posts. In the past they’ve had solid or semi solid stain that I want to remove before applying stain to the new wood. (I know it’s not going to exactly match).
The contractor is going to stain the new wood. Since only the posts have the old stain on them, I was planning to remove it myself to save some $. He suggested just using a sander, but I keep reading about deck remover-brightener – and in this article, power washing. I was hoping it wouldn’t be this labor intensive. If he was just going to sand anyway, I could probably do that.
What are the drawbacks and advantages? Is it worth hiring a handyman to do it? (Assuming a handyman would charge less than a general contractor.)
The only way to remove a solid stain effectively is to sand it all off.
We have a 5 year old deck that had been previously coated with a transparent stain. We had it power washed and sanded. They put a solid stain on instead of a transparent one and it looks like paint. The wood grain is gone. It’s orange and terrible. Is it realistic to believe that it can be restored and refinished regardless of the time and effort?
You will have to sand it off if you want to get it down to bare wood. It can be done but it is a lot of work.
Thank you for responding. Even with detailed sanding will the screws and grooves between boards ever not be orange?
Only if you get it all out. Your other option is to use a solid stain that is more pleasing to you and cover what you have.
Can you recommend a deck stain stripper that will remove Behr solid color waterproofing stain and sealer from a wood deck? I tried Restore a Deck stripper with the Booster and Gel and it was totally ineffective. I read that Sunnyside Multi-Strip Advanced removes paint, stain, and other finishes. Are you familiar with that product? Thanks.
You cannot strip a solid stain fully. You will have to sand it off.
Thanks for getting back to me. Time to buy a sander.
Our deck has several coats of a solid stain that’s an orangey pink color. We applied a stripper (don’t recall which one) and power washed. We repeated the process. There was still quite a bit that didn’t come off. We then used a diamond brush and got most of it off. We’re going to sand it to get the rest off. Now my problem…How do we get the stain off between the boards? I tried to hand scrape it off with a putty knife when we used the stripper with little success. I’m at a loss what to do next. Thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice.
Thre is no effective way to get it off between the boards. Sorry.
Not exactly the answer I was hoping for but thanks for responding.
It is possible to remove. We used a 7inch polisher/sander. Try different grits until you find the one that works. It worked great! We have never refinished a deck before and had some stubborn solid stain. We managed to remove all of the previous stain.
I’ve got a deck with a light gray Cabot solid stain. I have improved my skills but apparently not enough as the peeling has started again 10 months after staining it the last time. Though I like the look of a solid stain, I’m ready to throw in the towel. How effective will the restore a deck stripper (with additives) be on this Cabot solid stain? Thanks for taking the time.
You cannot remove a solid stain effectively with any deck stain stripper. You can use the RAD stripper to remove the loose and peeling stain and then cover the rest with a new solid stain: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
We have a wrap around deck which last saw love in 2016 when we found a local company to come out to do the work. They put solid acrylic stain on it (Flood Pro Series), which at the time was sufficient since we cared more about getting it done fast since we were new homeowners and wanted something new looking, lol. Since then, the deck has been peeling for the past couple of years. We were about to start on it this week, but due to the 100+ California days, have decided to put it off until the fall when things cool off. After finding your site, we also see recommendations of waiting until it gets below 90.
We are looking for any suggestions as we plan to take on this project ourselves and this is our first time staining. We have approx. 900 square feet of Douglas fir deck, with pressure treated 4x4s that hold up aluminum railings.
Based on other suggestions we have seen, our current plan was to get RAD stripper (with additives) and brightener. Next would be to power wash. Hoping this is all we need to do (not sure if sanding is part of the process), we would then apply TWP 100 stain (currently like that Rustic color).
Couple of questions:
Do you think we will need to sand? If yes, should we rent a drum sander vs. belt sanding ourselves?
Will we need to strip twice, or is once sufficient?
How should we handle the 4×4 pressure treated railings?
Should we plan for 2 coats of stain?
Thanks!
-You can not strip a solid stain fully so yes, you will have to sand to get it all off. Best to see how much comes off with stripping to determine the equipment needed to sand.
-Depends on how much comes off with the first pass.
-You might want to do a two-toned deck if you cannot get the solid fully off the rails. See link below.
-Yes but the TWP 100 is not allowed in CA. You will need the TWP 1500 Series.
Link for Two toned deck tips:
https://www.deckstainhelp.com/why-have-a-two-toned-deck/
Our deck is stained in Behr semi-transparent stain, which is peeling. We have pressure washed the whole deck and used a stripper on half of the deck, but at least 50% remains on the area that was stripped and most stain remains in the area that was just pressure washed. We’re thinking of giving up with the stripper and sanding the whole thing. Then we would use a cleaner/brightener before staining. Would you advise a different method?
Also, if we get all this stain off, we’d probably want to use a different brand/type. This Behr stain has been a pain from the get go. Overall we prefer to be able to see the wood so we want to stay away from a solid if we can, but we want longevity, so if that means a solid, we’d do it. This isn’t a fun job. What stain would you recommend?
Last thing…our pergola has the same stain, but isn’t peeling. We’re thinking of painting it solid white. Would you recommend paint or stain? Brand? What prep would need to be done?
That’s a lot, but I would appreciate your input.
That would be best to remove it all if the stripper is not getting it all off.
Use a penetrating semi-transparent stain for best results. TWP, Armstrong Clark, Restore A Deck, etc.
Solid color deck stain for the pergola: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Thanks!! Can I go directly over the stain that’s on the pergola? Should I just prep it with a cleaner first? I really appreciate your input.
Pressure wash and remove any loose solid stain. You can cover over the rest with a new solid stain.
Perfect. Thanks for your help!!
What’s the best solid cover stain strippers
You cannot strip a solid stain effectively. You will need to power sand to get it all off.
Just put semi trans parent from cabot on today, totally hate it. I’m hearing just power wash it off, would it be that easy?
Also, I attempted to use a graco sprayer, and I saw where u had dipping and runs on my railing. I tried to brush them out, but it appears I didn’t get to it in time. Will that that most likely be noticeable?
Thinking of doing the extra work to clean it up and do it all over again, any advice is appreciated
You cannot just pressure wash it off. We would need to see some pictures here for help with removing.
I just stained my deck using a tinted solid stain. I don’t like how light the color turned out, can I apply a second coat with a slightly darker tint of solid stain? Will I need to do any further prep work?
You can do this now.
Hello,
Looking for some advice on how to treat my deck going forward to avoid “peeling.” 3 years ago, we painted over the old homeowners stain color with a Behr solid color waterproofing stain and sealer. It worked out well, but we notice peeling every year and have to touch it up. We are trying to avoid this peeling on a yearly basis and we’re wondering what you suggest doing before we recoat the deck again with this Behr product. We just power washed the deck last week, and I also have been using a wire brush to get up most of the loose wood fibers that keep peeling, but we weren’t sure if you suggest using a “paint or wood stain stripper/remover”? I see mixed reviews on these products, and some people just suggest power washing and sanding off as much as you can before recoating with the stain again. We have had multiple people tell us to just power wash, sand and recoat, and we have had others tell us to apply a deck stripper and then power wash, sand and recoat. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Pics are attached as well for reference too. Thank you for your help!
Deck stripper and then power wash, sand and recoat is probably your best option but not guarantee it will not happen again. Your main issue is that your base coat is the Behr, and it is just not a good brand. Only correct way to fix is to remove all and start over.
Do you recommend a certain deck stripper to remove the coats? We are getting mixed reviews from everyone on certain ones to buy.
Try the Restore A Deck Stripper with both additives and RAD Brightener after: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/restore-a-deck-stain-stripper-booster-thickening-gel-review/
Awesome! Thank you so much for your help! Ordering it now. We have been all over the place and have talked to so many people so I really appreciate your help!
Welcome!
Hello,
Quick question on the brightener/cleaner to neutralize the wood after stripping. We stripped/power washed most of the deck yesterday (it worked well on a solid stain actually after a few attempts of it), but we still have more to do today (couldn’t get it all done yesterday).
We plan to strip the remaining wood today, but we noticed that rain is in the forecast for the next two days. If we use the cleaner to neutralize the wood right after stripping, will we need to reapply the cleaner a few days after the rain is done to neutralize it again?
We just didn’t know if we needed to reapply a cleaner to the wood after it rained and before we stained the deck. Our plan was to strip, clean to neutralize, let it dry for a few days, and then stain it, but we didn’t know what your suggestion was now that it will rain for the next two days.
Thanks so much for your help!
-Ryan
You need the brightener to neutralize, not the cleaner. No need to re-clean or brighten again after rain.
Thanks, again for the help. We spent two days stripping as much as we could, power washed, and neutralized it yesterday when we were done. We weren’t able to get all of the old stain off, but we stripped as much as we could. See pics.
We had a couple more questions before we stain. We noticed that you included an article for best solid color stains (Restore-A-Deck, Defy, and Flood), but we were wondering if it will be ok if we switch to one of these brands with small amounts of the old brand still present? We plan to sand a bit more before staining, but expect to not be able to get everything off. We don’t want to use the Behr product anymore (since it is the main issue and isn’t that good), but we just wanted to know if it would be ok to color match our old Behr color to a new one with Defy or Flood and use the new stain on top of this after.
We just want to make sure it is ok to switch to one of these better brands with the same color to avoid some peeling down the line. Let me know what you think.
Pics are attached.
You can use a solid stain over this, just make sure none of the stain that is left is peeling. Any color you like will cover it. Does not have to be the same color.
Awesome! Thanks so much for the help. Is there any other solid stain that you would recommend or are the three in that article the best ones to go with?
Those are the best ones in our experience.
Hello. We have gotten wood stain on our non wood deck. Will these products work?
Send pictures.
Here is the deck
Deck
No, a deck stripper will not work. Not sure what will remove this.
I would like to remove the solid stain on top of my railings and floor and just go with a transparent one instead to give the deck a more natural look. How should I go about this?
Sand it all off.
My deck is 5 years old and has been finished twice with Cabot solid stain. Both times, it started to peel after 1 year and now 2 years after the second application, it is peeling off in sheets. It was power washed today and more “stain” came off but most of the deck is still just peeling. I want to refinish it with deck paint this time. How can I best prep the surface for paint? The “stain” has never actually stained the wood, it just sits on top of it and peels off to reveal bare wood.
You will need to sand it all off at this point to fix this deck. Paint for a deck is not a good idea, it will peel as well.
Thanks–it seems that sanding is the only answer in this forum, so I guess I should have expected that answer as well.
Three more questions. If solid stain or deck paint will both peel, what should I use? I hired someone to finish my deck, but he is concerned that there will not be enough good weather days in his schedule to strip, then stain or paint before winter. So, should I go ahead and sand it down now or leave the half-peeled stain on over winter and finish it in spring? Is it OK to leave the wood bare over a Wisconsin winter? My railings are “stained” solid white. They still look pretty good. Can I lightly sand and reapply the solid stain or paint over the stain, or do I need to totally strip those down as well?
You can sand now and then stain in the Spring after a good cleaning. It will be fine. A quality solid stain when prepped and applied correctly will not peel like a paint. You can cover the white solid stain with a new coating as long as the solid stain is intact and not peeling. Pressure wash for prep.
I used Wolman’s Extreme acrylic sealer on my deck 20 years ago. About 3 years ago, the man at Home Depot recommended Behr Deck Over to seal over the old Wolman’s without having to go through the entire process of stripping it. Now the Behr Deck Over is failing and it all needs to be stipped. Believe it or not, all but 2-3 deck boards are in decent condition & I think I can get another 5 years out of it before having to replace. I’ve begun the stripping process using a Behr acrylic sealer stripping product and pressure washer and it has done well to remove the top layer of the Deck Over, but I have sizable patches of the Wolman’s Extreme that are not budging. Any suggestions for something stronger than the Behr stripper? Or is there another method to strip the Wolman’s Extreme?
PS – I will NEVER use another acrylic based sealer again; lesson learned!
You will need to power sand it to remove it.
Hi have a deck that is about 10 years old The deck stain was restore by restore Liam I believe which I believe is an acrylic stain.. The floor of the deck had the restore acrylic with sand in it… well now after me owning the home it’s starting to peel and come off… I tried power washing and most of the railings Stripped right off which didn’t have the sand in it.. But as for the floor of the deck with the sand in the acrylic paint my pressure washer at 1300 psi won’t take it off… what can I put on the floor of the deck to peel the stuff up so I can pressure wash it off?
The only way to fix and remove is to power sand it all off.
I am currently replacing my deck floor, rails and stairs so that I can stain it with a semi-transparent brown. The brown replaces a solid red stain the previous owners had and I prefer to see the beauty of wood grain. Can I go over the posts and front decorative boards with a solid brown stain and have it stick or do I have to try to strip it all off? They are in great shape and not peeling. Thanks!
You can use a solid stain over your current solid stain. Pressure wash first. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Stripping semi transparent stains and power washing work pretty well. Strippers are acidic so neutralize after use and keep plants and bushes wet during the work. Have seen strippers peel areas around deck on painted houses. As noted below, strippers have little effect on solid stains. Solid stains act like paint the more coats you have the more problems you have.
Strippers are not acidic but are caustic. You neutralize with brighteners to restore the pH balance when done.
I just recently re finished a deck that had multiple coats of solid stain. There was excessive peeling so we scraped first to avoid a mess. Then used the Dima deck/paint grinder to remove all the remaining stain. I borrowed a grinder and purchased the disk from SW.
I could not believe how well it worked. We completely removed all the stain. The process took some time and clean up, but we saved the deck from the burn pile. The tool roughed up the cedar a bit, so we sanded with 100 grit, vacuumed between some tight boards and power washed with deck revive.
After 24 hours we applied two coats of super deck Sw
Over many years the build up of stain coats becomes the real problem. Even sanding old coats down and re finishing may not stop older coats from lifting. ( multi coat failure) also weather and traffic become a problem. Not to mention moisture and insects. When a deck gets older removing the old stain is a plus.
How did you remove the solid deck stain from the sides of the boards? I’ve been able to get off all layers of the stain from the top surface, but there is still stain on the sides of the boards. Because the space is very small ( 1/4“ to 1/2”) I cannot easily get to the surface. I followed a detailed process of applying the stripper, covering with tyvek, letting is work for 24 hours, removing tyvek, wetting, scrubbing with a stiff brush, scrubbing the sides as best I could and then power washing. Some of the stain came off the sides, but I still had about 50% left. I have a 2500 sf deck with multiple levels, steps, benches, planters, bar and more. It will take me a lifetime to get all the stain off from the sides of the boards at the rate I’m going. Any advice????
Keep doing what you are doing or sand it all off.
What is the best way to remove a single coat of freshly painted Behr semi-translparent acrylic stain? I know some sanding will be necessary, but would you recommend using a stripper first? I’m also debating whether to try to remove the stain now, while it is very fresh, or wait a few months or a year when it has broken down some from the sun and rain. I’d like to remove ALL of the stain so that I can use a much more transparent stain that will show the wood. Any and all advice is welcome!
Strip off what you can first and then sand if needed to remove the rest. Brightener would be last. it does not matter if you remove now or later. Either way, it will be hard to remove the Behr as it lays on top of the wood like a paint.
Hi there. I run a deck restoration company in the U.K ad someone is telling me that Ammonia will strip multi-layered acrylic deck stain off a failed solid colour.
No, it will not.
Many thanks for your reply. I help moderate a group to help and advise on deck restoration and pressure washing .Having learned in the states Westchester .I knew the answer .But unfortunately Someone has tried to tell the community that Amonia is the key to a quick fix and my methods of stripping are not good .Which personally after 20years I find is a bit of an insult but as a man who still likes to learn from the land of decks I thought I would check before I comment on his posts. Basically he is saying a multi layered deck can be stripped with a diluted ammonia and recoated with 2 coats of any stain the client wants .Although he cannot produce any proof with before and pictures. In the states you guys dont really deal with grooved decking ,but over here it’s a cheap alternative. I just want to get my facts right before I comment further which is why I have asked the experts My way would be to strip the original coating of by means of sanding and use a stripper for the grooves . Then apply 2 coats of a deck stain rather than paint .If you would like to look at my work and comment then please feel free to check out my Facebook page Deckcleen .I really value input from people who know what they are talking about . Which is why I came to you guys for advice
Hello Tony,
I have a deck with solid stain (chocolate) and there is no noticeable peeling. I also have a few brand new pieces of pressure treated decking that have not been stained yet. I would like to remove the old stain and apply a new color (Mahogany). What stain remover would you recommend to remove the stain so the new coating looks the same on new and older decking?
I am nervous about the chemicals in Restore a Deck as I have kids and pets.
You cannot strip off a solid stain, you will have to sand it off. RAD products are eco-safe but will not work for you in this scenario. No stripper will.
I have a 20+ year old deck that is in ok condition (I’ve replaced a handful of boards this year). It has been stained in years past with Cabot semi solid stain. To get a few more years out of the deck I’m thinking of using a solid stain (Defy). Is power washing alone a sufficient prep?
As long as the stain is not peeling, you can cover it with a solid stain: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Thank you for the quick response! It’s not peeling, just fading. Is a good power wash a sufficient prep?
Yes.
I am redoing a deck for a customer. She has Behr 5 year solid stain on her deck and has been on for 8 years. Its tinted barn door red. She wants a new color and has chosen Olympic Max autumn grey solid stain and sealant. Ive power washed and am going to use the R.A.D stripper with boosters. My question is, if there are still bits of the old solid stain that remain, do i need to make sure they are completely removed or can i put the new solid stain on top of the old solid stain? Thank you for your help.
No, you do not have to remove all when recoating with a solid stain. Just make sure that whatever is left is not peeling.
Thank you so much. Your website has been such a huge help!
i have an orange ish acrylic stain on my deck,can i put a darker stain on top of it ? im using a power washer to clean and strip all i can get off. the stain is wolman and is approximately 9 years old
No, you will have to remove the Wolmans fully first.
Unless you want to use a solid stain on top.
I just pressured washed our huge deck. We have different areas of quality- some of the deck looks great and brand new with no old stain, some has lots of stain still. The boards aren’t in the best of shape, but we would still like to get 4-5 years out of this deck before we replace with composite.
What would you recommend to do now- will sanding matter? Solid stain or semi-solid? Should we even bother with brightener?
I like the color of the raw wood as opposed to the heavy color in the before photos, but the quality of the boards/leftover stain won’t allow a clearer stain.
Another angle
You will need a solid stain to cover this and have it even: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
I need some helpful advice. I live in a condo and have to depend on the association to repair and stain my deck. Unfortunately, the association is not a strong one. I have been trying to get my deck properly cleaned and stained for the past three years. I have old boards, some previously used brown stained boards and two weeks ago, 4 brand new boards were added. What is the best method to get this stained properly? I only get the run around when trying to get answers from my condo association.
Post a picture.
Here’s a pic of the deck floor. I don’t believe they can properly wash and stain at this stage, but need more information before I go back to the association. I appreciate any information you can share. Thank you very much.
You already have a solid stain on some of the board so the easiest thing to do is pressure wash for prep and apply a solid stain to call so it looks even: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
Thanks so much.
Hello, I have used chemical stripper, power washed, and run an orbital sander three times, twice with 40 grit and once with 60 grit. Any suggestions on what to do? Could I put solid stain on top of this?
I have used chemical stripper, power wash, and orbital sander with two runs on 40 grit and one run on 60 grit and this is what I am left with. Any suggestions? Can I just go over this with a solid stain?
I have used chemical stripper and an orbital sander with two runs of 40 grit and one run of 60 grit and this is how it looks. Can I just go over this with a solid stain? What else can I do?
When renewing my deck the parts on my deck where I scraped off show up
Without seeing a picture we do not know what the issue is.
Can you recommend a stripper that will handle a solid stain???
No stripper is guaranteed to fully remove a solid stain. You can remove some or possibly most in some cases but you will need to sand. Try the Restore A Deck Stripper with both additives. Apply, let dwell for an hour and the pressure wash off. Make sure the stripper stays wet for that hour: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/restore-a-deck-stain-stripper-booster-thickening-gel-review/
Thank you for the info. Keep safe
You too!
This is all really helpful, but I’m a little confused. The article is Removing a Solid Deck Stain, and rates strippers, but many of the comments from you say strippers wont work and to sand it off. Is there a situation where stripping is helpful as opposed to sanding?
A little about my project: very large deck, about 750 sf. I am not the original owner. I would guess the deck is over 20 years old, and appears to be pressure treated pine (though I cant be certain on the pressure treated part). Has had numerous coatings of solid stain, and given that I am not the original owner I don’t know what they all are. Most recently I have used Olympic Maximum solid stain in a light gray.
I want it off – absolutely hate the stuff and the constant need for work. I want to get to bare wood and use a high quality lightly tinted stain as I have on my other decks. So much confusing info out there on whether to sand or strip, pressure wash or some combination. What do you recommend? If I need some combination, in what order? And if stripper plYs a role, what type do you recommend? Thanks!
Stripping is always helpful first as in some cases it will remove much or possibly most. Reapply depends on the brand of solid stain and how many coats. Try these additives with the Restore A Deck Stripper:https://www.deckstainhelp.com/restore-a-deck-stain-stripper-booster-thickening-gel-review/
Apply and let sit on the wood for an hour. If needed keep wet by misting with water during that time. Pressure wash off.
You might want to look at a two-toned deck as well. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/advantages-to-having-a-two-toned-deck/
Thank you for clarifying. Just out of curiosity, when I went to order I noticed RAD has this on their website: “Will not remove solid color stains, paints, polyurethanes, or excessively over-applied acrylic based coatings.” I have solid color stain – will this work for me?
They are protecting themselves as there is no way to say for certain if a solid stain can be stripped fully or not. Stripping will definitely get some off and make the sanding easier to get the rest off.
Previous owners used Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Solid, Waterborne Formula, Exterior Deck Stain and we had to replace a few boards. Rather than using the same ugly, solid stain, I want to make the whole deck semi-transparent. Please tell me I can get the solid stain off somehow! And how. Thanks.
You will have to power sand it all off to remove it fully.
What’s the correct order? I will power wash, then sand everything down, clean, brighten (I have the RAD products, use power wash again?) and stain? Is cleaning and brightening necessary after sanding?
Correct order. The cleaning and brightening opens up the wood grain after sanding.
Hi, I have a similar situation to above, but my Superdeck can is labeled Semi-solid, but seems to show like a solid. I will follow the order above, my additional questions are, do I try to strip it with RAD and the additives first before sanding? And what grit is needed to take the stain off? I’ve read 60-80, is that correct also for removing solid stain?
Do you have a picture?
What has come off so far came off from power washing a few days ago. It was 2 coats of the Sherwin Williams Superdeck semi-solid, 3 years ago.
You will have to sand this off. The RAD stripper or any stripper will not remove this. 60-80 grit.
Thank you! I appreciate all the info and help on your site and will be back when I’m ready to stain!
Hi, our deck has a solid stain that is peeling. We have cleaned, scraped, and finally sanded to remove all peeling. We are now planning to apply the defy extreme solid stain. After we have sanded to remove the peeling spots (about 50% of the surface is now sanded), do we need to use brighter before application of the new solid stain, or does solid stain not require it?
No need to brighten with a solid stain application.
🇺🇸 Hi can I apply a solid stain over a semi transparent stain?
As long as you prep first.
I forgot to ask will HD solid stain in cedar be a good stain to cover it with?
No, try one of these brands: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/what-are-the-best-solid-color-deck-stains/
What is the best way to prep it? The deck has both solid and semi transparent on it and it is peeling in a lot of spots.
We didn’t stain it but,we found 2 cans of Thompsons solid stain in cedar and one can of HD semitransparent in cedar and both all were opened and you can tell on the deck there is both stains on it because of the wood grain being visible in some parts and not visible in other areas.
Thanks
Strip and pressure wash off all the loose stain. You can cover the intact stain after.
Ok thanks.
HI I started stripping the deck today and I found some rot and splintering in a few of the boards.
The splintering is on the top rails and I would like to replace them with new pressure treated 2×4’s and the rot is on one of the steps that I want to replace with a new 2×6 pressure treated board.
If I replace these boards how long di I have to wait to apply the new solid stain on them?
Thanks
Jay lee
See this about new wood: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/staining-a-new-deck/
Will stain stripper and pressure washer remove just stained 6hrs ago
solid stain?
No stripper will remove a solid stain effectively.
Ok, so I see a lot of recommendations to power sand solid coatings off. I rented a power deck sander to redo a friends deck and it was worthless, what ever they put on the deck a few years ago is so rubbery and gummy it just sticks to the sanding pad rendering it useless in minutes. I have read that strippers or removers won’t remove this stuff. Not sure what to do, any advice?
Strippers will not work. If the sanding does not work then you are stuck as there are no other means of removal.
I’m sort of in the same boat. I have been thinking about flipping the boards over. I’ve read a few blogs and articles and do’s and don’t’s and am holding on this idea if I can’t get the stripping to work.
We moved to a new house in December down the Jersey Shore. It is a wooden deck of about 450 square feet with eight steps and a small landing to the lawn. The deck apparently is only 2 years old or so, but the previous coating is cracking and peeling and the wood takes on water and turns dark when it rains. I’m pretty sure the former owners left a can of the stuff they used: Behr DeckPlus Solid Color Waterproofing Wood Stain. I want to refinish the deck before it deteriorates any further.
I went to powerwash the old stain off, only the loosest parts came off, it didn’t really work on the good sections of wood. Either my little powerwasher isn’t strong enough, or it just needs to be sanded fresh.
So, I started sanding. I have a small 5″ hitachi hand orbital sander with a 2.0 amp motor. I went through six 60-grit pads just to clean one section of handrail, and it took me over a half-hour. A rough estimate gives me about 10 hours to get just the handrails alone, and countless more to get the actual floor and all of the spindles.
My questions:
1. Do I need some kind of paint thinner?
2. Do I need a stronger pressure washer?
3. Do I need a bigger sander?
4. Do I have to sand it completely down to clean wood, or can I go over this stain?
5. Is this a normal amount of labor for this scale project?
6. Is there anything else I’m missing in the process?
The only way to remove this fully is to powersand. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-to-sand-your-wood-deck/
The other option is to cover the current solid stain with another solid stain but you have to make sure and remove all the loose or failing stain first.
I am going to be using Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Solid. So I wouldn’t have to remove all of it, just the peeling sections?
Yes but their product is not very good: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/sherwin-williams-superdeck-solid-color-stain-review/
Thank you for the help. This is a great site!
Welcome!
How do I remove Behr solid stain from a pine pressure treated wood deck
Sand it off: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/how-to-sand-your-wood-deck/
What’s the best stain stripper for solid stain before you sand?
The Restore A Deck Stripper with both additives. It will not get it all off though. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/restore-a-deck-stain-stripper-booster-thickening-gel-review/
Thanks. What is the best stain stripper I should use prior to sanding?
Two years ago we refinished our old wooden front steps in Alaska with Deckover. It’s already peeled off in large chunks on the floor and railing. We replaced the wood on the back deck and expanded it using all new wood stained with semi-transparent Olympic Stain. It’s already peeling off as well.
Try #2: We’ve been recommended to use Behr solid colored waterproofing stain and sealer. Before we apply the new product, I’m power washing off the old and sanding it.
Here are my questions: The front will be redone using the same color though a different product. I’m having a hard time getting some of the old paint off (though I’ve only power washed and not sanded at this stage.) Do I need to get every little bit off? Will sanding get off what power washing did not?
For the back, is it better to power wash the old stain off or to sand it? I’ve been given very mixed advice about using Behr’s stain stripper versus other products or just power washing and sanding. It will be covered with solid stain of a darker brown color.
Thank you!
Yes, you should sand it all off for both decks.
Thanks! Do I need to use chemical stripper or will power wash and sanding be enough?
A stripper will not remove the Behr Deckover.
I used the Behr that you are going to use. I would not reccomend it. Did fine on spindles and railing but not on deck. Only lasted 1 yr. Now I have to go to all the work of stripping it before I can use something different.
Solid stain from Behr is horrible. Even worse to correct. Don’t use it. Worst stain I’ve ever used. I used it on a brand new deck and at the same time did an old deck. Both peeled right off in one year. It sucks.
Our deck is covered in ProLuxe Rubbol Solid Wood Stain. The previous homeowner did the work about two years ago and now the deck has a lot of mildew near the house, is peeling in several spots and looks generally worn.
Looking for advice on whether (and how) I should a) touch up the existing rubbol coating or b) try to strip the solid stain off, re-prep the wood surface, and then re-apply a new stain. Is touching it up even possible or am I just in for a lot of work either way and thus should just redo the whole thing?
Strippers will not remove this. To fix, you will have to power sand this off.
Will the stripper take the color out of the house siding adjacent to the deck floor?
Depends on the type of coating on the house? If a stain like the deck then yes it could. If a paint then no.
Our redwood deck has a semi solid redwood stain on it. It was applied 7 years ago. It is now weather in places and needs restaining. Will power washing remove the stain? If so, can we use a semi solid redwood stain again? Or will power washing and sanding be required?
Sanding will be needed. Once removed you can use a new semi-solid. Try Armstrong Clark.
After my husband power washed our screened in porch, there were a few small places on the steps (which are in almost constant sun) that chipped away so I tried touching them up with stain from the original job. As the photo shows, the area dried pinkish instead of the correct red-brown (I even tried a second coat which still dries pink). The stain is 6 years old (stored in a heated basement), and it dries the right color on raw wood, just not on top of the same stain. The stain is Duron Exterior Solid Color penetrating oil/acrylic stain in one. He used Krud Kutter by Rustoleum wood cleaner and it was rinsed off and left to air dry. Would this happen if it hadn’t dried well enough before I put the touch up stain on? Why did this happen and any suggestions as to what to do so that we can fix the pinkish mess I’ve made? Thanks.
Nothing to do with the prep. Best to get a new gallon of solid stain in the color you want.
Did that. Got a very similar shade of red/brown and it also dried ‘pink’ on top of the old stain but the right color on a bare board.
Want to strip this and do a light oak color, what’s your recommendation ?
I was thinking 3 step restore-a-deck with pressure washer 1200psi?
You can start with a stripper but it will not be very effective on this coating. You might want to go straight into power sanding to remove. Clean and brighten after.
Thanks
Have deck with peeling solid stain. What grit of sand paper should I use or will any remover help being most off
Sand with 60 grit and then 80 grit.
What is the best way to remove solid color Deckscapes?
Sand it off with power sanders.
I’m trying to remove solid stain from a deck. In places that get traffic it’s very peeled however places that aren’t (all the sides, rails, etc) have no peeling at all. I tried the defy stain stripper on a side part, brushed it with a stiff broom, and sprayed it with an electric power washer and had very little come off. I followed the directions exactly and ever tried it 2 more times with still little impact. What suggestions do you have?
Power sand it off.
Hi, thanks for the good advice! I’ve decided to strip and stain the deck and have grossly underestimated the time effort and difficulty involved in the project. My husband and I have decided to just do whatever the easinest to get the deck to survive this winter and spring and get someone to help us restrain next summer. The main problem is that the weather here in wa is wet and getting cold and while we had a good 7 day window it looks like we running against time. Fiers problem- the deck may not be dry enough to get it stained before the rain comes. Problem 2 – once the rain comes , who knows how long it will last and when the next window will be. Three- I’ve uncovered patches of solid stain under the semi top finish all over the deck , something I didn’t expect to find . This slowed me down a bit. The stain has hard time coming off. I can spend a couple of days trying to get the deck totally stripped but then there will be only 2 days of good weather , not enough for drying and stripping. If left as is – I’m still afraid it won’t dry well enough as the remover seemed to soften the wood and its penentrated with moisture . The big question – what can I do to save my deck until the next season when I can afford someone who knows what they are doing to do the work? Thank you
Leave as is. It will survive the Winter without issues until time to finish in 2019.
Is it needful to use a deck brighter if I plan to use a primer before I restain with a solid stain?
No need to use a brightener if using a solid stain.
I want to know if I can go over PAINT…NOT STAIN….with a sealent
No.
Title of this article is “Removing a Solid Deck Stain” and you recommend a Deck Stain Stripper, that won’t work on a solid deck stain and you will either have to get a paint stripper product or power sand the deck surface until you get back to bare wood.
Our deck was stained with a solid color stain by previous owner(s) and it looks terrible, will never use a solid deck stain on a deck surface just for this reason in NE.
Don’t use a Deck Stain Stripper to remove a solid color deck stain.
Stripping does help to remove some or much of the stain making it easier to sand off the rest.
After sanding for 8 hours with a plate floor/deck sander rented from Home Depot using 20 Grit paper I used a gallon of Behr Deck Stripper on what was left, it loosened what was left but even with power washer there was a lot of the previous 2 coats of solid stain left. Another 6 hours of hand scraping on my knees with still some solid stain still on the deck boards.
Because the deck stain was peeling and I was hoping to switch to a Semi-transparent deck stain I decided to put some effort into removing old stain, a big lesson learned here that it was not worth it. This is a 12’x18′ deck and I should have taken the $200+ and a full weekend of my time and put it towards new PT decking !
I have used a Cabot stain on one long step leading to my deck. It peels every year. This year I literally peeled huge layers with my bare hands,. Most is down to bare wood but some stain still remains. Recommendations?
You will need to sand it all off as you cannot fix the peeling issue by adding another brand on top.
I have attached pictures. I used Sunfrog deck sealer in Mahogany Tone for the boardwalk that has the dark brown stripe in it. Nobody carries that product locally so I brought some wood into a local paint store to match the Sunfrog .That is how I came to use the Storm 2 Mahogany Flame stain. As you can see it is more red and I want to remove it completely.The Sunfrog was also used on my Pergola sothe Storm product doesn’t match very well. Thank you for any help.
Try this to remove: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/restore-a-deck-injectable-deck-stain-stripper-review/
Since it is newly installed, you may need to strip a few times to remove all. Make sure to use the RAD Brightener after you are done stripping.
Thank you for your advice, time, and for having this website. I truly appreciate it!
I used Storm 2 Mahogany Flame Oil Stain on my boardwalk yesterday. Can I remove this product and how? It is too red. Thank you for your time in advance.
Does deck stain remover work with Deckover?
No. Nothing besides power sanding will remove the Behr Deckover.
Hi our deck from previous owner is in need of restaining. We used a cleaner and power washed it yesterday. A lot of stain is still on, especially on latice and hand rails. Can we use the same color/brand and just go over it? Or should we just switch to a solid stain and go over existing?
Depends on the brand/type. Do you know this?
Hi.. I would like to refinish my deck. Just bought the house, no idea what was used to stain originally. Hopefully the pictures help.
Any suggestions appreciated! Thanks for the awesome site.
Prep with Restore-A-Deck Stripper kits and stain with TWP 1500 or Restore-A-Deck Wood Stains.
Thank you. I just need to clairify for my better half. I understand that fixing this properly means removing all the SW stain. We should be able to strip a lot off since it is coming off so easy, then sanding may not be as much. We should not try to fix this with solid stain because there will be SW stain underneath, even though we remove all the loose stain? Another question. If we strip and do need to sand some parts, can we take a paint stripper for acrylic paint to those areas? I want to get well educated before starting this project.
An acrylic paint stripper has never been effective in our experience. Covering with a solid stain is most likely going to have issues as well with peeling.
I have been reading past posts on stripping decks. I’m not sure how to handle my situation. Last year we stained our new cedar deck (waited 4-5 months) with Sherwin Williams Superdeck, waterbase, semi transparent stain. After this Minnesota winter over half of the stain on the decking came off. The rest of the rails need touching up. We are unhappy with the results and it was not easy to work with originally, so we would like to strip, brighten and redo with another product. (Oil base transparent) I’m getting the idea that we have to sand it all off, because of what product we used (water base). Now if sanding it all off is our only option to remove this, can we fix it by using the same product and having it last longer? Would switching to a solid color hide the fact that we fixed it? Do we need to stay with this brand? At this point we want it to look nice and could possibly deal with sanding at another time.
Strip off what you can and sand if needed what does not strip off. Brighten all after. Don’t use the same stain. It will repeat the issues. Using a solid stain will result in peeling eventually
Hello. I just spent 4 days stripping, brightening, sanding, and staining my deck. I’m beat! Anyway I went with a solid stain (Cabot) because our deck is pretty old and even after spending a lot of time trying to bring it back to life, the wood just wasn’t looking great. I stained the entire deck in the same color. I’m wishing now I did the railings white to give it some contrast. Can I go over the new solid stain with a different stain color on the railings?
As long as it is a solid color you can.
You shouldn’t have used Cabot. Consumer reports just recently reviewed deck stains and Cabot was the second worst. They rate Behr deck stain as the best. At least for solid deck stains…
thanks Joe, but that didn’t help answer my question.
Have a deck which has 3 different shades of stain; a reddish tone , a light brown tone and a darker brown. Stains were applied by previous owners but they appear to be semi transparent because I can see the wood grain rather well except on railing. . In order to gain consistency of color I used a course/medium sandpaper sponge and sanded the railing, spindles and privacy fence.Brought it back to almost a very light brown on spindles and privacy fence but could not gain same results on railing(some red still evident) and fascia boards(muddy brown) . Purchased Ben Moore semi solid stain in an oxford brown color and tested it on small railing section and it dried to a noticeable gloss finish. What did I do wrong and how do I rectify it . Not sure about the color nor my decision to use a semi solid stain…HELP!
Post some pictures please.
Tried to send some pictures to :DeckStainHelp.com but was informed it was an invalid address
Post them here please, not in emails.
I stained my deck last summer and it looks really bad. Its patchy and blotchy as seen in the pictures. I sanded the entire deck last summer and would like to not do it again. What is the recommendation to remove the stain, stripper? Can I re-stain after?
What brand is that? It may not strip off fully so sanding may be needed.
Sherwin Williams SuperDeck
Water based or oil based version? Looks water based.
Yes it’s water based semi-transparent.
This will not easliy strip off. Strip off what you can and then sand the rest off. Brighten when done.
My deck currently has a medium brown solid stain that was peeling and flaking. I used some Zep all purpose cleaner in my pressure washer and went over the entire deck thoroughly to remove the loose stain. After it dried I can still see some flaking so I am going to take the pressure washer to it one more time. I am going to be using a darker brown solid stain that what is currently on there. Is there anything else I need to do prior to staining?
Just make sure that all stain that is left on the wood is intact and not peeling.
Up to this point, you’ve been telling us to strip, then sand to entirely remove all old, solid stains. Now you say “ just make sure that all stain that is left on the wood is intact and not peeling”. So which is it: 100% clean or can I leave what looks “intact and not peeling?”?
If you are using a solid stain again, you do not need to remove all. Clean and remove what is peeling, leaving the intact stain.
If you are switching to a semi-transparent stain, you will need to remove 100%.
Hi. So we are removing flaking solid stain on our deck railing (deck floor is PVC wrapped composite) and replacing with solid stain again. We have scraped, pressure washed and done a little more sanding or wire brush work on areas that looked a little loose. About 75% of the old stain is gone in horizontal and western facing vertical surfaces, only about 20% is gone on all other surfaces. What is left to prep before the new solid stain? Clean with water with hose? Wet rag? Cleaning product? Brightener? How long to dry? Thank you.
Lightly pressure rinse. What 48 hours to stain. You can leave the intact stain and cover it with the new solid stain coating.
First I rough sanded my deck to get as much of the darks stain off. I then used Behr stain remover two days in a row and still have stubborn stain in the swirls of the wood. Do I keep using the stain remover until the stain is gone. I left it on for 2 hours the second day making sure I kept it wet and scrubbed it with a bristle broom. I don’t want to use the deck brightner until it is ready for the new stain
Please post a picture.
Found your site and have read through some comments…appreciate your expertise. We want to remove a semitransparent dark stain (Zar exterior deck and siding) to return to a lighter color stain. This is in a covered, protected area in Upstate NY. I would love to not have to sand if possible. I’ve noticed when I dropped some ammonia on the deck while cleaning the patio table, those drops then seem to then return to the natural color. Is mopping over with ammonia or dilute bleach mixture an option? Again, this is semitransparent, not solid. Thanks. Judy
Ammonia will not prep correctly. You wil need to strip and or sand. Start with stripping and see if that removes all. Use the Restore A Deck Stripper/Brightener Kit.
Thanks for your rapid reply. I have just ordered it from the manufacturer. Your site is an example of why I love the web. Judy
Thanks!
We live in TX and built a 20 X 25 deck with pressure treated wood 2 yrs ago. I was told to buy stain. I wanted the natural would look. I bought BEHR Waterproof stain. The TX Sun eat through it. We then bought BEHR Waterproof Solid color stain with the skid (we have a pool). It did start to rain right when we finished painting. 1 yr later. The paint is peeling in large pieces. We have to do something and soon. We are planning to power wash. The big question is do we need to sand or strip the first coat of stain? We are fine with a solid color stain.
You will need to power sand to remove this.
My deck currently has Cabot solid acrylic stain in an orange color. It’s starting to peel in a couple of spots. We’re going to put a solid stain (also acrylic) from Sherwin Williams on it in a gray color. Do we need to remove the Cabot stain first, or can we just do the new stuff on top? If we need to remove it, what would be the best way to go about it?
Yo can go over it but make sure to pressure wash off all the stain that is peeling.
I’m trying to remove a solid deck stain. We just bought the house last year and are not sure what brand of stain the former owners used. So far I’ve tried Citristrip paint stripper, power washing, Restore A Deck stain stipper applied with a garden sprayer and 80, 60, and 40 grit sand papers on a ros hand sander. None have been able to completely remove it. What should I try next? Was considering either renting a floor sander or trying an angle gringer with stripping attachment, but am not sure either would be effective.
Try a drum sander and floor edger.
Thank you!
I have a small deck area (100SF) with Behr solid stain. I want to refinish with a solid stain again – same color – but will switch to a different brand! Where i am sticking with a solid stain but a different brand, do i still need to strip and sand or is power washing enough?
Pressure wash to remove all dirt and any peeling stain leaving intact the stain that does not come off.
I have a question about solid stain removal: I have a large shingled craftsman house. 10 years ago we used a semi-transparent flood brand stain on it. It was weathered and in some spots almost down to bare wood. I just want to Sherwin Williams and picked out a new solid stain that I thought I liked, and painted about 1/10 of my house with it.
Now a day has passed and I’ve decided that I absolutely hate the look. It looks like paint, no wood shows through at all. Is it possible to remove it at this point without a ton of hassle? Or am I stuck with this stain?
It will not come off easily. Sanding and or corn cob blasting to remove from the siding.
Hi! So glad I found this site! I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Northern Georgia. I have a covered & fully screened porch; I live in the forest so the porch is completely shaded. It won’t seem to stop raining this year & is always hot & humid throughout the summers.
The floor boards are likely pine. They are generally in good condition with only a few small areas in need of patching due to deterioration. Some areas of the stain are peeling/lifting & others are in pretty solid condition. I started this project because I want to bug-proof the porch by caulking the thin spaces between the boards. I knew I’d have to paint after caulking & then realized I’d better do it right & remove the old finish before doing anything else. If you have a suggestion for filling those thin spaces between the boards that would be better than caulk, I’d welcome any advice you have to make this porch bug-proof.
I’ve started to remove the solid color dark brown stain on my porch floor with the Behr stripper…it is working, but 1 expensive gallon didn’t even complete a quarter of my 200 sq ft deck. It appears there are at least 2 coats of solid color – white found under dark brown top coat.
Here are my questions:
1) Can I switch to a different stripper for this solid color finish (probably Behr Stain) or should I stick with the Behr stripper now that I’ve started? If it’s okay to switch, do you have a lower cost stripper that you recommend for solids? I checked out the Woodrich HD80 but reviewers say it doesn’t work for solids. Any other suggestions?
2) Once the existing coating is gone, which cleaner & brightener would you recommend for an extremely damp/humid climate? I like the ‘eco-friendly’ sound of the Gemini Restore-a-deck, but want to make sure it’ll be fine in this climate
3) Am I crazy to try & apply the new finish in the middle of summer given that it’s raining a lot & is always hot/humid? How can I be sure the boards have dried enough that the new finish won’t peel/lift because the humidity was too high/boards won’t dry enough? The rain doesn’t get onto the porch floor except at the outer edges but the humidity stays between 90 & 100% these days. Should I wait until Fall or is there a stain I can use with confidence in these conditions? Will leaving fans on the flooring after cleaning help? If so, for how long?
Thanks so much for any/all advice you can give. I REALLY dread doing all this work & not getting it right for the long-term! 🙂
1. Stain strippers in general will not remove solid stains well. You are better off sanding it.
2. You can use the Gemini Restore Kit after the removal for your final prep.
3. You are fine to stain now. Humidity will not create any issues. Just make sure the wood is dry for 2 days after any prep or rain. No need for fans.
The caulk idea is a bad idea and will not work. Leave the gaps alone.
Hello, Could you please suggest a procedure to remove ‘Olympic MAXIMUM Stain + Sealant in One Solid Color – 10 Year Protection’ ? It is to peeling in some spots. Do you have a deck stripper recommendation? Olympic support team suggests ‘Flood Pro Series Wood Stripper’. Your help would be much appreciated.
You can strip some off but you will most likely need to sand to get it all of all the way.
I have been sanding down my large deck to remove the solid stain. I’ve used the deck sander as you can see and removed a significant amount, then I moved on to the belt sander, and now I’m down to the palm sander.
My current challenge is that the palm sander is not lifting the stain, due to lack of pressure or weight that comes with it’s heavier counterparts. I’ve been using 24 grit paper on the palm sander, and while it’s sanding off the top layer its not removing it nearly as before. I have some really challenging spots to sand down so its impossible to put my body weight into it.
Based on what I’ve read Restore-a-Deck doesn’t remove solid stain and it’s not like I can go buy it off the shelf (on-line only), but that’s beside the point. I guess my question is; for those hard to reach areas and stubborn thick spots, can I apply, reapply & reapply (if necessary) a quality stripper? Along with my pressure washer, would that do the trick?
Thanks in advance for your guidance and any extra pointers you can provide.
A stain stripper will probably not remove that. Go to your local rental yard and ask for a floor edger that is used to sand interior floors. Use 80 grit paper. It should take it right off.
Okay,
The edge sander was a God send, thank you. I’ve moved on and completed palm sanding and for the we’re down to only solid stain between the board. Considering we have SOLID STAIN (but now 99.8% is down to bare wood) and we want to go semi-transparent:
1) Restore A Deck stripper will need a little more time and/or elbow grease to remove remaining solid stain, correct, or do you recommend a different stripper for solid stain?
2) Our deck is poolside and we want to add some traction to prevent slip & falls. Is there a specific sand, additive or whatever you can recommend to use with a semi-transparent stain?
Thank you in advance
Mike
1. Deck stain strippers will have limited to no effect on removing the stain between the boards.
2. No. Traction prducts like Shark Grip will not work with penetrating stains.
I down to 99% down to bare wood, but I have some stubborn spots that require a stripper. I have an acrylic solid stain that I need to strip … what stripper do your recommend?
Deck Stain Strippers will not remove a solid stain effectively or completely. Best to sand the rest off.
Our deck has been stained with a solid stain and is peeling. I would like to put another coat of the same solid stain. Is it necessary to strip all of the solid stain off or just remove the loose, peeling parts? What would the next steps be for proper prepping before applying the solid stain?
Pressure wash to remove all the loose and peeling stain if you are applying the same stain.
Okay, after pressure washing do I need to use a cleaner and brightener or just start staining with the solid stain?
Just stain with a solid stain.
No QUESTION, just a WARNING to ALL-Behr Deck Over stain Consumers, THIS is the WORST SO CALLED STAIN PRODUCT I EVER used ! THEY NEED TO REIMBURSE EVERYONE for the failing of this so-called stain product! They always have an excuse to blame it on the way its applied but never own up to their end that this is just a BAD Product THEY PRODUCED AND PUT ON THE CONSUMERS ! 🙁 THATS my experience, as one who was duped! What a mistake , never again!
Totally agree! Worst product ever. Deck looked great for a summer. Now it is peeling and looks like crap. Thanks Behr ! Suggestions on getting it off ? Main problem is on the floor and hand rails. Spindles are fine.
I completely agree. I used Behr Waterproofing Stain and Sealer Semi Transparent. This is a terrible product. Didn’t even make it through the whole season and it was flaking and coming off. Just terrible.
I have solid peeling stain on my deck. Using Behr stripper which is getting the majority off but I have spots where the stain actually worked that is not coming off. Is it best to keep going after it with stripper? Or go to sanding? After that do I use cleaner and brightener or just brightener? I’m concerned with the order of these steps. Any help is greatly appreciated. Great website. Thank you!!
Go to sanding for these spots. Clean and brighten for final prep.
I was in same situation with Behr Deckover what a nightmare! Did all the prep work before applying.Looked great first year ,then little areas started peeling.This year it was peeling in sheets .Powerwashed, Used the Behr stripper didn’t even do much,resorted to furniture stripper to see if that helped! Yes! So back to get Heirloom plus stripper! Got majority of it off .. powerwashed after still some left…deck cleaner,
Broke out the sander now it’s just little spots left.
Can I put the new stain(Thompson’s water seal) over the spots.Will it affect the new coating?
You should remove all of it so the new coating properly works.
I have solid stain on my deck. It is peeling and has come up in a lot of areas. I have pressure washed to get all the loose flaking stuff off but quite a bit of stain remains. If i just solid stain over it will you be able to see the spots where it was bare wood. What I mean is, the spots where the stain is missing, leaves a hard edge with where the stain remains. Will this show when I solid stain over it?
Probably somewhat. Try to sand and smooth down the edges.
Hi, I just wanted to confirm the steps to refinish my deck from the good info i’ve read here. I have a Cabot solid stain on my deck. Both decking/rails. I’ve decided to leave the rails a solid, but go to a Natural Semi on the decking. I’ve pressure washed with strippers and have removed most of the paint. My understanding is that I have to sand all the decking to ensure the surface will take the new stain. Just wanted to make sure that’s correct. I was looking at TWP Natural as it seemed like it would allow for the closest look to the wood with UV protection vs the Clear. Does that sound like a good plan? Thanks
Yes it does!
Thanks! I did have a few more questions. 1. Do I need to wait a certain amount of time after pressure washing to sand? 2. Also, after I sand do I do a brightener and sealer or just sealer and then stain. thanks
Let the wood dry for a coupe of days before sanding. Brighten after and rinse well. Dry again before stain. You do not seal and stain. Stains like TWP are sealers.
Awesome. Thank you for the advice. Definitely helps.
Hi, I tried to strip solid color stain using stripper but it didn’t work so I’m thinking of renting a sander. My question is can I use the cleaner and brightner to neutralize the stripper before sanding or I should use it after. The reason is that I wanted to wait until the weekend for the sanding and can use the 4 days in between to use the cleaner and brightner, let it dry and then sand and stain on the weekend. Thanks
After the sanding is best to clean and brighten for final prep.
Help! About 3 years ago I “stained” my deck with Rust-Oleums Restore 4X . Big mistake. It was pealing within 3 months. This year I finally worked up the nerve to strip it and redo it. I’ve gotten all of the lose stuff (there was a lot) off with a wire brush. I planned on using Olympic (or is it Olympia) stain stripper followed by a pressure washer to remove the remainder. Well, the stripper hardly penetrated the coating. So now I’m left with a very patchy deck (though it already looks better having been scraped). I’m at my wits end here. Any advice would be appreciated!
The 4x cannot be stripped. You will have to sand it off.
we are having the exact same issue: we used the 4x rust-oleum restore and it was peeling right away. It did stick to some areas like the spindles and the ledges and the stain stripper isn’t penetrating it enough for it to completely come off. What grit would you use to sand it off with a hand held orbit sander?
60 grit to start.
Just saw a video on using boiling water to soften 4x . Came right up
It’s not coming off with the sander. Any other ideas? This is a terrible product. I’m close to just flipping the boards but was hoping to not have to do that just yet
Sand and scrape is the only way to remove. Replacing or flipping could be done as well.
I am in the same boat as you Derek. I used the 4X and ended up with it peeling in some areas yet sticking to other areas like there is no tomorrow. I have tried chemical strips, sanding with 40 coarse sandpaper, and scraping. I have a large deck and am about 16 hours into handscraping… why quit now when I’m having so much fun right? I will share what I have learned so far: Lay a heavy canvas tarp over the painted areas you need to work on, saturate the tarp, and allow to “cook” in the sun if possible. I have a carbonite scraper which is pretty heavy duty and helps tremendously, Once it starts to bubble a little, get the scraper blade under a flap of paint and strip away. I looked into heating guns but the inexpensive ones do not cover large areas and since I’m never going to use any “repairing/covering deck stain” again, I hopefully won’t have further use of a heat gun to justify buying one. Moving on… tomorrow I am going to try pouring boiling water over the tarp to expedite. My plan is to strip all that I can by hand then break out my sander using 60 coarse for areas I couldn’t get down to the bare wood. Hope this helps and best of luck to you.
will a stain strip remover work on General Paint’s woodcraft deck stain (solid colour acryliclatex) Thank you
Probably not 🙁
Appreciate some advice. Previous owners used an acrylic stain about 3yrs ago. It was peeling or cracking in higher traffic areas, plus it is red, does not go with home color. Even wolmans acrylic stain remover did not budge it. I have sanded most of it off. Yes, butt loads of work but worth it. My question is how to remove the solid stain from between deck boards and odd spaces sanders and sponges wont seem to get. There are some off set areas that a sander won’t fit and the hand sanding is barely scuffing it. We are not doing a solid stain again, so as complete a removal as possible is necessary. Thank you.
I would concentrate on sanding all from the floor first. It will not be easy or possible to remove from the sides of the deck flooring boards and in many places on the railings. Might want to consider a two-toned deck for this. Solid stain in any color you like for the railings and a natural semi-trans for the floors: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/advantages-to-having-a-two-toned-deck/
Would appreciate some ideas – long story short, moved into a new home. Deck had solid stain on it and had mildew and mold. So used cleaner/stripper which worked fine, though like other people I had limited luck getting much stain completely stripped off deck. Turns out previous owners had leftover solid stain of same color, so applied last night. Looks good, but I’m concerned there is not sealer in the product. So deck will probably continue to absorb water? Ideally I should have used stain+sealer. Recommendations on best way to accomplish this after I just solid-stained the horizontal boards (floor and steps)?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply a sealer on top of a deck stain. Best to just leave as is.
Hello, we stained our deck two summers ago with Benjamin Moore Aborcoat Stain – Solid Matte in Mahogany. Our deck is peeling every where. We tried to pressure washer and use Olympic Deck Stripper but have not been successful. We would like to use an espresso semi transperant stain now from Olympic. Is their anything out there that would work? If we have to sand it off, what kind of sanders should we rent for the floor boards and railings? We called Benjamin Moore and they haven’t been helpful. Thanks for your help.
You will have to sand this brand and type off. Try a drum sander for floors and an orbital for the verticals.
Hello; I used CABOTS Acrylic SOLID COLOR DECKING STAIN back in 2013. I would like to do my deck since I do have peeling and some mildew. I was going to strip the deck with CABOT Problem Solver STRIPPER but it says that it is for OIL-BASED stains. Any ideas what I can use to remove acrylic stain from the deck so that I can then clean it and put a new SOLID Color Stain down? Thanks
You cannot completely strip a solid stain. It will not come off all the way. What you want to do is strip off what is loose and peeling. Leaving some stain on the wood is fine since you are reapplying another solid stain to mask the old coating.
Look at Restore a Deck stain stripper and Flood Solid Stains.
what about a transparent stain like defy extreme deck stain or flood transparent stain. Do you have any suggestions?
Nope, not possible. Only a solid stain can go over this unless you remove the semi-solid 100%
we stained our new deck three years ago with a semi solid stain. Never liked it. We rented a sander and sanded it trying to remove brown stain. After several hours we realized that wasn’t happening but now I have a distressed looking deck which we really like! We need to seal it so the newly sanded original wood will be protected as well as the brown stain that remained. I would like a clear but not sure what to do or use
Sorry but that is not possible. You cannot apply a clear sealer over a solid deck stain.
I tried a deck stripper on my solid stain and now have a mess. White film and deck is not stripped. Will sanding take the white off? Tried pressure washing, cleaner, soap and water with no luck. Before I rent a orbital sand will it work?
It should. Feel free to post a picture.
well rented a deck sander and after 4 hrs not much has changed. The white is almost gone but the solid stain is still there. I like shabby chic but not sure about the curb appeal on a deck. Thank goodness I did not try to strip the other half of it. Did sand it with 120 to get the top dull so in time I maybe able to re stain that half. Now thinking of replacing the other half of the deck this summer. Wish I had read the instruction before attempting to strip that part. I distress furniture all the time for resale but never again will try to redo my deck. Lesson learned in Louisville.
Hello everyone,
This is the situation, we did a deck for a client we replaced all damaged red wood pieces and prep the rest so the client said he wanted a Red wood 330 solid color when he saw the results he didn't like it he said he meant semitransparent red wood 330 color , what should or I can do now?
You would have to remove all the solid stain by sanding down to the bare wood if you need to switch to a semi-transparent.
i used the Behr Deck Over stain in my deck over a year ago. It is now peeling away and i can not get the rest of the stain off. I tried the Behr stain remover and finisher with no avail. What can i use? Most products i have read about are for semi-transparent stain. Any ideas?
Sorry but no stain stripper will remove the Behr Deck Over. You will need to sand.
I have a ugly red deck stain that I want gone
The painter said its impossible to get the red off in the cracks of the planks
Is that possible ?
There must be a way
Any advise ?
Probably not easy to completely remove. You can remove what you are able to and then re-stain with another solid stain.
I'm in getting ready to refinish my deck, it was last done with a solid and I'm up for the challenge of removing it from the base and the railing, however I'm worried about the process for removing it from the spindles. My deck is about 10 X 40 so I'm a little intimidated by the amount of labor for that part of the project. Should the stripper not work is my only recourse to sand each and every one of the spindles.
You will most likley have to sand both the flooring and the spindles. Might be a good time to look at a two toned deck:
https://www.deckstainhelp.com/advantages-to-having…
I am somewhat confused. You have this whole article on how to remove solid deck stain using Restore-a-Deck Stripper yet on the page when you go to order the stripper from restore-a-deck.com it states will not remove solid deck stain or paint???
They do not guarantee it as it is not always a given that a solid stain will come off. It will remove some, a lot or possibly even all. Problem is that all solid stains are different. The only real, 100% positive way to remove a solid stain is to sand it all off.
Three years ago my pressure treated deck was cleaned and treated with Rymer stain, I hate the color, but it is now worn and I would like to redo the process. I cleaned it with the pressure washer and deck cleaner. There is still lots of Rymer stain adhering to the deck. Can I remove most of that with stain remover? Followed by possible sanding and then apply a wood brightner? If I would like the wood to look more natural, what product do you recommend. I would prefer not to have a dark color, but a lighter, natural looking deck.
Was the Rymar a solid stain or semi-transparent stain?