How-To Tips on Maintaining Your Exterior Wood and Decks

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  Why products fail?

• When a stain is applied over a previous coating, applied too thick, or a solid color stain/paint was used resulting in a film-forming coating. A film-forming coating is a product that does not penetrate into the wood, resulting in premature peeling and or flaking. 

• The deck/wood is not properly prepped for application of the Deck Stain.

• New wood is not dry and/or prepped properly for application of stain. You should not stain a brand new deck/wood without applying a wood deck cleaner and brightener to open the pores.

• Unless absolutely necessary (removal of solid stain and/or paint), never power sand a deck. This will close the pores of the wood and your new stain may not penetrate properly. If you must, try not to use a grit finer than 60 grit. You can lightly sand by hand or with de-felting pads on low speed orbital sanders to remove splinters and/or raised grain of wood.

Power Washing Tips
We suggest that only experienced professionals use a power washer when cleaning your deck/wood. It will obviously make your cleaning of the deck/wood a lot quicker if you do use a power washer. If you use a power washer please follow these guidelines:

• Always use a deck cleaner and or deck stripper. The cleaners do 90% of the work.

• Use the power washer as a high pressure rinse off. Never as the only tool to remove or clean the wood.

• Wash with a motion similar to sweeping of broom (pendulum motion). Wash with the grain of the wood. Exaggerate your sweeping motion, never stop and reverse your direction without sweeping up. Not doing this will result in a "stop" mark on your deck. Never use more than 1200 psi of pressure. This does not mean you cannot use a 3000 psi machine. It is only 3000 psi if you are washing from 1 inch away. If you are 8-12 inches away you will be using about half the amount of pressure.

• Always use extreme caution when using a power washer. Improper use could result in severe damage to wood. If you do not feel qualified, contact a professional in your area.

New or Gray looking Decks/Wood
If your deck/wood is new or does not have a previous coating follow these steps:

• Clean wood with a wood deck cleaner . This will open the pores and remove any graying and or dirt. Use a power washer or hand scrub to clean the wood or deck.

• Follow cleaning of the wood with a wood brightener. A wood brightener is essential to the process and is the easiest step. A wood brightener neutralizes the cleaner and lightens/brightens the wood.

• Apply wood or deck stain of choice. We recommend  applying the wood or Deck Stain using a stain pad or a stain pad/sprayer method. The use of a stain pad allows the person applying the finish the ability to "push" the sealer/stain into the wood. If you are going to use a sprayer make sure that you back wipe any puddles so that the sealer/stain is applied evenly. *Make sure that you follow all manufacturers application directions.

Previously Coated Deck/Wood
If your deck/wood has a transparent Deck Sealer or Stain follow these steps. Transparent means that you can still see the natural grain of the wood. If you cannot see the natural grain of the wood then you probably have a solid color (opaque) stain or paint. See below for further info for solid stains/paints.

• Clean wood with a Deck stripper. A deck stripper will "soften" the previous deck stain or sealer. Use a power washer or hand scrub to rinse the "softened" coating. Depending on the thickness of the previous coating it may be necessary to strip more than once. Typically most deck stains or sealers will be removed with one strip.

• Follow stripping of the wood with a wood brightener. A wood brightener is essential to the process and is the easiest step. A wood brightener neutralizes the stripper and lightens/brightens the wood.

• Apply wood or deck stain of choice. We recommend  applying the wood or Deck Stain using a stain pad or a stain pad/sprayer method. The use of a stain pad allows the person applying the finish the ability to "push" the sealer/stain into the wood. If you are going to use a sprayer make sure that you back wipe any puddles so that the sealer/stain is applied evenly. *Make sure that you follow all manufacturers application directions.

Solid Color Stains / Paints
For the majority of cases solid stains/paints cannot be completely stripped. If you want to completely remove the coating you will need to either power sand the deck or strip the deck an unknown amount of times. You cannot apply a transparent stain or sealer over a solid stained or painted deck.

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slimejim |Y-m-d H:i:s Thanks for the article! Everything makes sense since I have been doing the opposite and it hasn't worked very well.

DeckRestAdmin |Y-m-d H:i:s We have over 15 years and over 6500 deck restores in experience. Don't feel bad, most homeowners do not know how to restore their deck properly.

Handy-Homeowner  - Deck " Wet Look" question |Y-m-d H:i:s Hi, I live in Miami. I built my deck last year, now, I want to add to my deck floor a coat of Urethane to give the " wet" look. It has a Behr Stain in the border and a Cabot clear coat in the center. The border with Bher is decolorating I will need to apply a new coat. The wet look is not only for the looks, but it is easier to clean, in addition, I think it protects better the wood from the Humidity ( I may be wrong) Questions: It is safe to install it in the floor of the deck? Do I need to sand the floor but I do not want to take the color out . Any recommendations? Thank you Very Much RP

DeckRestAdmin |Y-m-d H:i:s Putting a film forming finish such as a urethane is one of the worst things you can do to a deck. It will attract mildew/mold, peel, turn yellow, and you will need to sand the deck completely to remove it when it fails. Please do not do this I feel bad when people do this to their decks. It will cause you a future headache that is hard to fix.

John Slaughter  - save my deck |Y-m-d H:i:s My deck is eight years old, I have washed and restained my deck twice. I was going to add on to it and found that the old wood has deep grooves and is real dry. Can I save my old deck?

DeckRestAdmin |Y-m-d H:i:s To replenish dry wood you should use a stain that will rejuvenate the dried cells. A good example would be the Armstrong Clark Wood Stain

retif |Y-m-d H:i:s the tips are very needed. its is quite impossible to treat something without instructions, and very helpful when there are explained the most often failures and their solution

retif |Y-m-d H:i:s Quote: Always use extreme caution when using a power washer. Improper use could result in severe damage to wood. If you do not feel qualified, contact a professional in your area. you are quite right - the job is for professionals, and spoiling a house will cost much more anyway.

retif |Y-m-d H:i:s Quote: For the majority of cases solid stains/paints cannot be completely stripped is it true? how can one use a transparent sealer, if previous was a solid one?

retif |Y-m-d H:i:s Handy wrote: border with Bher is decolorating I will need to apply a new coat. it looks like Behr is really a low quality stuff. but is it still possible, the term of use expired?

retif |Y-m-d H:i:s Quote: can meet and exceed your need for oil based wood coatings what means meet I know, but what does it mean - "exceed your need"? If I need to use the wood for 50 years, does it mean the coating will last longer or so?