Pressure Washer PSI Question

[Toastberg]

So I am really clueless when it comes to pressure washers. I've never owned one and never used one, but I know that one could be really useful for a lot of projects I have so I'm looking at buying one.
My question is, for wet sandblasting (using a kit like Northern Tools) I've read that a pressure of 3000 PSI is recommended, but for stripping my deck I've heard more than ~1600ish can mess up the wood. So on a 3100 PSI pressure washer can I step down the pressure enough that it won't hurt my deck, or would I be better off buying the big washer and renting a smaller washer for that?

 

[theoldwizard1]

#1 - NEVER sandblast wood ! You won't have anything left. Wet sandblasting would require a HUGE compressor like they use to jack hammer roads.

#2 - With pressure washer anything from about 1600-2400 psi is fine IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH VOLUME (at LEAST 2 gallons per minute).

#3 - There are some good deck wash/prep solutions out there. Follow the directions. Usually apply, scrub with push broom, rinse. If it is really bad, wait a full day for it to dry and repeat. Wait a couple of days to dry before apllying any new coating.

 

[Toastberg]

Sorry, I phrased that post badly. I wasn't planning on using the wet sandblasting connection on the deck, I was planning on using it to remove rust and paint from metal. I was just wondering if I could use the same pressure washer, without the sandblaster attachment, to spray the old paint off my deck. From the sound of your post though that may be a bad idea, so I'll look into deck prep solutions. Thanks!

 

[bert1913]

To clean my deck I bought a 1800 psi pressure washer from Costco. I wasn't impressed with the pressure, so I bought a rotary turbo nozzle for it. Made a big difference in the performance of my pressure washer.