Deck cleaners and sealers

[Kraniac]

had a chance to look..Top deck ..sand it for sure...it's taken quite a bit of weathering and is silvering out..not good to blast it with cleaning products and pressure.

If you're doing this soon, I'd do the railings first..dry out the deck well..then sand it and get finish on ASAP..if it gets a good rain on it after sanding? you'll be sanding it again if you care about the job..which you do.

You're looking for about a 12 x 16 orbital sander..flat plate that vibrates/oscillates..On most decks i take it to 80 grit and put finish down..Usually a couple of passes with 80 are what it takes..You will have some detailing to do around posts and corners etc..no biggy..

Like said before, if you're going for one more round of the 'wood' look upstairs..get the darkest one for max protection..

If the weather gets dodgy after sanding put down plastic and tarp the deck by tenting it best you can..watch the weather tho.

As for the lower deck..doesn't look it takes much real weather..sun is being diffused by screen which actually does quite a bit..

But..if you're gonna refinish it..sand it..Looks that finish is on pretty good as it gets closer to the house.. i mean..it doesn't look all that bad in the pics..

[Pam]

Kraniac wrote:
had a chance to look..Top deck ..sand it for sure...it's taken quite a bit of weathering and is silvering out..not good to blast it with cleaning products and pressure.

If you're doing this soon, I'd do the railings first..dry out the deck well..then sand it and get finish on ASAP..if it gets a good rain on it after sanding? you'll be sanding it again if you care about the job..which you do.

You're looking for about a 12 x 16 orbital sander..flat plate that vibrates/oscillates..On most decks i take it to 80 grit and put finish down..Usually a couple of passes with 80 are what it takes..You will have some detailing to do around posts and corners etc..no biggy..

Like said before, if you're going for one more round of the 'wood' look upstairs..get the darkest one for max protection..

If the weather gets dodgy after sanding put down plastic and tarp the deck by tenting it best you can..watch the weather tho.

As for the lower deck..doesn't look it takes much real weather..sun is being diffused by screen which actually does quite a bit..

But..if you're gonna refinish it..sand it..Looks that finish is on pretty good as it gets closer to the house.. i mean..it doesn't look all that bad in the pics..

The lower deck needs a better cleaning. There is some mold in the furthest corner and some areas where the dirt didn't come up. Even with a deck brush. I may try the water/oxiclean in that corner first. Upper deck, I may go for an opaque. It takes a brutal beating. The horizontal portions of the railing too. I have to stick with semi transparent elsewhere otherwise the two-tone look will look silly. And give unnecessary fodder to the HOA.

[NewtonMP2100]

....to clean a deck of cards....??


....my cards are dirty......

[tortoise]

We have a deck similar to yours and have maintained it using Penofin products over the past eight years. They have two chemical cleaners that do a nice job preparing and restoring the redwood for refinishing. The #2 cleaner does lightly discolored and tannin coated woods, while the #3 brightener brings back the lightness of the original redwood. They are in powder form then mixed with water and applied with common spray tanks and scrubbed with brushes and rinsed with water. Link to their main page below, scroll down for the cleaners and read more. It is a fair amount of work but the results are always amazing, when our deck once again looks almost as good as when it was brand new.

http://www.penofin.com/wood-stains/index

[Pam]

tortoise wrote:
We have a deck similar to yours and have maintained it using Penofin products over the past eight years. They have two chemical cleaners that do a nice job preparing and restoring the redwood for refinishing. The #2 cleaner does lightly discolored and tannin coated woods, while the #3 brightener brings back the lightness of the original redwood. They are in powder form then mixed with water and applied with common spray tanks and scrubbed with brushes and rinsed with water. Link to their main page below, scroll down for the cleaners and read more. It is a fair amount of work but the results are always amazing, when our deck once again looks almost as good as when it was brand new.

http://www.penofin.com/wood-stains/index

I've read good things about Penofin. Their #2 is like my oxiclean mix. I think the #3 is an oxalate to restore ph. Although some feel it's not necessary. I assume you used one of their stains post cleaning?

[tortoise]

Pam wrote:
[quote=tortoise]
We have a deck similar to yours and have maintained it using Penofin products over the past eight years. They have two chemical cleaners that do a nice job preparing and restoring the redwood for refinishing. The #2 cleaner does lightly discolored and tannin coated woods, while the #3 brightener brings back the lightness of the original redwood. They are in powder form then mixed with water and applied with common spray tanks and scrubbed with brushes and rinsed with water. Link to their main page below, scroll down for the cleaners and read more. It is a fair amount of work but the results are always amazing, when our deck once again looks almost as good as when it was brand new.

http://www.penofin.com/wood-stains/index

I've read good things about Penofin. Their #2 is like my oxiclean mix. I think the #3 is an oxalate to restore ph. Although some feel it's not necessary. I assume you used one of their stains post cleaning?
Yes I have been using their Premium Blue Label stain and will likely do it again this year, but I confess I am considering using a deck paint for longer life and reduced expense. The natural Redwood is beautiful but only looks that way for one or two years. It is a lot of work to clear the deck and do all the treatments and stains and frankly I am getting lazy and may consider a less elegant but more practical and longer lasting finish. By the way after the cleaning it is necessary to use some sort of stain as the redwood is almost a bleached appearance and the oils in the stains are necessary to protect the now exposed wood.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qbg24a0ayhntuu...3.jpg?dl=0

[Pam]

tortoise wrote:
[quote=Pam]
[quote=tortoise]
We have a deck similar to yours and have maintained it using Penofin products over the past eight years. They have two chemical cleaners that do a nice job preparing and restoring the redwood for refinishing. The #2 cleaner does lightly discolored and tannin coated woods, while the #3 brightener brings back the lightness of the original redwood. They are in powder form then mixed with water and applied with common spray tanks and scrubbed with brushes and rinsed with water. Link to their main page below, scroll down for the cleaners and read more. It is a fair amount of work but the results are always amazing, when our deck once again looks almost as good as when it was brand new.

http://www.penofin.com/wood-stains/index

I've read good things about Penofin. Their #2 is like my oxiclean mix. I think the #3 is an oxalate to restore ph. Although some feel it's not necessary. I assume you used one of their stains post cleaning?
Yes I have been using their Premium Blue Label stain and will likely do it again this year, but I confess I am considering using a deck paint for longer life and reduced expense. The natural Redwood is beautiful but only looks that way for one or two years. It is a lot of work to clear the deck and do all the treatments and stains and frankly I am getting lazy and may consider a less elegant but more practical and longer lasting finish. By the way after the cleaning it is necessary to use some sort of stain as the redwood is almost a bleached appearance and the oils in the stains are necessary to protect the now exposed wood.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qbg24a0ayhntuu...3.jpg?dl=0
It's a terrible shame a look like that cannot be preserved for longer periods of time. Painting just seems sacrilegious.

[tortoise]

Pam wrote:
[quote=tortoise]
[quote=Pam]
[quote=tortoise]
We have a deck similar to yours and have maintained it using Penofin products over the past eight years. They have two chemical cleaners that do a nice job preparing and restoring the redwood for refinishing. The #2 cleaner does lightly discolored and tannin coated woods, while the #3 brightener brings back the lightness of the original redwood. They are in powder form then mixed with water and applied with common spray tanks and scrubbed with brushes and rinsed with water. Link to their main page below, scroll down for the cleaners and read more. It is a fair amount of work but the results are always amazing, when our deck once again looks almost as good as when it was brand new.

http://www.penofin.com/wood-stains/index

I've read good things about Penofin. Their #2 is like my oxiclean mix. I think the #3 is an oxalate to restore ph. Although some feel it's not necessary. I assume you used one of their stains post cleaning?
Yes I have been using their Premium Blue Label stain and will likely do it again this year, but I confess I am considering using a deck paint for longer life and reduced expense. The natural Redwood is beautiful but only looks that way for one or two years. It is a lot of work to clear the deck and do all the treatments and stains and frankly I am getting lazy and may consider a less elegant but more practical and longer lasting finish. By the way after the cleaning it is necessary to use some sort of stain as the redwood is almost a bleached appearance and the oils in the stains are necessary to protect the now exposed wood.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qbg24a0ayhntuu...3.jpg?dl=0
It's a terrible shame a look like that cannot be preserved for longer periods of time. Painting just seems sacrilegious.
I agree with you Pam 100%, however at age 74, my priorities are changing and I just have better things to do with my time than the annual spring rite of doing the deck, our garden keeps me busy enough without the deck.

[NewtonMP2100]

......hit the.....deck......

[decay]

I find the old-fashioned way of using a deck brush works better than powerwashing, with less chance of damage.

https://www.quickie.com/heavy-duty-deck-...36005.html

Yes, it's hard work. But the results are great. I have used a simple bucket of hot water & Dawn liquid.