Confused about re-staining deck

I have a pressure treated wood deck that is in fairly good condition, but I made some modifications so now there is bare treated wood on parts of it. The previous owners left a partial can of Olympic Cedar Naturaltone 716 stain/sealant so this is almost certainly what's on there and what I'll apply.

I bought a pressure washer from a home improvement store and asked the guy there what has to be done before reapplying. He seemed very knowledgeable, and explained exactly how to pressure wash it, then said to let dry a week or two. However I read somewhere that old stain must be removed otherwise the new stuff will flake off.

What's correct? I prefer the easiest route of course, and if it was up to me, I wouldn't have signed up for periodic maintenance like this by staining it in the first place.

 

Depending on your location and weather conditions new pressure treated wood needs months to dry out enough to stain.
Do it to soon and you'll be dealing with mold issues.
Clean the old section with a deck brightner, let it dry and restain.

 

If drying conditions are decent it shouldn't take more than a few days for the deck to dry after cleaning.
Generally you can apply a new coat of stain over clean weathered existing stain. When using toners you can't make much of a color change when going over an existing toner. Some color/texture difference between the old stained wood and the new wood is to be expected.

IMO there is no need for a deck brightener especially if the wood hasn't weathered or is already coated. I rarely use a brightener because a bleach/water solution generally does the same thing. It generally takes 6 weeks to 3 months for PT wood to dry out from the PT process.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The new section was actually put in last year, so it's dry by now.

I did some searching for deck brighteners, and found some called that exact name, and some called "deck cleaners". Some also contain bleach, and some don't. If I could remove the old stain and forget about staining forever, that would make me happy even if the coloration doesn't match exactly. How effective are wood strippers at removing old stain?

 

So is pressure washing alone usually sufficient, or does a chemical have to be used such as bleach?

Ideally I'd like to avoid staining entirely as this becomes another thing I have to do every few years. How well do wood strippers work to remove the old stain?

 

Some stain strippers work better than others, I rarely use them so I'm not overly familiar with them

Most deck cleaners have bleach in one form or another. I use a 50/50 mixture of bleach/water because it's cheap and effective. If the bleach solution is too strong it can damage the wood! Many of the commercially prepared deck cleaners use oxygenated [?] bleach which is more user and environmentally friendly.

Care should be used when pressure washing a deck, too much pressure or staying to long/close in one spot can chew up the wood! IMO it's better to use a chemical cleaner and just a water hose to rinse than use too much pressure. I do use a PWer but look at it as an aide to the cleaning process.

PT wood will hold up a good while unstained/sealed but it will last longer and look better if it's maintained with a quality stain job.

 

Me, too. This is why composite decking it worth the extra cost to me.