When it’s time to stain an old faded deck, surface preparation is the key when getting ready to put a new finish on. You can pay a professional several hundred dollars to do this for you, but if you have the determination and a free weekend, you can do it yourself and save a ton of money.  First, consider the condition of the wood.  I was told by a home store salesman that if my deck was old and worn looking I should opt for a solid color stain, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but personally, I wouldn’t recommend it.  The surface looked fabulous for one season, then it started bubbling off despite our best efforts to prep the deck first.  Also it was a latex, which is great for clean up, but not so great for the actual wood.  Since that time, I only chose penetrating oil stains that go deep into the wood and will last for more than one season.

The first step is a good pressure washing.  If you don’t have a pressure washer rent one, borrow one, whatever it takes.  This is very important.  If you’ve made a stupid mistake, like treating your deck with a solid color stain, you may need to pressure wash it more than once and you may need to do some sanding.  I don’t use any detergent when I’m pressure washing, though the only concern I had with my deck was removing the finish.  If you are dealing with another issue, like moss or mildew, you will have to use a product specifically formulated to deal with those problems.

Now for the actual technique.  Unless your deck is relatively spotless, you are going to have to get down and dirty with the pressure washer.  If you pressure wash the deck in a sweeping spray pattern, like you are washing a car, you’re doing it all wrong.  You have to get the sprayer close to the surface, 3-4 inches and just blast the bejesus out of it!

Yes, this is going to make a huge mess because you are literally blasting the old finish right off.  Don’t forget the cracks, blast those out too, get all the grass, pine needles, whatever out of there.  If your deck sits close to ground level, it will send any varmints that are currently making their home under your deck scurrying!

After you’ve blasted everything away it’s time to let the deck dry and re evaluate.  It’s really hard to tell sometimes when the deck is still wet.  You may have to repeat this process several times, especially if your deck is older and the wood is aged and cracked.  When the deck is dry again after all this abuse you can spot sand any places that the finish continues to lurk in.  I used a palm sander but a belt sander would work nicely as well.  Don’t forget all those spots that don’t get weathered, like facing boards and places under built in benches.  If your do need to sand I recommend one more power wash when your sanding is done.

Once your deck is completely prepped and dry it’s time to apply your new finish.  I use a large staining pad screwed onto a long handle and a roller pad.  Some professionals spray, but I think the oil is able to penetrate better if a staining pad or roller is used.  If possible avoid direct sunlight.  Our deck faces west, so I have to start early in the morning so that I’m mostly done before the sun gets on that side of the house. You will also need a paintbrush to stain around any trim areas.  The surface should be walkable in several hours but I would wait on replacing your patio furniture until the next day.

If you use an oil based stain you will need turpentine for cleaning up your brushes and rollers, I usually just throw my pad away at the end of the day, our deck is pretty rough, so it’s usually completely destroyed anyway.  Good luck, with a little bit of elbow grease and a lot of sweat, you can have a beautiful deck!

Article by Jean Marie Stanberry-Kingsmuir Press Author

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