Leaderboard

Dwell time is critical in many situations and certain strippers are only good for removing likewise formulated products ie; stippers for oil based stains, acrylics, latex etc. Some strippers can do a lot, others need help by adding a booster or additive. Since you have not listed what you are using to strip with, I can only suggest you look into more than one. We have had great success with HD-80 and boosting it with 633-ADD for most of our stripping purposes. I cannot speak for others but our company does remove the fuzzing created by stripping. You may want to consider several options for this. We use Osborn brushes on Makita 7" grinders (variable speed) to deal with the fuzzing on spindles but also use 3m pads (black coarse stripper pads) used with the grinder and a back plate to get into areas under rails. For the floor, you will have to consider either renting a buffing machine and buying a large brush for it or buying both for use on the floors. This will help getting rid of the fuzzies. If you need to grind/sand the floor, look into a square buff sander. It is approx. 18"X30" and utilizes a combination of a pad for holding the sand paper and the sand paper itself. It comes in varying grits. We use 36 for most heavy sanding and finish off with 60 - 80 grit once the desired result has been acheived. Sanding is a necessary step in order to get the best results and not have splotchy looking stain so your efforts are not in vain. You have a good idea of what to do so far and just need the right 'tools' for the jobs, and I meant that plurally because no two decks are going to be alike. Having had to strip numerous coats off any one deck alone finding out as the stripper removed each layer, you never know exactly what you are getting in to. If you are going to test spot an area....don't do the floor. THAT is the easiest. Try under the rail cap where the sun never shines and it is always the most intact. There lies the true test of your stripper. Rod