Prepping A Deck For Repainting

[Ken Krawford]

I'm helping my daughter replace the deck boards, posts and balusters on her deck. That leaves the rim joists, posts and stair stringers that will be re-coated with paint. The paint is still adhering fairly well but the pressure treated lumber is rather rough and wavy. I'm afraid sanding, even with rather rough grit paper won't get into the grooves and depressions. I'm considering one of these gadgets and wondered if it's suitable or is there a better way.

tool.jpg. deck11.jpg

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Rough and wavy is hard to avoid or remedy on wood deck surfaces. I do deck prep with my pressure washer. I use the pickup tube and Clorox original bleach for a first pass wet-down soak. After an hour I rinse with water only. I try to use a technique that blasts away as little of the old stain as possible. Occasionally I attempt to go down to bare wood. I use a big auto body grinder and start with 16 grit discs. The Bauer surface conditioning tool looks like it would be easier to handle than a big grinder. My current job is a redo of a deck that I built 20 years ago. I have been patching and staining it every 3 years ever since. The client is weary of the rough look and endless maintenance and is using Trex decking & rim covers and aluminum railings. It is looking very nice. The price tag is hefty.
Be careful as you work. You are a great Dad!

[Tom M King]

I have a version of that tool. No way would I want to do a deck with it. It throws everything it takes off back at you. You need to be wrapped from head to toe and I only use it with supplied air. I wouldn't accept less for pressure treated wood.

After 20 years, I'd turn the boards over. I use a 17" floor buffer with sanding screens on decks and docks but I already owned one for working on floors. If they can't be turned over, consider one of the thick coatings.

[Ken Krawford]

Tom, thanks for that heads up regarding ejection of surface debris. Hadn't thought of that. Unfortunately only the rim joists and stair stringers will be repainted so none of those can be turned over.

[Jim Becker]

If you are painting the rim joists and stringers, just make sure they are thoroughly clean of dirt, mildew, loose paint, etc., and are dry. Use a good exterior primer and then your intended paint, although a solid stain might be more durable. This is all standard prep for paint...get the gunk and loose stuff off and then pain. No need to get too fancy.