Deck stain peeling....AGAIN!!

Timmbo

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I stained my deck several years ago with Behr deck stain and never had a peeling problem until the last couple of years. For the past couple years I have had to scrape and sand part of the deck floor and restain and I''ll be damned if it doesn't peel again after 9 months. It's just the deck floor and steps that peel. The railings and spindles do not. Anyone know why the stain on the floor keeps peeling? It's frustrating.

 

05yellowgt

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How old is the decking itself? Is it pressure treated? How long did you go between install and the initial staining?
 

stkjock

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IMO, that's not stain, it's paint, stain soaks in to the grain of the wood itself.
 

doogie

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My neighbor had the same issue with Behr stain on his deck and never was able to get it rectified. I always thought it had something to do with him staining too soon after it was built since the decking is treated wood. I think the new owner is tearing the deck out and starting fresh.
 

DAD_23

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Power wash, sand and remove that crap.
Use Penofin.
Done.
 

Wicked Pissah

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Same thing was happening to my deck. i powerwashed all the loose stain/paint off and scrubbed with wood cleaner, then applied 2-3 coats of Behr deckover..came out awesome, the deckover is a nice product, went on nice and looks even better!

Before:
5FAA60BA-AD99-4FFC-82E4-872C2DF3C63E-1645-000000C81FD3050D_zpsc1e60122.jpg


After:
A97BEA2C-7ACB-448C-9453-F82B7351E998-1674-000001747EE4E2E3_zps65057bb8.jpg
 

Torched S197

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The stain has to have somewhere to go. My guess is the old stain hadn't wore down enough and it still had your deck sealed. Try pressure washing and taking a stain and sealer remover to it.

As for it looking like paint it's probably a solid color stain instead of a semi transparent
 

Timmbo

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Yes it's a solid color stain and not semi transparent. The decking is about 12 years old and pressure treated. When the deck was new we waited over a year to stain it. Every few years since 2003 its had a new coat applied. Maybe like suggested I should get a high pressure washer and remove as much as I can. I hate to use a chemical because of shrubbery that is close by.

The Behr Deckover product along with pressure washing and scrubbing looks like a good option to try first. I really wished we had gone with a transparent stain instead of a solid color. But oh well. I will give this a shot.
 

DAD_23

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Ahh pressure treated wood, ya don't use Penofin then. Does not work so well with that type wood.
If you have a deck made of Red wood or even Pine Penofin is for sure the way to go. Protects the wood from weather but still allows it to breathe.
 

retfr8flyr

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I have a deck made from PT wood and I have used Sherwin Williams DeckScapes http://www.sherwin-williams.com/hom...terior-paint-coatings/deck-products/finishes/ for years, with great results. I just pressure wash it every year and re-coat every 3 years. The deck is 12 years old now and it looks great, almost as good as it did when new. The DeckScapes I use is almost like paint but it seams to penetrate the wood somewhat because it doesn't peel and holds up to pressure washing well.

I don't use the fine tip when I pressure wash. I am just cleaning off the crud not trying to strip the coating.


Earl
 

Torched S197

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That's my recommendation but I don't want to plug my work lol. If you wanna give deckscapes a shot go April 11-14 to one of the stores near you and everything will be 40% off
 

Nikothibault

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I made the mistake of using solid color stain on my treated deck, I believe it was an Olympic products. Like yours it just flakes off. If you stood in one place too long, it would sometimes stick to the bottom of your foot. I eventually sanded it all off using a random orbit sander. It took a while to get it all off, but it was worth the time to get it right. I used a semi-transparent oil-based product. Now I can pressure wash and re-coat as needed. I left solid color on the rails and the vertical surfaces.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Johnf78

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Solid color stain will hold up just fine if proper prep is done. Without knowing a lot of other details about your situation here are a few things that can really help.

First check the end grain, the grain should be "smiling" NOT "frowning. If it is frowning the wood cups and holds water which is not good for your coating. When it is smiling the wood cups so the water rolls off of it.

f282c916eedc4e5a5a25e7c2e7564461_zps57fc8cd9.jpg


Next thing is never sand with anything smoother than 80 grit. If you do you will close the pores of the wood.

Last is buy a quality product. Most major paint manufactures make a good product. Just like anything else though you get what you pay for in the paint/stain world. I am partial to Ben Moore products but that is up to you. Don't buy paint from the box stores it's not worth saving $10/20 a gallon. That being said if the proper prep is not done doesn't matter how good of a product you use it will fail.

Also one last thing I see people saying the stain has to soak in. Solid ext stains are not what you are thinking as far as soaking in. The main differences between the stain and the paint is the stain forms less of a film( more breathable and less likely to peel) and stain is a self sacrificing film designed to break down paint is not. Hope this helps

Anyone know why the stain on the floor keeps peeling? It's frustrating.
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Another thing I noticed from your pic. Your boards are to close together. The deck can't breath properly. Overall I believe you are trapping to much moisture.

(Not sure where my first post went.)
 
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Timmbo

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Another thing I noticed from your pic. Your boards are to close together. The deck can't breath properly. Overall I believe you are trapping to much moisture.

(Not sure where my first post went.)

Good eye! Well here I am with a followup. Yes, I discovered that my stain was peeling on half the deck because over the years that half off the deck exposed to the sun/rain/ice etc the boards were swollen and so much so that the gaps between about a dozen boards closed up. So...to the real sucky part, I had to take a skill saw and recut the grooves. The stain was peeling because since there was no gap, the boards were pushing on each other which created a slight crowning of the board which resulted in the cracking and peeling. And off course since water had no where to drain between those boards where the gaps swelled closed that compounded the problem.

So anyway, I reestablished the gaps between the boards, sanded everything down and applied Behr Deckover. Man, that stuff is like brownie batter. It took two gallons to get two coats as recommended. Got it all done yesterday. Looks great and I hope it holds up. Will get a photo up later this afternoon. Thanks for the tips guys!
 

Timmbo

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Took the deck all the way down with a DA.



After the Deckover:

 

Fullboogie

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I'm about to redo my deck. Timmbo - how's that Deckover held up?

Since I'm replacing the floor of the deck with new pressure treated wood, how long should I wait until I stain it?
 

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