Look into a institutional floor stripper that removes wax, etc.. At full-strength it's sure to remove sealers and lacquers too, but nothing like poly. Casey Here is a link that might be useful: floor stripping chemicals

I have this product on my 15 year old back deck. Part of it is covered. The wood is pressure treated pine. I have to recoat the uncovered every 2-3 years. All I've done is pressure wash it really well, let it dry for 48 hours and then restain. That has worked well until this year and when I did it this year it didn't seem to absorb as well and so I got a bit of a peeling look , like it was just sitting on top and not soaking in. I think it had built up to the point where it wouldn't absorb the stain. I should have used one of the stripping/cleaning products to make the wood more porous. It isn't real bad, but I know that next time I will have to use some stripping product. Underneath the roof it holds up really well. I've only done it twice in 15 years.

Film forming finishes normally need to be stripped before re-application. This includes spar, poly, or many of the deck stains (really thin paint). Oil finishes that completely soak in can often be recoated without removal, but they provide the lowest level of protection and are not typically very suitable for exterior use. If enough layers are applied to build a film, the film needs removal before recoating in most cases.

kim k: So, so sorry I didn't reply to your post. The grit/counter issues were resolved, sort of, in that I settled for a crappy job and had to move on with my life. The ugly details here, if you care to see/read. Scroll down to 6/10/2017, 1:08 p.m. post for the small claims update. The entire process has paralyzed me to a point where we are still without a backsplash. I'm so gun shy about hiring anyone at this point, DH and I have been contemplating DIY. I just need to get up the energy to find someone local (a master/certified tiler) who will take the job. (If anyone in the Houston area can recommend someone, I'm all ears. No disrespect to handyman-types who might do a great job, but I don't want to take any chances.) Over the past 18 months, I've turned my attention to something more gratifying and soul fulfilling than being angry about my kitchen: butterfly gardening! Butterflies will not fail you, people. :) --------- It you have specific questions, kim k, perhaps I can at least provide my experiences (i.e., are you considering having macaubus/calacatta quartzite honed?). I took these pics just now -- in many parts of the stone, these bright white veins (some of which I pointed out above) are still quite visible. (Click to enlarge.) Pic #2: The white arrow points to a pit I noticed this morning. So, I grabbed a safety pin and lightly scratched at the bright white spot in Pic #1: it very easily powdered up and resulted in another little hole. I'm so apathetic about my tops, I don't care any more about creating another hole -- at least it's in a relatively unused part of the counter run (but not less visible, as the area sits right beneath a window). So, perhaps stone that arrives polished should not be honed/leathered by the fabricator on this end. Dunno. But that would be something my fabricator should have realized and perhaps warned against -- i.e., that veins might be opened up, exposing, what, resin? I'm assuming that's what the white powder is. If Karin is reading this, perhaps she can advise: a quartzite vein shouldn't be powdering like this, correct? Or is it possible this powder does naturally occur? I just wouldn't have thought ANYTHING in a slab of quartzite would be affected by the head of a safety pin. And for anyone wondering, Tenax Proseal sealant did the job: our tops are very resistant to both water- and oil-based liquids.