How To Sand The Stain Off Your Wood Deck

If it’s time to redo the finish on your deck, you will need to remove any stain before you can add new stain to your wood deck.
Here are some tips to stain a wood deck without any problems.

Tools Needed

• Stiff Broom
• Garden Hose
• Pressure Washer
• Liquid Deck Stripper
• Orbit Sander
• 80 Grit Sand Paper
• Safety Goggles
• Gloves

Clean The Deck

You first step is to thoroughly sweep the deck with a hard-bristle broom. Just becase you will hose the deck later does not mean you can skip this step. The broom will help to remove any leaves and other large debris that can get caught in the slats.

Hose It Off

Once you’ve swept everything, hose the deck off. Use a spray nozzle for more power and a quicker job.

Beofre moving on, remove everything from your deck, including plants and furniture.

Deck Stripper

Some deck strippers are very toxic, so be sure to find one that will suit your needs. You can find more mild strippers that will work just fine. Read the bottles! Because some of them can be toxic, any plants or vegetation near the deck can be damaged. If possible, protect these items.

Read the directions carefully. Some strippers will require that you wet the deck first, while others require it to be dry.

Most deck strippers can be hooked up directly to your garden hose. Others require you mix them yourself and spray, and some come as a sort of paint that you roll on. The sprays are the easiest to use

Apply the stripper according to the directions. You generally have to wait 20 minutes or so for the stripper to work.

Once it is done, you can use the pressure washer to clear the stripper from the deck. Work slowly and carefully as pressure washing incorrectly can damage your deck.

Sand It

It’s best to wait several days for the wood to completely dry before attempting to sand your deck. Sanding a wet or damp deck can not only be messy and not as effective, but it can also damage the wood.

If you have a small deck, you can use a hand sander. If your deck is larger, consider renting a larger machine.

As long as you use the correct grit sand paper, you won’t have to worry about any nails. The sander should just glide right over them, not causing any damage.

When you are finished, you will be ready to apply a new coat of stain or paint to your deck.