How to Strip paint from a deck

Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes

How do you strip thick paint off a deck? I put a little paint stripper on a patch, but it just gummies up the top layer slightly. Belt sander did a little better, but I would never finish. Is there a technique or product that works best? It looks like deck-over or similar paint.

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Kyle Steinmetz

Member since 2020 · 13 posts · 9 votes

@Brian Morris have your tried a pressure washer? Most likely you are not going to be able to stain a deck that has been painted. You will have a hard time getting 100% of the paint off. If you choose to lay new deck boards, there is currently a shortage of treated lumber and you might have a hard time finding what you need. You should let new deck boards dry out for 6 months before staining in my opinion. Good Luck on your project.

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Geoff K.
Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 14 votes
6y
Replace the deck boards; much cheaper than the time it would take you.
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Brian Morris
OP
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Geoff K. I was planning on staining.. so would you opt for untreated boards then? I've heard you can't stain pressure treated wood if its still "wet", as in the moisture content is high the recent pressure treatment.
Wood isn't that cheap, but I still have to remove the old boards and install the new ones, speaking of time.
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Geoff K.
Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 14 votes
6y
You are right about it needing to dry. I just have spent so many hours trying to strip paint that I found replacing it was often a better solution. Good luck!
2 Reply
Brian Morris
OP
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Geoff K. thanks for the suggestion!
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Kyle Steinmetz
Member since 2020 · 13 posts · 9 votes
6y
@Brian Morris have your tried a pressure washer? Most likely you are not going to be able to stain a deck that has been painted. You will have a hard time getting 100% of the paint off. If you choose to lay new deck boards, there is currently a shortage of treated lumber and you might have a hard time finding what you need. You should let new deck boards dry out for 6 months before staining in my opinion. Good Luck on your project.
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Brian Morris
OP
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Kyle Steinmetz Pressure washing the paint was useless. I used it on the balusters, and a decent amount of black came off, but they still look pretty bad. I understand about letting the wood dry out for a few months.
I'll call HD and lowes tomorrow to see if they have the decking... :/
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Lynnette E.
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Brian Morris:
@Kyle Steinmetz Pressure washing the paint was useless. I used it on the balusters, and a decent amount of black came off, but they still look pretty bad. I understand about letting the wood dry out for a few months.
I'll call HD and lowes tomorrow to see if they have the decking... :/

If they have it go get it immediately! The 2 Lowes stores by me have been out since the quarantine started and everyone started redoing their houses...when some come in it is gone fast.
1 Reply
Max T.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
@Brian Morris
You’ll be on the phone for 2 hrs. Just check their website/app. It’s accurate +\- a few
1 Reply
Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Had a fellow investor attempt to burn if off with one of those propane weed torches. It was hilarious, the fumes were putrid but it was easier to scrape the melted gunk off but the old paint still stained the wood grain & the 'torched' decking was only 4x8. Wish I had taken a pic.
He has since used the 'flame thrower' to add burn marks to various skid-wood projects & that had added an interesting perspective.
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Matt W.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2018 · 157 posts · 83 votes
6y
@Brian Morris
Might be worth it to look into dry ice or soda blasting. Might not be available in your area but is way more aggressive at removing than pressure washing and non toxic.
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Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Saw this so just a heads up on the flame thrower idea :)
But it definitely removes the paint !!!
3 Reply
Aaron F.
Investor · US · Member since 2017 · 71 posts · 80 votes
6y
Have you seen the price of lumber lately? I would try to avoid replacement if the wood is in good shape. I just went through this, but not with super thick paint, so take this with a grain of salt. Pressure washer first and then rent the big floor sander to take down the rest and smooth the grain. Ours looked like new.
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Brian Morris
OP
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Pat L. wow! thats hilarious... I can't imagine wanting to try that technique, but I can also picture getting so frustrated, they just would try just about anything.

@Aaron F. these boards are in pretty bad shape, like of large cracks, etc, with paint really down in there. I think by the time I even made a dent sanding the whole thing, I could have just replaced the wood and have it looking really good.

@Geoff K. You can see I pressure washed the balusters and rail on the left. It looks a lot better, but theres also a ton of mildew still in wood, and many of the balusters are weak and have large cracks on the top. And, the deck planks are really cracked, and very thick paint on it...

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Geoff K.
Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 14 votes
6y
Skip the stain; go with a solid coating product like Sherwin Williams Super Deck.
3 Reply
Mike Giallanza
Property Manager · Centennial, CO · Member since 2019 · 95 posts · 63 votes
6y
Yes, solid coat is the way to go. Behr at HD has some excellent solid stain colors. Just cover right over it.
1 Reply
Account Closed
Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
@Brian Morris
SuperDeck & done. Revisit it again when you’re 80.
1 Reply
Victor S.
WorldWide · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
what kind of stripper did you use? we just re-did our deck that was stained before and used Behr stripper that HD had (the most expensive one, i think). Rolled it on, let it set and kept it wet it so it doesn't dry out (do it during the sun-set), then started scrubbing it with a brush (lots of scrubbing). Worked like magic. Then we applied Behr solid stain over the dry wood (several days later).
If you really want to sand the deck down, you'll have to rent the big boy sander from HD. Hand sanding something like that is a good chore for kids that misbehaved.
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Jim K.
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Victor S.:
what kind of stripper did you use? we just re-did our deck that was stained before and used Behr stripper that HD had (the most expensive one, i think). Rolled it on, let it set and kept it wet it so it doesn't dry out (do it during the sun-set), then started scrubbing it with a brush (lots of scrubbing). Worked like magic. Then we applied Behr solid stain over the dry wood (several days later).
If you really want to sand the deck down, you'll have to rent the big boy sander from HD. Hand sanding something like that is a good chore for kids that misbehaved.

One of the many reasons I dislike decks.

The biggest handhelt belt sander out there 4x24. The two main brands of it are Porter-Cable and Makita. I have the Makita.

This is Woodworking 201 applied to decks, but you can mod the Makita with a graphite-impregnated pad between the belt and the base plate and an OEM replacement steel base plate that you superglue a foam block on. This gives you a flexible, heat-resistant base plate, ideal for sanding finishes off. You can buy 10-packs of decent-quality Powertec 40-grit belts pretty cheap at Amazon. You can also get an abrasive cleaning stick that will help you get a bit more life out of each belt, but that really only comes into its own at the finer grits, like 80 and 100-grit.

This is how I typically avoid renting drum sanders for mid-sized surface sanding projects. I use my (again, Makita) random orbital sander for edging, with 100-packs of discs I can get inexpensively, again, at Amazon.

There's a general pattern when it comes to my power tools -- if I plan on stretching the capabilities of the tool, taking it to the edge of its limitations, I almost always buy Ridgid, Milwaukee, or Makita. Other than that, Harbor Freight is generally fine.

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David Vargas
Contractor · Hopatcong, NJ · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 14 votes
6y
@Brian Morris
Hire your local floor refinishing company. A 220 belt or drum sander will make easy work of that deck.
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Brian Morris
OP
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Jim K. Wow that was a little too advanced for me! Ill copy that to a doc for future reference though.
I think I'll give the liquid rubber brand a whirl. It seems like its the most expensive. I've been burned in the past with deck paint peeling up after a couple years. I'll post a picture when done, and set a 1 and 2 year update.
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Bradley Padula
Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 124 posts · 121 votes
6y
@Brian Morris I recently re-did a deck using an angle grinder with a diamabrush attachment. It's an aggressive sanding disc that works wonders. I stripped an entire 24x16 deck in a few hours. A dust shroud is something I also bought that a shop vac attached to to suck up most of the dust. I followed that with an orbital palm sander with 100 grit. Very impressed and was suprised how well it worked. Lived up to the videos on it. Definitely worth a look!
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Fikret Sivac
Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 25 posts · 24 votes
6y
@Brian Morris look into the cost of replacing the wood on the deck vs buying a hand (or electric) planer vs a dewalt 13 in planer. I haven't tried either of these options but I was thinking about them as I was reading your post. There has to be something on YouTube. I did try a chemical to remove the paint on a door and man that took a while and it wasn't the cheapest as you have to do it a few times.
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Brian Morris
OP
Huntsville, AL · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 11 votes
6y
@Bradley Padula I bet that would actually work. Now that you mention it, I stripped an entire exterior of a house one summer with my dad when I was a teenager. It was several coats, and century old paint. We used the normal metal disc in an angle grinder. Those tools are powerful. I watched the diamabrush video, and I bet that would do the trick. That having been said, I'll probably just paint that expensive goop/paint over the old finish, and see what happens. Consider it an experiment. I don't know if stripping off the old paint would help the liquid rubber, or even matter..
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Jim K.
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
6y
@Bradley Padula
Oh hell yeah, that sounds interesting! Thank you!
0 Reply
Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Jim K.:
@Bradley Padula
Oh hell yeah, that sounds interesting! Thank you!

Looking at the pics the OP posted the screw heads are awful close to the surface. So you may need to compensate for that. I tried to grind a small deck & sure enough the screw heads were a problem. Couldn't seat them deeper after the years of rusting in place so had to put in new deck screws deeper & sacrifice the older ones with the grinding.
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