# Painted deck - advice needed!



## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Stripping or sanding for re-staining would be a huge time and money consuming project...huge

Todays strippers are not nearly as effective, or toxic, as the older ones
But the waste is still hazardous and must be disposed of as per your local regs
It would be a very, very, messy, stinky, job

The best way would be to rent a giant floor sander
That would take time, and skill, also...they don't move too fast and can ruin the deck quickly...and all the nails must be pushed down below the surface....
And even when your done there's still tons to do by hand and small sanders
...it's still a huge project

I'd recommend re-"painting" with a solid color stain, looks like a paint or re-decking with new material and staining to the color you'd like


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

As far as stripper goes, forget about it. Even the strong methelyne chloride strippers don't work well in sunlight and open air. Even if it did, paint tends to remain in the grooves and cracks.

Powerwashing might do better for this job, whether repainting or staining.

Another option is to powerwash and seal the decking, then flip all the boards and start with fresh wood. But both options still leave spindles and handrails to deal with.


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## Sallie (Mar 22, 2007)

*Thanks, Guys,*

I have already powerwashed the deck a couple of times hoping to dislodge some of the peeling paint, and it took some of it off but there still needs to be some sanding or something done before I'd get a halfway even finish to work with. The paint that is not in the sunlight looks fine for painting over, it's the few feet that are in direct light that I'm going to have trouble with. Then, of course, as Joe said, that still leaves the spindles and rails. It looks like whatever I do, it's not going to be an easy job and certainly not something I'm going to want to tackle on my own. Unless I just slap a coat of paint/stain over it the way it is now which is actually starting to look better and better to me right now! What about outdoor carpet? Have either of you had any experience with that? 

Thanks for your replies!


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

Paint work provides 2 things: Preservation and beautification. Although most of the focus is on appearance, the higher importance it preservation. LOL, paint it!

My only experience with outdoor carpet is removal. Right now there needs to be a coating that will save the wood. I don't think carpet is a good choice for that.


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## Sallie (Mar 22, 2007)

OK. That sounds like the best thing to do. Guess I know what I'll be doing on my vacation this year!

Thanks for your help!


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