Deck Painting

[Jay H]

Going to repaint a decent sized deck that is in my house, my rear deck which faces the lake that I am near is the width of the house and kind of needs to be repainted. I can borrow my sister's power washer and use that to strip any loose paint, but wondering is there any particular type of paint to use, other than an exterior grade paint? Just looking for hints and suggestions...

Jay

 

[Hogwildz]

Paint or solid stain is going to flake & peel eventually, no matter what.
It does not penetrate the wood like a translucent or semi translucent stain will.
The more translucent the stain you use, the more it penetrates, better it holds and longer it lasts.
Even then, it will need to be redone in time.
Paint & solid stain are the worst though.

 

[Jay H]

thanks Hogz, the deck is already painted so the only way I can think of this point is just using a small power washer and then repainting. To stain at this point would probably mean finding somebody to sandblast the paint off which I don't want to pay for. But I'll keep that in mind for the future... Not sure how much longer I am going to be living here so I'm not that interested in putting too much money into this, I am basically fixing things that I can fix myself...

Jay

 

[semipro]

I'd consider using a paint that has an additive to prevent biological growth (algae, mold, etc.) . You can buy that additive separately and add it yourself. You may also want to add pumice or fine sand to the paint for better traction. A dark color may get too hot. Oil based paints used to be preferred for exterior applications but latex has come a long way. I'd use latex just for ease of clean-up.

 

[Jay H]

Thanks SemiPro, I like the fine sand idea, one of the areas that I need to repaint is the stairs.. I know of some people's decks whose treated wood gets very very slippery when wet. My deck doesn't seem to have that problem but the stairs is always a good place for traction...

Jay

 

[stee6043]

Perhaps you could consider removing the existing deck boards and replace with composite? One time shot, no need to refinish, lifetime....just a thought.

 

[vvvv]

buy extra paint so when it peels u can fix it.

 

[Jay H]

Perhaps you could consider removing the existing deck boards and replace with composite? One time shot, no need to refinish, lifetime....just a thought.

Thanks, but I think it was too cost prohibitive, I am trying not to pump too much money into this place as I expect I'll be moving sometime in the next 2 years or so. It's a big deck too as it spans the width of my small ranch..

Jay

 

[Hogwildz]

Jay, if you have a decent pressure washer, you may find it will take all the paint off the deck. Leaving it either ready to stain or repaint.
If you don't get the loose stuff off, it will end up peeling anyways.
I have a deck with solid stain or paint on it, it is peeling and blistering. I am going to try my ol man's pressure washer to see if I can remove the paint completely, then just use a translucent stain or maybe even just a sealer, ad I like the natural wood look.

 

[WNCburner]

Jay-
I like the Flood brand paint, it's an oil based primer and latex paint mixed together (IIRC it takes about a month of mixing to get it to stay together). Great product with a good waranty. As long as the wood is in good shape, it should last for years. If you do it soon after pressure washing, it will penetrate better. I used to paint professionally, and the decks that I rolled 8-10 years ago are holding up well, except where scraped by snow shovels. They also have a line of stains and possibly sealers, but I have no experience with those. I think Benjamin Moore carries Flood paint these days. I've been out of the business for a while, so there might be something better on the market now...ask the guys at your local paint store(NOT home depot or lowes). A fresh coat of paint can make crapentry look like carpentry.

 

[billb3]

Just be careful with the pressure washer.
Doesn't take a lot to start gouging the wood away.


I haven't tried any of these new deck and exterior paints with "the primer built in".
I'd use a deck paint that's labelled as such at least for the floor boards . It's supposed to be a bit harder but it will peel subjected to weather and depending what the deck boards are made of.

I get about three years before the horizontal surfaces of the small deck on the front door starts peeling with opaque stain.
Only gets morning sun , so it's not baking all day.

I considered clear stain for longevity but it looks nicer with the stain matching the house.

 

[Jay H]

Jay, if you have a decent pressure washer, you may find it will take all the paint off the deck. Leaving it either ready to stain or repaint.
If you don't get the loose stuff off, it will end up peeling anyways.
I have a deck with solid stain or paint on it, it is peeling and blistering. I am going to try my ol man's pressure washer to see if I can remove the paint completely, then just use a translucent stain or maybe even just a sealer, ad I like the natural wood look.

I was going to borrow my sisters which is a basic home-owner quality pressure washer, I don't remember the brand but I know it isn't anything special.

But I will wait and see. I too would rather stain than paint but I will see how the pressure washer goes and probably wont buy any kind of paint or stain til I do...

Right now, my deck matches the logs on my exterior as I have a log-sided house. I have some paint from the seller but definitely not enough to paint the whole deck..

Jay