It is really hard to get rust off any decking. If the SS screws were counter sunk sanding will help but sanding will not kill or remove mold spors. A two part system like this Guy sells>www.restor-a-deck.comOutdoor finish gets uv protection from metal particles,the same as sun block, the less metal the less protection so the less color the less protection. No clear or natural finish has any uv protection no matter what it says on the can these products should be used when a Person wants the project to go gray. J.

Yo Ken, if your still around your up on this one. Far as Composites go I am with the Larry/whoever We are for the most part. Composites are really no longer using recycled material because there is just not enough of it so most of the raw stuff is virgin,the energy used to make composite is an enviro no no, when its time to remove the project composite is not real big on bio degrade its tricky to burn shreading it would be silly. Bottom line composites are not so enviro freindly. Info like that might suggest its not all that good to clean it either, with anything. I dont agree>> composites will out last Ipe, left to go silver/gray Ipe is as close to no maintance as a person can get. With the softer composites like Choice/MoistureShield even trex= tjunk I have found a coat or two of TWP 116 seals up the decking,locks in the color and keeps mold,mildew,stains from causing major problems. Of course not needing to do this is the reason the Wallet goes for composite in the first place. I my own self dont like composites at all for the reasons stated in several posts here and on other sites. Welcome aboard Larry!!! Sorry I dident understand your intent at the begining . John

I noticed links coming from another site and viewed your post over there. The deck is very bad in some spots and those boards you can pull and replace but overall I have seen and salvaged worse. Your plan of attack is sound. 1) Do your repairs first. 2) If you have to sand, do that second. Be sure to sink all of your nails before you use a floor sander. I honestly don't think you will need one and with the condition of some of those boards (even the good ones) you may end up with splintering or go through a ton of sanding pads. 3) Use the RAD System. I would recommend using a pressure washer to remove decayed wood fibers and sped the process. You could also use a medium bristle deck brush and a garden hose 4) Wait 4 days of dry weather. 5) Seal the deck with Ready Seal. The mineral oil in Ready Seal will soften the wood and make it more plesant to walk upon. You could actually eliminate much of the sanding using this type of parafinic oil. 6) I would add another coat of Ready Seal in two weeks to the floor. You can do this with Ready Seal because it does not cure and a second application will dive into the wood. After the second coat I think you will be amazed at the transformation and with yearly maintenance you will easily get another five years from the deck.

We recently finished building our dream home in NW Wyoming which included a110' long x 14' wide x 11' high elevated deck on the east side of the house that's 140'+ long. We used Trex grooved deckboards ( 225 16 footers ). Along with Trex hidden fasteners. Just the deckboards, fasteners, and labor to install costs $22,000. It's a beautiful deck but we have one problem,it howls when the Wyoming wind blows 15 -22 miles per hour, which is a lot. After researching this extensively, we believe that this is caused by grooved deckboards and the elevation of the deck. You had a post 8 years from Jeremy in 2006 which had the same problem. We have contacted Trex and they are saying that the problem is site specific and isn't related to grooved deckboards or hidden fasteners, therefore can't aissist in materials or labor for fixing this problem. My family moved in to the new home the 1st of Aug. with our master bedroom right inside the howling fog horn sound that lasts 3-6 seconds but repeating over and over again throughout the night and day.It actually has a harmonic vibration on the deck and even inside our home. My wife says it's unbearable and cannot sleep those windy nights, it's driving us nuts. Going underneath the deck and sticking your head up between the 16" spaced joists during the howling is deafening. We believe the fix is replacing the entire deck with non grooved deckboards and screwing it down.unfortunately with no help from Trex that's going to cost another $13,000,we paid an extra $4000 to have Trex's latest and greatest hidden fastener system hiding the screw heads. If you or any of your members have any ideas for us, please reply back..We've got to fix and eliminate this nightmare, so we can enjoy our new home and save our marriage. PS I did try to e-mail. Jeremy but haven't had a reply as of today.Thanks again and please help.