Removing a Solid Deck Stain  4.8/5 (79)

This post was updated on February 20, 2024

How To Remove a Solid Deck Stain 2024

We appreciate your input here at Deckstainhelp.com as we continue to be your go-to source for the latest in deck restoration news and trending topics through 2024. This is a revised article about how to remove a solid deck stain. They are can be very difficult to remove and take time and patience. Feel free to leave a comment below.


Removing a Solid Deck Stain

Peeling Solid Deck Stain

Help With Removing a Solid Deck Stain

Once a deck has been stained with a heavy pigmented or solid stain it can be hard to maintain. Solid deck stains are like paint in that they form a film on the wood surface to provide weather protection. Once it is time for maintenance, a good cleaning and recoat are necessary. After several years the solid stain begins to build up and has trouble adhering, thus it begins to peel and flake constantly.

To stop this negative effect from occurring, or to switch from one deck stain to another, it is best to remove the solid deck stain completely and start with bare wood again. But removing a solid deck stain takes patience and a little bit of work.

To remove a solid deck stain you need to start with a deck stain remover. 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.

Pro Tip: The Best Stripper to remove a solid color deck stain is the RAD PaintStrip Solid Stain Stripping Gel

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.

After you are satisfied with the results it is important to apply a wood deck brightener. 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


Please Rate This. You may also post comments or ask questions below.

author avatar
Scott Paul ~ Restoring Wood & Decks Since 1993
#As an article and comment contributor to the site, Scott has been around the pressure washing industry since attending college. In 1993 he started his first company called Oakland Pressure Wash specializing in exterior pressure washing and deck staining. That company evolved into OPW L.L.C. shortly thereafter concentrating more on exterior wood and deck restoration. Scott and his Deck Cleaning Michigan company have restored over 10,000 decks in the Metro Detroit area since the early years. He has become an authority in the deck restoration industry and has contributed to numerous wood restoration forums and informative sites. All the products he suggests through this site are sold through online sites and in retail stores, allowing the consumer to choose their own means of purchase. Scott’s eCommerce sites do sell many top brands he endorses and if you appreciate any of the help he has offered then feel free to purchase from one of them.

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Alicia
Alicia
1 year ago

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!

Kay
Kay
2 years ago

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.)

Lee
Lee
2 years ago

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?

Lee
Lee
2 years ago

Thank you for responding. Even with detailed sanding will the screws and grooves between boards ever not be orange?

Bill
Bill
2 years ago

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.

Bill
Bill
2 years ago

Thanks for getting back to me. Time to buy a sander.

Lauren
Lauren
2 years ago

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.

Lauren
Lauren
2 years ago

Not exactly the answer I was hoping for but thanks for responding.

Ella Cunningham
Ella Cunningham
2 years ago
Reply to  Lauren

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.

RJH
RJH
2 years ago

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.

Richard
Richard
2 years ago

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!

Tara
Tara
2 years ago

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.

Tara
Tara
2 years ago

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.

Tara
Tara
2 years ago

Perfect. Thanks for your help!!

Rudy Campaneo
Rudy Campaneo
2 years ago

What’s the best solid cover stain strippers

Jon
Jon
2 years ago

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

Tara Sedor
Tara Sedor
2 years ago

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?

Ryan Pinto
Ryan Pinto
2 years ago

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!

B4A95924-C269-49C1-B12D-B53E770CF5FA.jpeg
A51A1D0C-BA96-453B-8E8B-AEF31A43CA67.jpeg
17451319-5A08-4343-8A45-CF470627F811.jpeg
Ryan Pinto
Ryan Pinto
2 years ago

Do you recommend a certain deck stripper to remove the coats? We are getting mixed reviews from everyone on certain ones to buy.

Ryan Pinto
Ryan Pinto
2 years ago

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!

Ryan Pinto
Ryan Pinto
2 years ago

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

Ryan Pinto
Ryan Pinto
2 years ago

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.

deck stripped 1.jpg
deck stripped 2.jpg
Ryan Pinto
Ryan Pinto
2 years ago

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?

Athena Welsh
Athena Welsh
3 years ago

Hello. We have gotten wood stain on our non wood deck. Will these products work?

Athena Welsh
Athena Welsh
3 years ago

Here is the deck

Athena Welsh
Athena Welsh
3 years ago

Deck

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Billy
Billy
3 years ago

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?

Susan
Susan
3 years ago

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.

Susan
Susan
3 years ago

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?

Tonin Esarey
Tonin Esarey
3 years ago

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!

James Mcphall
James Mcphall
3 years ago

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?

Wendy
Wendy
3 years ago

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!

Deck2.jpg
Mark w
Mark w
3 years ago

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.

Mark w
Mark w
3 years ago

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.

Dante Iafrate
Dante Iafrate
3 years ago

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????

Kelly
Kelly
3 years ago

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!

Steve Shires
Steve Shires
3 years ago

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.

Steve Shires
Steve Shires
3 years ago

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

Jim
Jim
3 years ago

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.

Tony
Tony
3 years ago

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?

Tony
Tony
3 years ago

Thank you for the quick response! It’s not peeling, just fading. Is a good power wash a sufficient prep?

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