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Porches & Decks

Deck Sealing - Please validate

16 years ago

We are planning on sealing the deck (DIY). After reading through some posts, It seems like it has to be done in the following order. Please let me know if this is the right way

1. Sand the deck with 60 - 80 grit (Do we have to rent a sanding machine for this or can we do it with a sand paper )

2. Apply sodium percarbonate

3. Pressure wash to clean the deck

4. Apply oxalic acid

5. Pressure wash to clean the deck

6. Wait for the deck to dry.

7. Apply wood sealer.

8. Wait for the sealer to dry

The thing that I am not sure of is pressure washes. Should I just clean with plain water hose for step3 and then use powerwash for step5 only. Is it ok to use powerwash for step3 and step5?

Our deck is 15X20 pressure treated wood with rails and 2 steps. How much sealer should I need. I am guessing 2 galons.

We should have done this last year but could not. Our deck now has a few cracks and spliters. Will sanding be OK now?

Thanks for your help.

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Comments (4)

john_hyatt
16 years ago
A power washer is a dangerous thing in the hands of all but a select few,I my very own self am not in that select few.

This guy has some good stuff to strip/acid wash your project>>www.restore-a-deck.comYou can sand anytime you want, a Person could use a floor machine but I dont recomend it for a lot of reasons. An orbital sander should do it with 60/80 grit pads.

PT decking after using the RAD will take finish until your tired of puting it on. Its gunna be some thirsty stuff. J
catkin
16 years ago
We rented a walk-behind floor sander and it worked beautifully! DH liked running it so much, I had to really talk to him into letting me give it a go! LOL! No other prep was needed! Yes, we vacuumed the dust up but that was it.

I used my hand-held sander to reach the places the big one couldn't get to.

I followed up with a semi-transparent product called Ready Seal. This was last Summer. The product is AMAZING! It's held up to my wet PNW Winter/Spring like nobody's business--and this with only ONE coat! I plan on slapping another on this Summer. It went on effortlessly and there were absolutely NO over-lap marks. Can't say enough good about Ready Seal! I'll be using it on some unfinished Adirondack chairs this week. It's my new Holy Grail exterior stain.

Google Ready Seal--the gentleman I spoke to was great to deal with!
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Reed is right. I would come in at about $900 dollars to do your deck (if it has rails on three sides and three or less steps). If you do it yourself and you mess up the prep (likely for a newbie) You will be right back out there in the spring spraying and scrubbbing and overapplying sealer on top of mold only to have it fail by summer's end again. If properly maintained your deck could last 20 years+. I've seen people save nickels using bleach cleaners and using subpar sealers. Stripper is going to cost you $100.. Pre mixed acidic brightener will be another $25..Five gallons of quality sealer will set you back $225. Renting a pressure washer (which you need to strip albeit using a nozzzle to take your pressure way down) will cost you another $125 for two days. Newbie on a deck that size prepare for two 8 hour days in the sun stripping and brightening. Another 2 or three days sealing it. So now you have $475, at least four full days and you still have no guarantee of results. Ooops did you forget to mask properly? You have three dead plants, brown grass and sealer bonded to your nice siding. Hopefully looking at this will change your mentality. You can't afford NOT to hire a professional.
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mom_of_two
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks John and Catkin. Will look into these products.
teamtbo
16 years ago
catkin, just curious what type of wood you used the Ready Seal on? Thanks!

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