Hi all,
I'm getting ready to refinish a large back deck, and want to make sure I do it right, so I'm seeking advice.
I applied Rust-Oleum Deck and Concrete Restore to my *front* porch six years ago, and it's doing great. I'm dithering over my choice of product for the back deck. The same product isn't available anymore, at least by the same name -- it's now something called Restore 10x Advanced. It's probably just the same thing. It's the stuff that's really think, a pain in the ass to apply, but lasts several years before needing touchup -- if it's been done correctly. It's applied with a honeycomb roller and leaves a nubby finish. Vertical surfaces take stain in the same color. I'm proud of the job I did on the front deck and don't mind taking the extra time with the product. It lasts a long time. However, when I looked up information on the interwebs this time, there seem to be a LOT of people who are unhappy with this product, and even a class action lawsuit. So I looked to see if there is another product out there without an angry mob shaking their fists at it, and ended up in too-many-choices-and-conflicting-information-land.
When I did my front deck with Rust-Oleum Deck and Concrete Restore, the deck was looking pretty weathered and gray, but it didn't have paint or visible stain on it. I think perhaps it was just sealed, or even just naked but treated wood. So I didn't have to be concerned about getting any previous finish off of it, which made things simpler. It's also covered and only gets sun in the afternoon. Most of it gets no traffic at all.
My back deck, which is much larger, was painted with a Behr product that was billed as elastomeric, three or four years ago. I hired a company to do it, back when I was working and didn't want to spend my free time redoing the deck. Either the product sucks or the company didn't prep properly, or both, because within a year or two, it was peeling. Now, I'm FIREd and have the time and desire to do it myself. I'm concerned with 1) proper prep, especially getting the prior product off, and 2) choosing the right product that will last 7 or so years, like the stuff I used on the front porch. I'm going to post pictures to show what it looks like now, but they won't post with the OP for some reason.
DH has already replaced almost all of the boards that needed replacing. He did those last fall, so they've had time to weather. He still needs to do one or two more, so I'll end up skipping those and coming back to them later. This is not how I'd like to pursue it, but I have to do the refinishing before the temperature starts hitting 90 F, and doing it in the fall is impractical because of a ton of falling leaves. My window is now (April 1st) until late May or early June. I say this because the Rust-Oleum product says to apply it when temperatures are between 50 F and 90 F.
For prep, I own a power washer and live close to an equipment rental shop, so I could rent a sander etc., or even buy tools if it makes sense.
I'm seeking advice on proper prep, and advice on what product to use if anyone has experience and/or strong opinions. I'm also looking for tips on things I haven't considered, because there are surely some things I'm not aware of.
For color, I think I'm going to go with the color of dead leaves :-/ because otherwise it looks terrible out there half the time. Grin.
