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| Garden Decking : Dealing with Paint |
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| Dealing with Paint |
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| Painting a deck is a bad idea to begin with; so whenever a painted deck needs to be refinished, I prefer to remove the paint and start over with bare wood. Unlike most paint removal, stripping paint from the surface of a deck is incredibly easy, thanks to a product called Stripex |
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After donning heavy rubber gloves and oversize rubber boots, I use an acid brush to swab the stripper over the surface of the deck (top photo). When that's done, all it takes is a gentle rinse with a pressure washer, and the paint is history (bottom photo). Unlike some paint strippers that must be rinsed with a neutralizer, Stripex is water-neutralized, so no additional step is required after the product is washed off. One advantage to this process is that instead of being covered with plastic, nearby plants can be merely wet down with water for protection during application. Don't let the ease of its use fool you, however. Stripex is a powerful base that can inflict serious burns on unprotected skin. I have the scars to prove it.
Although it's easy to strip the surface of a deck, it's
much harder to strip painted railings completely,
so I concentrate on problem areas such as
the top of the handrail and anyplace else
where the paint is flaking off. If the handrail
is peeling badly, I use a mechanical paint
scraper to get down to bare wood quickly.
I use hand scrapers to remove loose paint
elsewhere on the railing; then all the surfaces
get a light going-over with a palm sander
loaded with 80-grit sandpaper. I also make
sure to re caulk all the joints. Although
I prefer to use a penetrating finish on a
deck, whenever I've had to cover a solid finish
(paint or stain), I've gotten good results
using a Solid Latex Stain. This stain can
be tinted to match any house colour; in the
past four years, I have used it over bare
wood, solid stain and paint without any failures. |
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| Stripper is applied with bucket and brush. |
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Pressure-washing removes paint and
neutralizes stripper. |
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| Garden Decking : Dealing with Paint |
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