Need helping stripping solid stain and paint off a deck

[apom 14]

Hey I'm currently working on refinishing a 15 year old deck that has seen better days. The deck is pressure treated lumber. Most of the planks are in solid shape. It looks like it has 2-3 different colours of solid stain or paint that have accumulated over the years. The thing is an absolute nightmare to sand. I'm about 60 hours deep on sanding and I haven't even finished sanding the edges, posts, rails etc.. I'm using a belt sander with 36-40 grit paper to strip it and its still taking forever. I can see all the different colours come off when I sand. I figure even I rent a big drum sander for the floor I might be doing this till christmas lol

Basically I am looking for recommendations on how to proceed. Is there any good stripper I can use that will take this off? I tried thompsons maximum strength deck stripper and it barely does anything. I'm thinking of testing out circa 1850 furniture stripper. Open to ideas.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Welcome to TGS....

1. please go to SETTINGS and fill in your signature.

2. Please add CORRECT info in your profile. We do not hide here. Our members are more helpful when they know who they are helping.

3. are you a contractor or a home owner? Please advise so I will know if your post is in the correct location or not.

Beth

[James 625]

Do you have a hot water machine ? Hot water works well removing paint. What are the temps up there now ? If temps R in the 50ties forgetabout using a stripper this time of year.

[apom 14]

Hey, Nope not a contractor. The temps are in the 50s to 60s. I only have a cold pressure washer.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Your thread has been moved to the DIY area.

Please Fix your Signature and your Profile. House rules.

Good luck with your project.

Thanks.

Beth

[apom 14]

Fixed.. Any ideas for chemicals to try? I need some serious stuff to get this finish off. What about a heat gun?

[James 625]

Heat gun works

[onmywayup 14]

I'm pretty sure he missed the point on the signature................

[apom 14]

Ok after trying to best chemicals out there i have gone back to the sanding method. Getting 3 coats of paint and stain off is tough. After I have done all the edges and sanded the floor what about the paint in between the cracks and the nail holes?

[bigchaz 157]

I would rebuild the rails...replace all the spindles and top rails, just save the posts.

Between the cracks won't be easy...if you can get an orbital sander or grinder you can sometimes use the edge of the sanding pad to get in the crack

[apom 14]

Hey bigchaz, thanks i'll try that. I might put some circa wood stripper in between first. I already took all the hand rails off. I'm saving the rails and posts. I got a drum sander the other day and it's doing an ok job of stripping. It's still leaving some spots there. I guess the woods not even and it can't get it or its just on really thick on those spots.

[Doug Black 18]

Don't see why you need to go bare bottom on it, but Methylene chloride will help.

[big mike 14]

Try Jasco stripper from any of the big box stores. It's a bit spendy for a large area like the floor, but it WILL take off the solid stain/paint from the spindles etc. If it were my deck I would replace the railings and spindles with new lumber (a bit more expensive, but ALOT easier). Good luck.

[charlie 14]

Replacing the wood would be easier then stripping it and the treatment will look better.

Charlie

Edited October 3, 2010 by charlie

[celtwheel 14]

I just completed prep on a "hell deck". Layers of Behr Alkyd/acrylic hybrid and then some kind of solid stain over that.

I used Extreme Solutions HD-80 with glycol added, applied with a 3 gallon pump sprayer. My initial dwell time test worked in 20-25 minutes, the stuff must stay wet. I made sure I applied when the sun wasn't hitting the deck. By the way, the HD-80 in powder form is a great bargain, $20 for 2 lbs,. that makes about 5 gallons of stripper. There's other brands out there, maybe some that are "hotter", but I only have experience with the HD-80.

When I actually did the entire deck, the 25 minute dwell time took about 60% off the deck surface, with a pressure washer (2000 psi, 40 degree tip, be careful about damaging wood). Then I did another strip, dwell time of over 1 hour (had to re-wet a few times) and got the deck surface to over 90%.

The spindles were really tough, since they don't weather nearly as much. I got them to about 50% with the 2 HD-80 aps, then I used a serious solvent paint stripper on some parts of them. I can see why the suggestion to replace the spindles is a smart one - getting them right was really hard, especially on the inside surface. They were square, so the outside surfaces were doable with the hand ROS.

Finally, I used a floor ROS from 20-40-60 grit (deck boards were in good shape, pretty even board to board, little cupping & warping) and hit the spindles and a couple problem aras on the surface with a hand ROS with 60 grit.

I got the wood to 100% exposed, then neutralized with ESI Citralic. Voila! Looks like custom planed wood right from the mill.

Maybe your stuff is too much for the HD-80, or some other NaOH based stripper, but its worth a try. The stuff is cheap and easy to apply - so why not?

One thing I was wondering if anyone reads this post - any tips for making a product like HD-80 more powerful?

[apom 14]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will defn try it next time and save myself the 2 weeks of sanding and $100s on products from the box stores. I attached some before pictures for anyone interested. Pictures after it was sanded will be posted tomorrow.

Quick question before I move onto the staining. Do I have to wash the deck? I sanded it 4-5 days ago. I read that I should wash it because saw dust may have clogged the poors and this will effect the ability of the stain to penetrate the wood.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Apom,

Typically one grit is sufficient to sand a deck with after a good strip job. Dwell time is the key to a successful chemical strip. The standard grit for a deck is 80. You should sand the entire length of the board to avoid an uneven or splotchy result. Drum sanders also work well, with a smaller hand held tool around the rail system. Of course it is important to note that you have to counter sink the nails before sanding.

Beth

[apom 14]

Yep I went 24,36 and then 80 to finish up the floor. Will use 100 to finish up the railings.. The question though is do I have to wash the deck after to remove the saw dust or can I just sweep it and stain? For anyone wondering the drum sander with a high grit paper works great for tough stripping jobs. But its really aggressive so maintain a steady pace when using it and always lift the handle at they very end of every pass. Do not let it run in one spot because it will cause damage! 10 seconds is enough to cause serious damage. It goes without saying but sand with the grain. If the boards are set horizontally then don't even think about going vertically.

[bigchaz 157]

Apom, I didn't realize you had lattice for railings....a sheet of that stuff costs like 9 bucks you can make probably 4 panels. I wouldn't waste a second trying to save that junk. Heck on most regular jobs we bid I don't even bother washing existing lattice, just tear out and replace. If you tear out the frame and panels all you'll have to sand is the 4x4 posts and top rail (looks like you replaced it already?)

Also don't use 100 grit....I dont go any higher than 60 grit but no one else would go over 80 grit.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Apom, I didn't realize you had lattice for railings....a sheet of that stuff costs like 9 bucks you can make probably 4 panels. I wouldn't waste a second trying to save that junk. Heck on most regular jobs we bid I don't even bother washing existing lattice, just tear out and replace. If you tear out the frame and panels all you'll have to sand is the 4x4 posts and top rail (looks like you replaced it already?)

Also don't use 100 grit....I dont go any higher than 60 grit but no one else would go over 80 grit.

We use 80 in most cases, 60 in some, but never over 80.

Had a home owner second guess us once. He came behind us as we sanded with 80 grit, told us we didn't know what we were doing, and hit his cedar rails with 120, then said he was going to go higher on the next pass. At that point we stopped and told him we would not guarantee any kind of results with the finish he wanted applied and that was pretty much it. He applied Sikkens. It failed. He tried to build up SRD to get the same finish you get if you spend more and buy DEK. It didn't work. He admitted to yelling at the support person from Akzo Nobel. His wife looked embarrassed.

That was the last time we serviced his deck. We added him to the Do Not Mail list.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Sanding with 20-36 grit for basic material removal is fine but afterward I suggest buffing with a 60 grit osborne brush to remove most splintering and soften the surface.

Going higher than 80 closes the wood too much and will not allow for a sufficient penetration/adhesion of the coating.

Think of it as hanging on by fingertips vs your whole hand.

This is an out-door structure exposed to the elements 24/7/365. It is not a piece of furniture that sits inside a controlled temperature environment where the max temp differential is 10* compared to outside when on any given day, the temps can change by as much as 50*.

The product needs to have a good hold and by sanding with anything higher than 80 grit, this is setting up premature failure and potentially upsetting a customer or losing them all together.

Rod!~

[apom 14]

bigchaz Nope I tossed the lattices. It would have been possible to sand them with a dremel attachment but that's to much work for sure. Chemical stripper costs more then the lattice so out they went. Replacing them with wooden balusters/spindles. Thanks for the sand paper recommendation I would have sanded it with 100 tomorrow if I didn't read this. After reading this I'm glad I only did a light pass with 80 on the floor.

Rod thats to bad. Why did the guy even hire you guys if he thinks he knows best. He probably thought you guys were inexperienced. Did you show him pictures of decks you've done in the past? at least you explained it to him.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Some people come to us with the preconceived notion that we are not what we say we are or that in their little world they know more than anyone else despite the facts to the contrary.

i.e. they are just hard headed.

Anyone who will apply a product contrary to the labeled directions and complains about the results, blames the product and continues to deny the fact they did it wrong is just an idiot imo.

We give our customers the benefit of the doubt and help as much as possible, this guy we just had to draw the line and fire him as a customer.

Rod!~

[apom 14]

Here are some pics after the majority of the stripping has been done. There is still a few spots that the floor sander missed that I have to remove with the hand sander. I still need to install the railings and decided on if I want to put a clear oil stain on it (more maintenance) or a light yellow semi solid cabot oil stain.

[spotco2 15]

That looks fantastic!