Deck stripping/staining for dummies


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Old 04-17-03, 12:17 PM
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Thumbs up Deck stripping/staining for dummies

We are finally done refinishing our deck and I thought I would share. The deck is 16X32 feet or about 500 sq ft. I did lots of research here, through the Internet, and by calling the manufacturer of the products we used. Once again, your mileage may vary.

It originally had a stain on it, manufacturer unknown. I purchased two gallons of Cabot's stripper which was $18/gallon. It worked SO good, stripped the stain and turned the wood the original tan/new wood color. This did about half the deck. Since our local hardware store was out, I went to Lowe's for some more. They sold the Flood brand with the same active ingredient for $15/gallon so I bought 3 more. The Flood brand was NOT good. It only stripped about 70% of the stain and the wood was the gray, weathered looking stuff. Another trip to a different hardware store and it took two more gallons of Cabot's to get the good results. The Cabot's does require that you use another neutralizing/cleaner after, but it comes with the stripper. EXCELLENT results with Cabot!! Flood is off my Christmas card list now!

The deck took 2 gallons of 1437 Cordovan Brown Decking Stain at $22/gal. Why Cabots? It was top rated by Consumer Reports and they said it lasted 4 years! Most other stains last 1 year. One of our friends used Valspar 7 year stain and experienced lifting after one year.

Application took forever. Cabot's recommends using a brush. Brushing is NOT an option though, it takes too long. We took their secondary advice and rolled and back-brushed with a brush. During a call with their tech support, they recommending brushing because rolling imparts microscopic holes in the finish due to air bubbles that rolling caused, this erodes the finish much quicker.

I assumed that the run-off would fall into the gaps in the boards and cover. Not so! The gaps required manual brushing so the edges and slightly down into the gap would be stained. The allows you to not see raw wood when looking from any angle on the deck. Total time was about 6 hours for stripping and 12-15 hours for staining. The job was a REAL pain in the back, but I have faith that using quality products and quality techniques that our deck will weather excellently hopefully over the next few years. 1-800-US-STAIN or www.cabotstain.com for information on Cabot's products.

Pics:
http://members.cox.net/rschunck/deck1.jpg
http://members.cox.net/rschunck/deck2.jpg
 
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Old 04-17-03, 05:37 PM
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Nice start Wallpaper!

But that slider is just begging for a deck in front of it! (Next years' project?)

And the whole thing needs a cover over it!! (That's a couple years out??)
 
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Old 04-17-03, 06:39 PM
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We thought about brick for in front of the French doors. The material cost would be around $400 for the brick alone, plus gravel, stone dust, and a lot of work. Too much to think about right now! So we dug up the existing previous homeowner's lunacy and planted grass seed. We will eventually make a brick step for now, but who knows later.

A cover is in the works, either one of those retractable canopies like you see on the TV ads or possibly some sort of tent arrangement. 16X32 is pretty darn big and we have to factor in the cost too. It will take hanging a lot of wallpaper to finish off these projects, but all we need is time and money.

Don't forget about patio furniture, too. I think that is next on the shopping list. It may be cheap Wal-Mart chairs this year, and a nice $400-$700 set next summer. Can't wait to use the pool though, only a few more weeks I hope!
 
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Old 04-17-03, 07:11 PM
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Cabot's is a good product, just not as widely available as it should be. If you get three year's duty you will be lucky. The Consumer Report comparison chart I have lists Cabot's, Sikkens, and Wolman F&P as the top three stains. I've been using the Wolmans, but I am finding two years is about max for it.
There are a couple other regional stains which have been lauded by the professionals on the BBS I belong to. These are SuperDeck and Ready Seal. I have yet to find them in my area and I decline to pay the shipping. TWP is another fairly good product.

As far as stripping goes, it usually takes a stiong sodium hydroxide (lye) solution. And strong base solutions usually need an acidic neutralizer such as oxalic or citric. I use a mild oxalic to neutralize.

Fred
Deck-Kleen Powerwashing
 
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Old 04-17-03, 07:51 PM
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Wallpaper, you are right -- it takes hanging a lot of wallpaper to afford decks and patio covers, and vica versa!!
 
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Old 05-11-03, 03:37 AM
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I have a deck about the same size that I fitted about 6 months ago..I had visions of old peeling stain or varnish in the future so I decided on a slightly darkened danish oil treatment instead. Hopefully,all I will need to do is re oil the deck every year or two..
A gallon of danish oil comes to about 30 of your American dollars athough I would imagine that boiled linseed oil would be just as effective and much cheeper.
 
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Old 05-11-03, 05:03 AM
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toptosher,
Most penetrating oil stains will not peel, but the weather does take it's toll. But you're right about any varnish, even marine spar, as they will be a peeling nightmare.
The problem with Danish oil is that the uv will still cause the wood to grey, and almost annual scrubbing or pressure washing will be needed.
here's a sitr to check,
http://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/acat...formation.html

fred
 
 

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