Older lake dock deck done in pressure treated 2×6 SYP. The deck is a tiny bit splintery in places, due to weathering. It needs a new finish.
Do you recommend it be sanded first? Or powerwashed?
If sanding, tell us beginning and ending grit.
When finishing, tell us what your favorite product is to yield a brown color.
What if we want a gray color, then what finish?
The code requires installing an approved material to slow the spread of fire between floors and adjacent vertical and horizontal cavities — here are the allowed materials and required locations.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
Well, I'll take a stab at your questions, just to keep it "fresh." I don't like pressure washers for wood, but a lot of people use them and seem happy. I might consider using one of those washes you spray on and then hose off (mostly oxalic acid, I think).
But splinters will only be taken care of by sanding. Maybe do it the same way you'd refinish an interior floor? Depending on how damaged the deck is, you could go the route of using a drum sander and starting with like 80 grit and working down to 120. If not too damaged, use one of those big pad sanders and 120 grit screens. You could also just have at it with a belt sander, starting with even 50 grit in the reallly bad places and then 80 and finally 100-120. I wouldn't go much higher than that because it's a deck, (like they say, "not a piano").
Letting it weather back to "silvery gray" will end you up where you are now--the UV of the sun and the rain will degrade the wood and make it splintery.
I would probably stain it with a semi-transparent brown stain. There are also gray stains. I like oil based, but there are lots of stains that are water-based too. I like Cabot, but someone here said when they used water-based Cabot it peeled. I like things that soak in and don't leave much of a surface film to peel off.
The more "body" a stain has, the more UV protection it gives, as far as I recall, but heavy bodied stains look like paint to me, so I tend to go with semi-transparent.
If you want the perfect deck start by powerwashing with a good deck cleaner (I prefer Armor All brand) or just a mixture of tsp and bleach with warm water. Next use a brightener (basically oxycilic acid) to restore the new look of the wood (I prefer the Cabot brightener myself). Then make sure that all the nails / screws are countersunk and sand with a drum sander to remove any surface imperfections touching up around the edges and other areas with a random orbital sander and then by hand wherever that won't go.
As for the finish I would recommend Cabot Clear Solution, 3000 natural or a blend of this with the 3002 cedar (don't use the cedar straight or it will be way to orange looking) for a slight cedar look... or the heartwood (can't remember the product number off the top of my head) for a more brown look. If gray is your preference Cabot makes a product called Weathering Oil that will give the instant gray look.. it's very similar to the other Cabot products that I've mentioned except for the color. I always use the oil based products myself and haven't ever tried any of the water based ones because none of my suppliers carry them here (northern Michigan).