Hired Painter for Deck - Big Mistake!!! Now I am gonna tackle it. Advise on plan.

[JeremyT 14]

First is the original stats:

• 7yrs pressure treated pine - never been stained / protected, etc. 350sqft open deck, 250 screened & covered porch
  
• Painter pressure washed deck with Sherwin Williams deck cleaner
  
• I went behind him with Restore-a-Deck cleaner to get spots he missed, then went over whole deck with RAD brightener
  
• Deck dried for three days
  
• Painter applied TWP 1500 with airless paint sprayer, double coated horizontal surfaces, another painter back rolled behind sprayer.
  
• Last coat completed at ~3:30PM, at 5:00PM began raining and did so through the night
  
• Next day surface still appeared wet, was in fact excess stain. Even in area under porch cover. Runs on the vertical surfaces, overspray all over house where tape lifted,
  
• I reviewed the stain instruction: "to prevent premature failure: 15-30 mins after last coat, must remove excess with rag" - this did NOT happen
  
• Called them back next day, they blamed rain first, then the product, then a little of both. "Been in biz 15yrs, never had deck go bad...blah, blah, blah"
  
• Told them had to be redone, painter said would redo the floor since that was the bad part.
  
• He returned with SW deck stripper and proceeded to go to work on the floor. Attached is the work in progress pics of his attempt to repair.
  
• Upon further examination, realized that the "too thick" spray is in fact even on the vertical surfaces that got one coat as determined by glossy area that peels when scratched. Additionally his attempt to contain the stripper to the floor was unsuccessful.
  
• I told him to not come back!
  

Now its my turn. Here is my plan, please advise:

• Finish the remaining 150sqft on floor with SW deck stripper
  
• Go over entire deck with Restore-a-Deck stripper to remove TWP.
  
• Apply brightener
  
• Let dry 72hrs
  
• Apply TWP
  

Is this plan true to the recommended practice in this situation?

I really want to avoid sanding, what should I do if it doesn't come off?

What is the industry standard / best way to apply TWP 1500?

[JeremyT 14]

here is rest of pics

[cstleddy 14]

JeremyT,

I'm sorry for your troubles and, unfortunately, I do not have an answer for you, but I think the color is lovely. May I ask what shade it is?

Thanks,

Cstleddy

[bigchaz 157]

Jeremy, I would go ahead and strip the deck like you mentioned. It looks like the stain came off well with the Sherwin William stripper, I would test to see if the RAD will be strong enough to strip the rails. Wash the deck well and apply your brightener again. TWP is an oil based stain you wouldn't need to sand it off, a good stripper will do the trick for you. I have limited experience with the TWP 1500 series (no need to use it here in NC), but because of the lower VOCs it seems likely that application is a bit trickier with flash drying and runs. I've never heard of wiping off stain from a pressure treated deck, pine is a soft wood.

You are in TN, should be able to get the better stuff still, if you do want to use TWP go with one of their other series 100 series, 200 series or some other oil based stains that you can order and are better penetrating and may be more friendly to work with.

Stain on the siding no big deal, that will clean off easily with some mineral spirits or simple green and a rag or a mr clean eraser if it is vinyl siding.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

CLS Teddy - Signature please.

Jeremy T. - a better signature please.

Beth