Hello,

We have a 12 year cedar deck. It has been maintained
(sort of) and last year rotting boards were replaced
and a new pine walkway to the deck was added to
replace the rotting cedar one.. A Behr's stain was
used after a pressure washing. I must tell you that
we have used different products in different years and
the deck is gross. The verticals are a darker color
(used penefin) and the flats have been exposed to Behr
products.

After reading, I think we could have done a better
job. This spring our deck rebelled. It began
shedding the stain. If I take a blower to the deck I
can literally blow off chunks of the stain and get
down to the bare wood. After a heavy rain, there are
hunks of stain plastered against the house and it's
quite slippery underfoot where the stain hunks have
pooled.

My guess from my reading is that the entire thing
needs to be stripped. I am asking for your
professional advice as to what products would be best
for our deck. It is approximately 800 sq. feet.

If I'm on the right track, could you please advise
what stains would be best for our aged deck? Does it
need a brightener? I look forward to your advice.

You are correct that your deck should be stripped and all previous coatings should be removed. The problem is that the Behr can be hard to remove sometimes. The Penofin should be easier though. I would start with a good stripper such as the Powersolve Hose-Connect. I suggest this since it is easier to apply. In general all of the deck strippers we sell will work well.

It is very important to brighten the wood after. The brightener neutralizes the stripper and changes the pH balance back to its proper balance.

I would suggest a deck stain that is easy to apply, penetrates well, and does not darken in color.