How do you remove paint off a deck

[jymie]

I have a customer that wants to have a deck stained in his back yard. The problem is, the top of the railing and the floor is painted. How is the best way to remove the paint to put on a fresh stain coating? What product works the best to strip the paint off without destroying the wood? Thanks!

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[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Lawn care business tips

you can use pressure or thinner. With care either will work.

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[Steve]

Do you have a preference of one method over the other? If so, why?

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Originally Posted by Steve

Do you have a preference of one method over the other? If so, why?

well with chemicals you still have to spray it off or peel it. It does come off easier. Its probably safer for the wood with thinner since it takes less pressure.

[mac83]

You do not want to use any chemicals . do not use ( Paint Thinner! ) Oil stainning is very easy to cover up .

1. get ( oil primer paint)
2. let it dry
3. get the paint the customer wants to use
4. make sure that paint the customer wants is ( oil paint )
6. paint away and watch it stay and look good

this is coming from a painter that has ( 11 years ) in the business

My Bad miss read the question . ( sorry )

to put a ( fresh coat ) of ( stain ) on do this

1. Sand down the old ( stain )
2. wipe down or vaccum up the dust
3. stain (2 coats ) is the best for a richer look

[jymie]

Thanks for the reply's, the customer does not want paint, he insists on stain. So what product can I use to remove the paint, or make it so I can power wash it after I apply it to remove it? Sanding is not an option also...

[jymie]

Can anyone recommend a paint stripper to use before I power spray the deck?

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Citristrip is not that toxic. You can leave it on for a while.

[Steve]

Let us know how this works out and take some pictures.

[The Cleaning Doctor]

First off, I have done many decks and when you find one that is painted....


RUN!!!

Some of the suggestions that have been given are bad ideas.

You have to get over thinking that this is going to be easy. There will be more sanding involved than you think and never use less than 80 grit and do not use a belt sander.

One way to reduce the amount of sanding is to flip the boards. You will end up having to replace a few of them. Then you hit it with a sodium hydroxide based stripper and pressure wash with about 800-1200 psi. Then before it dries you hit it with oxalic or citric acid (or a combination of the 2) to neutralize the stripper and brighten the wood.

Then you let it dry out. With the paint on the other side I would wait 3-4 days and then coat it with a good oil based stain.

Really the best thing for a painted deck is a good pair of running shoes (Nike or Reebok work well) as that would start out at a minimum of $1000 and that is without me even knowing the size of the deck. It is going to be very expensive for the customer.

Last thing is you need to walk away and outsource this to someone that does this kind of work all the time. Make a little bit for yourself but without the headache.