Need Recommendations on Deck pPaint

[superskaterxes]

Need Recommendations on Deck Paint

not sure if this goes here but w/e

i moved into my house about 4 years ago and the deck out back was in pretty good condition. Since then its starting to show a little more age and i want to keep up with it so that it doesent need to be replaced for a LONG time. Some boards are starting to warp and theres a few nails that have popped here and there but what i really want to do is powerwash it and give it a new coat of paint.

anyone have any recommendations? Hows that new "deck over" stuff? I would like something thats durable so i dont need to re-do this in 3 years. Also am i stuck using a roller/brush or can i get away with one of those fancy air sprayers (i have the CFM for it) or the motorized ones?


Below are some picts from when we first moved in for reference.

 

[rburke65]

What type of material is the deck? Trex....wood....cedar....? That wood help....pun intended.

 

[superskaterxes]

What type of material is the deck? Trex....wood....cedar....? That wood help....pun intended.

pressure treated wood

so far this looks like it has the best reviews

https://www.olympic.com/products/exterior-stains/olympic-maximum-stain-sealant-in-one-solid-color

 

[glentre]

It's hard to tell what finish you have on it now but if it's pressure treated wood that has not been sealed with paint or any other coating that closes the pores, I would recommend that you not paint it. Use a good penetrating sealer with UV protection which will penetrate the surface and preserve the wood fibers. Thompson's and other cheap penetrating sealers won't last so it pays to buy a more expensive brand. Painting a deck completely closes the wood pores on the top surface, leaving the bottom face open to humidity which tends to let the boards warp. Also, paint is more prone to blisters and flaking which may require scraping off the loose paint next time you need to treat the deck.

Glen

 

[superskaterxes]

It's hard to tell what finish you have on it now but if it's pressure treated wood that has not been sealed with paint or any other coating that closes the pores, I would recommend that you not paint it. Use a good penetrating sealer with UV protection which will penetrate the surface and preserve the wood fibers. Thompson's and other cheap penetrating sealers won't last so it pays to buy a more expensive brand. Painting a deck completely closes the wood pores on the top surface, leaving the bottom face open to humidity which tends to let the boards warp. Also, paint is more prone to blisters and flaking which may require scraping off the loose paint next time you need to treat the deck.

Glen

if i had to guess i would say its been painted with a paint + sealer product similar to the one i linked above. It was really good at beading up the first few years but has since declined. The coating has held up really well and isent really peeling anywhere but i just want to keep that from happening. I am going to do a water test to make sure its actually porous before applying anything or else it wont stick.

 

[MarlynOC]

Looks to be a semi solid sealer was applied. If it has failed and you do not know what it was you will have to strip it off and start over. Use a stripper like SurStrip or a light mixture of HD80 then neutralize it with some brightener. Clean with a power washer to remove the coating. Let it dry to 10% moisture content then reseal with Ready Seal or Armstrong Clark.

 

[yeldogt]

How old is the deck? My guess -- they painted the deck to sell the house. 4 years is about right. Even if it was new 4 years is about correct .. and that would explain the boards.

It may have been painted before -- or not ... but it is now. The reality -- nothing is going to not require ongoing maintenance.

In the old days with oil based semi transparent stains -- you would clean them off with bleach followed by an oxalic acid wash .. let dry and re-coat with oil semi transparent satin -- good for another 5 years. The oil stains being easy to apply.

You can't do the same with the newer products -- even if they used a semi transparent latex satin .... when you clean it up a new semi will not hide the previous finish remaining.

The new semi transparent -- it's like paint. You will most likely need a solid stain -- more like paint.

With a cedar deck or an unfinished PT deck -- the above cleaning routine brings them back to new. Once you coat -- it never ends.

I'm doing 200ft of board and batten cedar wall this year -- I'm in the same boat as you.

 

[Davefr]

Painting a deck is the worst thing you can do but it sounds like that ship has already sailed. Paint looks great for about a month and then will start looking like ****. It's just not a good choice for a horizontal surface

I'd strip it and use a wood preservative or a very lightly tinted oil based transparent stain like Sikkens Clear Solution.

 

[Tonyuk]

I have painted decking out the back and regretted it after about a year. I went for Red Cedar by Ronseal and it started to look a bit shabby quickly and seemed to make the decking quite slippery when wet, which is unfortunately often in Scotland. I'm going for a good decking oil next and i plan on stripping it down near the end of the summer.

Probably something along this lines of this;

http://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-decking-oil-cedar-5ltr/85807

Tonyuk

 

[tjc1965]

I have a 10 year old pressure treated deck, I used this stuff this year over it:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-DeckOver-1-gal-Wood-and-Concrete-Coating-500001/206031374

It looks good now, and seals the wood surface enough that you feel safe walking on it barefoot.

The reviews on the website are mixed, and I don't work this deck very hard and it's only been a few months, so I can't say much more than that. My goal it to get a few more years out of it then either be moved out, or replace it completely with a bigger better deck

 

[ShumanSS6.0]

Cabot
Not sure if you have a menards near you in Maryland but that is where I purchased semi acrylic stain.
Pressure wash, sand (with respirator or mask and your patience), stain.
Mine is on year three this summer and has a few areas where it is starting to flake so next summer I'll sand the horizontals and re-apply

 

[olytdi]

Look into Penofin. Rosewood oil based. Marine-grade product. Fantastic stuff.

 

[vtcat]

Is it possible to find out what the previous owners used?

 

[Matt M PA]

My Mother has a sizable deck that was painted by a contractor last Fall. I can't recall the paint he used, but it was something like a "Deck Restore" paint that made it a lighter brown color. They supposedly prepped it, replaced a few bad boards, etc.

It's already peeled off in places, and looks terrible. The contractor is coming out next week to sort it out.

So, I too would not recommend a coating...

 

[MarlynOC]

look for reviews of what ever you decide to go with. Look at the grimescene a power washing sealing site for inplut.

 

[cpamplin]

Re: Need Recommendations on Deck Paint

Are there any issues with sanding a pressure treated wood deck prior to refinishing? Mine was never painted but has been through several pressure wash/oil stain cycles and the wood has been gradually worn down between the grain from the pressure washes. This year I was thinking of taking a belt or plate sander to it first.

 

[MarlynOC]

Make sure you set all the nails and use 80 grit.

 

[BillK]

Like the others have said you really need to figure out what is on it now before you decide what to do next. I would take off a small piece, maybe from one of the benches and take it to a "real" paint store like Sherwin Williams and have them look at it and tell what would work best.

My deck is almost 30 years old and I have used Olympic oil based stain on it since new. Generally have to redo it every 3 or 4 years to keep it really nice. I have never pressure washed it. I just use a deck cleaner with a good stiff scrub brush. Takes some time but does not tear up the wood like the pressure washer does.

 

[Shiftless]

All of the above advise about no paint on decks is 100% correct. Peeling, scraping, sanding, recoating... Sorry to be so blunt but that is your fate.

The recommendations for oil are good if you have a bare surface that is dry.

I have 3 decks at my house. Two of them are redwood. One that is 20 years old I treated with oil like olytdi mentioned just once when it was only a couple of months old. The other is completely natural so it weathered to driftwood gray. The 3rd one is a trex like material called Moisture Shield. No problems with any of them and zero maintenance.

You might consider pulling up all that pressure treated wood and replacing it with something else. Be aware that all the trex like material require closer spacing of your support joists.

 

[6768rogues]

I just did my treated back porch with Olympic Elite solid color stain. It went on and covered well, but took days to dry in great weather for drying. Brushing is best as it works the material into the wood.

 

[yeldogt]

Re: Need Recommendations on Deck Paint

Are there any issues with sanding a pressure treated wood deck prior to refinishing? Mine was never painted but has been through several pressure wash/oil stain cycles and the wood has been gradually worn down between the grain from the pressure washes. This year I was thinking of taking a belt or plate sander to it first.

Be careful -- years ago it was common to to use what looked like a drywall sander on a pole to dress up and remove splinters / fuzz ... power sander on old PT deck -- not a good idea.

 

[superskaterxes]

well looks like i have a lot more thinking to do lol

thanks for all the help guys

 

[thejudges69]

We used a product from sikkens, did my shed and sons play set with it, so far, we are about a year in and no pealing. We went to several different stores, no home Depot or Lowe's. We did a real paint store, Pittsburgh paints sent us to one place, well on the way to that place was Sherwin Williams, they sent us to the same place we were going, everyone that we went to said get sikkens, best stuff for weather and decks. Will last 3-5 years in our environment. Very worth the money. Check it out.

 

[bpjr]

I haven't looked for it in years but if you can find it an oil based stain is best. It saturates the grain and doesn't leave a built up coating. The problem with paints and coating is they eventually start peeling or chipping. This leads to paint chips clinging to your shoes and getting tracked inside. PT wood decking shrinks for years before stabilizing. Setting deck planks with grain pointing up results in cupping and the raised edges chip easier. Painting a deck is signing up for high maintenance.

 

[yeldogt]

FYI: The old oil stains are NLA ...... All the old formulations have been done in by the VOC rules. Some of the older clear finishes are available in quarts for special applications (only some states) -- typical redcoat on a wood front door. Even the boat finishes are NLA is gallons.

They all look fine for a year or two, but once the finish starts to fail you have to remove the failing finish or the new top coating is just going to come off with the old. This is true of any outside work -- it's just magnified when talking about a deck -- horizontal surface that taks the elements.

 

[MarlynOC]

Ready seal oil based. Armstrong Clark as well.

 

[cpamplin]

We used a product from sikkens, did my shed and sons play set with it, so far, we are about a year in and no pealing. We went to several different stores, no home Depot or Lowe's. We did a real paint store, Pittsburgh paints sent us to one place, well on the way to that place was Sherwin Williams, they sent us to the same place we were going, everyone that we went to said get sikkens, best stuff for weather and decks. Will last 3-5 years in our environment. Very worth the money. Check it out.

I also used the oil-based Sikkens the first time I pressure washed and stained our pressure treated deck. It was great, never peeled just eventually gave way to the elements. PNW rain so the deck is wet 8 months of the year.