What's the best way to restain/paint a wooden deck with mutiple layers
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My daughter bought a house built in 1938. The previous owners added on a deck to the back of the house and it's in need of restaining but there are multiple layers and she wants it to look good.
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Wire brushes and knee pads with rollers! You are going to have to remove that bulk of build up. If you don’t you will just be wasting time and cash. There are some great tips I’ve gotten from Utube. Seriously, good tips! 🐸
Power wash it an then let it dry ,sand it ,then you could heat some linseed oil put it down .
Multiple layers of stain? Transparent and semi-transparent stains are fairly easy to re-stain. Solid color stains and deck renewal products need to be removed first because they are more like paint. I'm providing a link to a site with lots of info. You should email the link to your daughter and she should start by reading the section on cleaning, then move on to stripping, then brightening if needed, and finally staining to find the best type of stain. https://www.deckstainhelp.com/category/wood-deck-cleaning/
In my opinion transparent stains and Thompson's Waterseal are a waste of time and money. They have to be redone every year, and the oils in Thompson's promote mold and algae growth. The deck restorer products such as Behr Deckover, Olympic Rescue-It, and Rust-Oleum Deck Restore do not work. They peel because they can't take freezing weather. There are class action suits over these products. Only Gulf Synthetics Deck Revive gets a favorable rating. Solid color stains are more like paints, but they are not as good as paint and are difficult to remove.
Semi-transparent stains should be redone every 3 years, but they are the best choice for new decks and allow the grain to show through. A relatively new class of semi-solid stain may be best for older decks. Less woodgrain shows through, but the stains are more UV resistant and durable. Cabot has a large number of colors. Armstrong Clark and Olympic also have semi-solid stains. No stain, no matter the brand, will last more than 5 years, so if you want to stain, plan on re-staining at least that often. Durability is decided by sun exposure, climate and usage. For instance, all stains will wear more at a doorway or on steps, or wherever people congregate.
Given the potential age. Have you check its structural integrity? Standards have changed.