Got a deck that needs help. Previous owner applied a battleship grey semi-transparent stain from Behr and it is chipping\pealing away. We'd like to do away with the color entirely. Any suggestions on how to strip it off? Deck has about 200 1" x 1" ballisters on it. Is it easier to just rip the deck boards and the ballisters out and put in new ones? I know it'd be more money but maybe less hassle. Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

It would certainly be a lot more expense to replace the deck boards and the railing parts than stripping and restaining them. Before deciding which way to go, look carefully at the condition of the wood. It may well be due for replacement.

Figure out how much and what sizes of boards you need. Easy enough to take a list to a lumberyard and get a price quote on it.

Wood or composite? If you are thinking seriously about replacement, have them quote the material for one of the composites as well. A bit more expensive, but virtually ZERO maintenance.

Stripping the stain will probably leave at least a gray tint and some gray streaks to the deck. Getting the stain out of the softwood totally isn't going to happen. And choose the stripper carefully if there is landscaping and plants nearby. Most strippers will kill plants. The ones that won't harm plants (in my experience) involve a lot more work.

 

If you decide to keep your deck [boards] and wish to drastically change the color you will probably be better off using a solid color stain.

BTW stains aren't supposed to chip/peel. You might want to find out why before appling any stain. It is possible they applied oil stain over a wet deck.