Trying to choose a deck refinishing product

If anyone has used any deck refinishing products I would appreciate your feedback. Right now, it's between Behr DeckOver and Rustoleum Restore, but if you have another suggestion please let me know. Thank you!
  9 answers
  • Ilona Elliott Ilona Elliott on Mar 31, 2015
    Well here is my personal experience with Restore: I've used it on four different decks. The best results I got were when I used a belt sander to sand off any pre-existing finish on older wood deck boards, and vacuumed and cleaned all the dust off before painting on the Restore, two coats rolled on. I did this in E Oregon in the mountains where the climate is very dry and harsh. The finish looked great and seemed to hold up well (for at least a couple of years, although I no longer own the house so don't know for sure). Here in W Washington State where it is milder and wetter, I did not sand the old deck, just washed it well with deck cleaner, let dry and painted on the Restore. Those decks are not holding up well at all and the finish is peeling right off. My sister painted over her old painted deck in Connecticut and is having some peeling issues also. I think if you are willing to sand the old finish off first it is going to work, but if you don't want to go through that, it may not hold up. Hope that helps you.
    • @Ilona Elliott Thank you so much! That is very helpful! I may just sand the deck anyway no matter which product I use. It is in bad shape, but it has 1 1/2 in thick boards so sanding won't hurt it...and I do not have the money to replace it right now. I really appreciate your feedback.
  • Ilona Elliott Ilona Elliott on Mar 31, 2015
    Karla I just found another board here on hometalk and lot's of people are saying the Restore didn't work for them. You might want to check it out, as the product is a little spendy although nothing compared to replacing the decking.
  • Ilona Elliott Ilona Elliott on Mar 31, 2015
    You're welcome Karla. I really think the product is okay IF the boards are sanded and the wood is dry dry dry when the product is applied and that it doesn't rain on it before it cures. I think most of the problems with mine were moisture in the wood and also residual finish and possibly mildew on the deck that were not removed by just cleaning the deck first. Good Luck. It is a pretty cool product when it works. So fun to walk barefoot on the deck! And so many colors!
  • Anne Anne on Mar 31, 2015
    Has anyone had experience with Behr DeckOver?
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Apr 01, 2015
    Search this site for the Restore product from Rustoleum - a lot of nasty comments about it peeling. I got sick of staining so when I had new deck step installed, I rubbed on Tung oil. Darkens the wood a little but also acts as a moisture repellent. Couldn't be happier with the results. Think Danish oil would work, too.
    • @Marion Nesbitt Thank you so much! That is very helpful. I'll keep the Tung oil in mind if I ever replace this deck. The one I have now has a horrible surface.
  • Ed Anderson Ed Anderson on Apr 02, 2015
    Stay away from Rust-Oleum Restore. Mounting Lawsuits against Rust-Oleum http://www.durabilityanddesign.com/news/?fuseaction=view&id=12801 Go to Amazon, Home Depot or Lowe's websites and look at the reviews of this product and decide if you want to become a victim as well.
  • Beth Beth on Aug 14, 2020

    Hi Karla, I was wondering if you could share how you made the floating vanity with pipes? Thank you

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Jan 30, 2021

    I would not use rustoleum at all

  • Deb K Deb K on May 02, 2021

    Hi Karla, I used DeckOver and my advice is don't do it! It looks nice at first, now we live in a climate with winter so I don't think it's designed for the changing seasons, it looked awful in the spring, we removed it all after sanding for 6 weeks and went with a stain instead. One thing I am looking at now is the vinyl covering for our deck, it works great here for the seasons!