Repainting a Wood Deck

[travelover]

So, my painting knowledge is a limited, especially for exterior.

My new to me house has a half covered, painted deck. The covered part is in good condition, the uncovered part is flaking and shows signs some wood damage. My initial plan is to use a chemical stripper to remove the damaged paint. I have two questions-

• Do I need to strip off the sound paint that is undercover?

• Do I need to prime the stripped wood before repainting?

Other cautions/ suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[Midpack]

Preparation is the key for great results with almost all painting projects, inside or outside.

Ideally you’ll scrape off all the loose paint and then sand all areas until smooth (60-100 grit), covered and uncovered, you’re in for a lot of work. You’ll have to sand the flaking paint areas a lot more, the covered area all you’re trying to do is rough up the old paint a little so the new sticks - key the paint.

Chemical strippers still require a lot of scraping, some hazmat precautions, and often several applications, and it’s really messy - so it’s no picnic either if you want a good quality result. You probably don’t need primer, but if you’ve gone to the trouble of scraping and sanding, primer will be a worthwhile step to add to the life of the deck paint. I’d use the best quality deck primer and paint you can find, as it will last longer. Cheap deck paint will just fail faster, not what you want after all the prep time you’ll have invested. Then just paint the whole thing, and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Good luck.

Lots of articles online, here’s a couple https://woodworkingclarity.com/how-to-paint-a-deck-with-peeling-paint/

https://www.paintingdenver.net/uncategorized/remove-paint-painting-deck/

After 30+ years of maintaining a wood deck, I replaced it all with composite deck boards…

 

[REWahoo]

• Do I need to strip off the sound paint that is undercover?

It should be fine with a good cleaning prior to repainting.

• Do I need to prime the stripped wood before repainting?

Follow the recommendations for the paint you plan to use. Many are self-priming.

 

[Montecfo]

Paint or seal?

When I had a wood deck I did not paint it or strip it. I just cleaned and sealed it with a semi-transparent sealer.

Which I recommend.

 

[RobbieB]

A good power wash should do it. Then let dry a couple weeks and use an oil base paint, much more durable than latex.

 

[travelover]

Paint or seal?

When I had a wood deck I did not paint it or strip it. I just cleaned and sealed it with a semi-transparent sealer.

Which I recommend.

It is painted now.

 

[Philliefan33]

What kind of wood is under the paint? Is it pressure-treated or regular lumber?

 

[travelover]

What kind of wood is under the paint? Is it pressure-treated or regular lumber?

I really don't know. My guess is pressure treated.

 

[Bamaman]

All that work is why I never paint or stain a deck. I just let it go natural.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Check out deckstainhelp.com. They have articles, reviews and forums, just for this problem sort of problem. The type of wood matters in how you treat it, and the products you use.

I just stripped my deck for the first time last week. I have transparent stained cumaru hardwood deck and it was getting too dirty with restaining, despite regular cleaning and brightening. Stain stripper is caustic (sodium hydroxide), paint stripper might be caustic or solvent based. Solvents can be quite toxic. I used a garden sprayer, a deck brush to scrub and loosen the stain, and an electric power washer. With the power off the power washer provided a mist to keep the deck wet while the stripper worked. Gloves and mask for mixing the stripper. To wash off I used the widest fan tip, 40 degrees. That reduced the pressure to a safe level. Gas power washers can be too powerful and destructive to the wood.

I think with a painted deck I’d probably sand it. One would want to wear a mask and goggles for that, and use a belt sander.

I highly recommend that website. It helped us decide what wood, stain, and care for the deck we had built eight years ago.

 

[Philliefan33]

I really don't know. My guess is pressure treated.

Eh, no matter what you do it’s going to be a lot of work and the paint job will fail more quickly than if it were regular lumber. Be prepared to repeat the process every 3-5 years.

If you have the funds, replacing with composite decking will save a lot of work.

 

[zinger1457]

Eh, no matter what you do it’s going to be a lot of work and the paint job will fail more quickly than if it were regular lumber. Be prepared to repeat the process every 3-5 years.

If you have the funds, replacing with composite decking will save a lot of work.

Definitely worth looking into switching to composite decking. As long as the joist are in good shape and spaced adequately it's not a difficult DIY job. I'm in the process of building a deck for a pergola, doing it myself using composite decking. Getting the joist framed out, supported, and level is the hard work. If that's already done installing the composite decking is fairly easy.

 

[Chuckanut]

My wood deck is mostly treated wood. The few un-treated planks that snuck in when I built it years ago have long since rotted out and been replaced.

Every year I clean it using detergent and bleach. I then scrape off the bad paint, prime the scraped places, and touch up the paint job. Since the deck gets dirty again in about a month, the touched up areas don't show for long. Every three years, after cleaning, scraping and priming the deck, I repaint the entire thing. Thankfully it is a simple flat deck so the actual painting is easily the easiest part of this process. I use deck paint purchased from a local paint store. It seems to last longer than ordinary exterior house paint.

So far the deck has lasted 38 years. But it is screaming for replacement. Maybe later this year after the deck season is over and prices are hopefully lower.

 

[REWahoo]

All that work is why I never paint or stain a deck. I just let it go natural.

+1

I have a large (700 SF) treated deck that I built 23 years ago. I made the mistake of staining it and never found anything that would look decent or last for more than 2 years. When I replaced the decking a few years ago I decided to let it go natural and have been happy that I did so. A good cleaning with a (low) pressure washer once a year has been all the maintenance needed.

 

[pacergal]

Paint or seal?

When I had a wood deck I did not paint it or strip it. I just cleaned and sealed it with a semi-transparent sealer.

Which I recommend.

Same here. We have never painted either one of our decks. A good oil will last several years. Clear or transparent color if desired.

 

[Souschef]

Eh, no matter what you do it’s going to be a lot of work and the paint job will fail more quickly than if it were regular lumber. Be prepared to repeat the process every 3-5 years.

If you have the funds, replacing with composite decking will save a lot of work.

+1 That is what we did. The original deak was just 2 x 6's. and staining it did not work well. We had it pulled up and replaced with a composite.

 

[travelover]

.........After 30+ years of maintaining a wood deck, I replaced it all with composite deck boards…

Thought about it but deck is built on 24 inch centers. I'd have to insert new joists between every existing one and then double block them because the composite boards are non structural. And the platform would need to be level which is harder than it looks with warpage of new lumber. Painting starts to look better.

 

[Sunset]

OP - With a 1/2 painted and half peeling deck, I'd scrape it, wash with bleach and use deck paint on it.
The paint on the bad side that is really stuck on, will probably be stuck for years.
When I used to paint wood house siding, we scraped the paint, but we didn't sand the outside of a house.

Sanding it all is a LOT of work, for something that is going to need to be redone every few years.

You might do 2 coats of paint as the scraped off parts will be quite noticeable after only 1 coat.

Let us know how it goes, include photos for fun.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Pressure washing should get most of the paint off and you could also check out sand blasting.
I need to redo my 30 year old wood balcony. My problem is all the nails are popping up so I need to replace them with long deck screws. The wood flooring itself is still in good shape but I'm also considering adding composite planks on top of it. I installed composite fence panels about 15 years now which still looks as good as new. I'm in California and it's stood up to 100 degree plus summers amazingly well.

 

[Sunset]

Thought about it but deck is built on 24 inch centers. I'd have to insert new joists between every existing one and then double block them because the composite boards are non structural. And the platform would need to be level which is harder than it looks with warpage of new lumber. Painting starts to look better.

They sell extra thin composite/plastic boards, you can put right over your wood deck.
Then joist width is not an issue.

 

[euro]

They sell extra thin composite/plastic boards, you can put right over your wood deck.
Then joist width is not an issue.

Sounds interesting. Can you provide a link for a product example? I searched but could not find it

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Maybe something like this?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiberon...omposite-Decking-Board-BRDVCG-BW-16/202594367

 

[Chuckanut]

Sounds interesting. Can you provide a link for a product example? I searched but could not find it

https://www.greatmats.com/outdoor-deck-tiles/interlocking-deck-tiles-old-deck-covering.php

These are tiles not boards. They might be useful for some people.

 

[zinger1457]

This composite deck product is sold as existing wood deck overlay, no idea if it's any good.
https://www.ultradeck.com/UltradeckWebsite/product.do?productLineId=617