Peeling Solid Stain Removed, Deck Refinished in Brampton

The deck: solid stain, peeling off

This elevated deck in Brampton wraps around the back of the house and sits over a patio, so it is on view from the yard and from the neighbours' decks on both sides. It had been coated in a solid, water-based stain in a red-brown colour. A solid stain is basically a thin exterior paint: it hides the wood completely, and on a horizontal deck floor it eventually fails the same way paint does. By the time we saw it the finish was lifting in patches across the whole floor, flaking along the board edges and wearing through to bare wood in the walking paths. The railings had faded to a chalky pink. Under all of that was a good cedar deck.

Why we don't just recoat a peeling solid stain

Homeowners often ask us to put another coat of the same product over a peeling deck. We won't, because the new coat only sticks as well as the old one underneath it, and the old one is already letting go. The right fix for a failed solid stain is to remove it completely and switch to a finish that penetrates the wood instead of sitting on top of it. That is more work up front, but it is the difference between restaining every two years and a deck that only needs a maintenance coat. It is also exactly what our deck staining and wood renewal service is built around.

Sanding the solid stain off to bare cedar

Removing a solid stain is the hardest version of deck prep. Pressure washing takes off the loose flakes but leaves the bonded film in the grain, so the whole floor has to be sanded. We sanded every board and the railings down to clean, bare cedar: the during photo shows the result, pale boards with the knots and grain visible again and not a trace of the red film left. Every bit of old coating that stays behind would show through a transparent stain as a dark patch, so this step is done properly or not at all. We then vacuumed and let the cedar dry fully.

Oil-based penetrating stain

Once the wood was clean we refinished the deck floor and railings with an oil-based penetrating stain in a natural cedar tone. Oil soaks into the wood and cures inside it, so there is no surface film to crack, blister or peel. On cedar it also brings out what the solid stain had been hiding for years: the grain, the knots and the warm colour of the wood. The close-up after photo shows how the finish sits in the board rather than on it.

The result

From a peeling red deck to a warm, even cedar deck with the railings matched to the floor. Seen from the side of the house, the whole structure reads as new wood. Maintenance from here is a wash and a fresh coat every few years, with no sanding and no stripping, backed by our 3-year non-peeling warranty.

Deck restoration and staining in Brampton, Mississauga and Peel Region

UCO Construction Group restores and stains decks, fences, porches and pergolas across Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon, Georgetown and the rest of the GTA. If your deck has a peeling solid stain or paint, see our deck staining and restoration service, and if the boards themselves are past saving we also build new decks. Get in touch for a free on-site estimate.