[ydduba]

I have a real mess to deal with. First, I live on a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico. Following hurricane Ivan, we added a wrap around deck using pressure treated lumber, with "choice deck" decking, and pressure treated materials for the railings. Although I used sst screws for the decking, I followed not very good advise, and used treated deck screws for the railings. Being a retired carpenter, I built the deck. I did hire a professional painter to do the original finishing. Now, 5 years later, the treated deck screws are literally failing due to corrosion, and spindles have fallen off. And, the finish is failing big time. It is apparenty paint,not stain
I decided to reahilibate rather than replace, so I have used a rust converter to treat the screws, a least thoes I could not remove, fill all holes, replace the damaged spindles, and renail all spindle and rail tops using sst ring shank nails. Now I need advise on the re-finshing. Should I pressure wash to remove loose paint, salt, and dirt? Should I then sand to bare wood where possible? Or, as some have suggested, DO NOT pressure wash since it tends to drive contaniment into the wood surface. If not, what other choices are preferred?

 

[user1007]

With dangers of forcing gunk into the wood noted, I still think you have to power wash what you can off the deck, railings, etc. Maybe cut back and don't blow away at things on the highest pressure setting.

It sounds to me like a solid stain got used somewhere. I don't think you are facing a painted situation. Solid stains are supposed to leave a pigment on the surface and of course this layer fails like paint would, perhaps faster since there is no bonding primer underneath it. Solid stains are not a good choice for horizontal decking.

I would get as much of the old, failing, finish as possible off the project and then start over with oil based, transparent or semi-transparent stains on the deck and solid on the verticals if you need the opacity.

Not sure how long to expect those converted fasteners to last either. I would convert as many as possible to stainless, brass or whatever. They will not get any easier to replace later.

I know it sounds disappointing but getting five years out of a deck finish in an environment like yours is not so far off what I would expect? Your deck is just going to be high maintenance.

 

[mustangmike3789]

i agree with removing as many of the rusted fastener as you can. unfortunately, rust coverters offer very little protection in a corrosive marine enviroments. these product will turn the rusted metal black and converting it into a primer for paint. rust converters contain a binder with phosphoric acid or tannic acid. it seems that the better products use tannic acid. this is the same process that you will see on a cedar fence that has black nails with black streaks running down the wood surface. i know you may not be able to remove all of the rusted screws and you will need something to prevent them from rusting. my experience is in protective coatings for steel and concrete so i cant really suggest a coating system for wood work. i think that you could check with sherwin williams on there marine coatings for a good system for your situation.

 

[ydduba]

Thanks for the responses. I need additional input concern the re-paint process. Assuming that the remaining original finish remaining following pressure wash, scraping, and sanding is about 50% of the total, what should I use as the "prime coat", and what should I use for the top coat? I realize that in a perfect world, both should be semi-transparent, but will that do the job now? Keep in mind that this is on the railing system only, and not on the decking.
Additionaly, prior to settling on the process I am now using, I contacted the manufacturer of the converter, and fully explained the situation concerning pressure treared wood, treated fasteners, etc. and whether thier product was the correct choice. I found that about 30-40% of the original fasteners removeable, another 20-30% had the heads snap off, and the remaining were scraped, then treated.

 

[Faron79]

For the deck FLOOR anyway...

>>> DO NOT PRIME THE FLOOR!!

There IS NO primer for horizontal surfaces!!!
Get that thought out of your head now....

Clean first:
* Apply a good deck cleaner and scrub it in good.
* Leave deck "wet" for whatever time the directions call for.
* Don't let the solution dry out...keep it misted until rinsing time.
* ONLY NOW use the P/W to rinse off the gunk.
* You won't "force anything back into" the wood, since you've scrubbed it off anyway!! Use wide fan-tip at an angle, and KEEP IT MOVING.
* Now the long wait begins for dry-out. This may be several days.

After cleaning...FULLY SAND THE FLOOR.
Remove all dust. Several vacuuming & sweeping passes.
Wipe down with paint-thinner.

NOW you're ready to stain.
NOW you've got a surface that WILL ABSORB AND HOLD STAIN EVENLY...EVERYWHERE.
I'd coat the underside too if possible, believe-it-or-no.

Faron

 

[Faron79]

OOoooopppss!

I just noticed the flooring was composite!!!
Never mind the sanding info then!!!!

The cleaning instructions are good tho!
(for spindles, railings, etc.)
A cleaning/sanding of the handrail may be in order though...

Faron

 

[ydduba]

I'm still looking for a helpful response to my post #4 concerning re-finishing and what products to use. Anyone willing to help?

 

[mustangmike3789]

Thanks for the responses. I need additional input concern the re-paint process. Assuming that the remaining original finish remaining following pressure wash, scraping, and sanding is about 50% of the total, what should I use as the "prime coat", and what should I use for the top coat? I realize that in a perfect world, both should be semi-transparent, but will that do the job now? Keep in mind that this is on the railing system only, and not on the decking.
Additionaly, prior to settling on the process I am now using, I contacted the manufacturer of the converter, and fully explained the situation concerning pressure treared wood, treated fasteners, etc. and whether thier product was the correct choice. what did they say? was it something like this?--- "absolutely, our product is the best".
I found that about 30-40% of the original fasteners removeable, another 20-30% had the heads snap off, and the remaining were scraped, then treated.

i think that penetrol would do just as good if not better.

 

[ydduba]

No. Actually, their reply stated that" yes, it would work very well,PROVIDED,that direct contact with the fasteners could be accomplished".
I find it interesting that your response only addressed the least important part of the my request for information, and you completely ignored my questions. How was supposed to be helpful?

 

[mustangmike3789]

No. Actually, their reply stated that" yes, it would work very well,PROVIDED,that direct contact with the fasteners could be accomplished".
I find it interesting that your response only addressed the least important part of the my request for information, and you completely ignored my questions. How was supposed to be helpful?

check this thread below
http://www.diychatroom.com/f4/mildew-paint-peeling-deck-railing-111751/

 

[jsheridan]

No. Actually, their reply stated that" yes, it would work very well,PROVIDED,that direct contact with the fasteners could be accomplished".
I find it interesting that your response only addressed the least important part of the my request for information, and you completely ignored my questions. How was supposed to be helpful?

Easy ydduba, mustang stated earlier in post that he's not the guy to recommend decking products, are you reading fully?
If some of the old finish remains, or you are planning to prime, you can't use semi transparent anything. Semi or transparents are only for completely clear wood, nothing painted, and rarely where paint has been and has been stripped, not without a lot of work anyway.
Start with the premise that nothing is ideal for a deck surface, it's an inhospitable place. Paint is the least ideal material. I've had some fairly good success in keeping latex solid stains on deck surfaces. The key is proper prep. I think most stained decks fail for lack of it. When sun hits exposed wood it degrades the surface, and that degraded wood needs to be removed by a thorough sanding, preferably by machine with at least 80 weight paper. Otherwise, your just applying stain to a surface that is not truly bonded to the surface, thus it peels right away. And, you can't, can't stain in the direct sun drying it prematurely. Decks need to retreated every two years, three max. But maintenance is a yearly thing, and spot repair/touch up should be a spring ritual, else what is a small failure will become a major problem by the two year recoat. Also, at finishing time, all splits, cracks, and fastener holes should be flooded with stain. If you can see the color of the fastener heads afterward, it was done incorrectly. Maybe that's why your heads have failed. Anywhere two boards join should be flooded as well, you have to work that stuff in liberally anywhere moisture can penetrate or pool up.
This may be all something you didn't know, and it's obvious your painter didn't either, or didn't tell you. Therefore, I'll be nice when I say that the dismal failure of your railing is from neglect, mostly. Five years, your railing, at least the flats, has missed two and half treatments. Give it a good cleaning with a wood cleaner/brightener, lite pressure, and then give it a good thorough sanding, followed by two coats of a solid stain. Then retouch it every spring and clean/recoat every two years. If you maintain it, it will maintain.
Joe

 

[ydduba]

Thank you Joe for the very enlightening response. You are correct. I did not expect, nor was I advised to expect an annual re-finish process. Perhaps you would be willing to give me your advise about what would be the preferred material to use to fill the voids where I was able to remove the original screws?

 

[jsheridan]

Thanks Ydduba, if the deck is the rustic wood deck look, you could just flood them with stain, just like the cracks, splits, etc. If it tends toward the finished look, any exterior grade compound will do, over fill a bit then sand smooth. Even caulk would work. Overfill then knife smooth. Decks are a lot of work

 

[ydduba]

Joe. Again, thanks for the input. I agree, especially in my region. When I lived in Connecticut, my deck was still pristine when I moved out 10+ years later.