Painted deck -- what to do?

[rch3791]

Hello,

I bought a house with a large deck. The deck is painted (yes, painted, not stained) with a red barn paint. The paint is in awful condition, it flakes and exposes wood in many places. There is some rotten wood as well.

What can I do with this deck? Should I try to remove the paint altogether and stain it? If yes, how do I remove all paint? Should I sand the paint and apply new layer of red barn paint? I prefer the look of the natural wood.

Thanks,
R. C. H.

[HayZee518]

if, like you say, the paint is already coming off, its adhesion is not too good, a pressure washer may remove the rest of it and after the deck is dry, spot sanding the other areas may prove to be beneficial. use a good thompson's water seal finish. they come in tinted stains as well as clear coat. thompson's is a solvent oil base.

[pugeled]

i would not bother with trying to remove it I have seen the result of trying to remove it and it NEVER works there are allways spots that wont
clean up and when you seal it with clear sealer it looks shocking trust me! plus the pain and suffering of trying to remove it YOU will regret
trying, i would be inclined to buy new decking boards a little at a time
and replace them bit by bit at your own pace and seal as you go the result will a good deck that will last forever, and YOU done it (way to go)

REGARDS PUGELED

[tuffun]

I went a different way with my porch. It was mostly in the same condition.
I ripped the old stuff up and replaced it with composite wood.
A bit more expensive than say PT stuff, but I never hafta sand/paint/stain
again. And the finished product looks great.

It cuts easily with a battery trim saw(craftsmen kit)- makes a bit of a mess
that unlike sawdust you end up cleaning up.
It also comes in various colors and lengths, with rails and posts parts.

[mrcaptainbob]

Removing that paint may prove to be a waste of effort. Since you've found some rotten wood, there may be more under the loose paint. Sounds like the safest way would be to inspect all the deck support construction as well as the decking. Where is the rot at? Decking, beams or support posts?

[wvguy]

my thought would be . replace boards . or flip the boards over if they are in good shape then stain with a high quality stain(anything but thompsons) or pressure up much as you can then use a solid latex deck stain .

[wmlbrn]

Can i paint the deck with that ruberized paint for garage floors and such and will it hold up or rot the wood?

[wvguy]

99% of all garage paint is only rated for concrete. Wood expands and contracts way too much to put a floor paint on it. Remember you can use a 100% acrlyic latex stain. As others have said cleaning is important. remove all the loose paint you can then use two coats of solid latex deck stain. Also, some paint and stain companies have different recommendations for there product. Example some use a primer(Behr, Cabot, etc.) and others are self priming(Olympic etc) Either way they all will request all loose be removed and a good deck cleaner used to remove dirt as well as kill mildew and mold. This might be your most economical route.