If your deck stain is peeling, I bet you wanna know how to fix it…
Well, you lucky ducky, I’m about to break it down for you step by step and then I’ll tell you exactly why your deck stain started peeling off in the first place so it never happens again…
How’s that sound?
Great, let’s get to it…
How to fix a deck with peeling stain, step by step…
What I’m about to show you is a simple 11 step process that anybody can do to fix a deck with peeling stain…
And I do mean anybody…
It’s only 11 simple steps…
They’re 11 baby steps, trust me…
But before I show you the steps, there’s something you must know…
There’s no saving your peeling deck stain…
If your deck stain looks like this…
It’s gotta come off, there’s no way around it…
The damage is already done…
Any repairs or patchups you try to do will not work…
Don’t fight me on this, just follow the steps to a deck free from peeling…
The great news, you have 2 options…
Ok, here’s option 1 in all its glory…
- Remove everything off your deck. That is furniture, the dog’s bed, empty beer cans, everything…
- Apply a deck stripper to your entire deck. Make sure you apply the stripper to a dry surface…
- Once the decking is coated with the stripper, let it sit for around 45 minutes but make sure to keep it wet with a light spray from your garden hose…
- After 45 minutes, use a pressure washer to remove all of that peeling stain and chemical stripper from your deck…
- Make sure you water down any garden, plants and grass that could be affected by the stripper…
- While your deck is still wet, scrub it with a strong mix of deck brightener and let it sit on your deck for about 15 minutes, but don’t let it dry on the surface…
- Next, use your pressure washer again to spray the brightener off your deck…
- Once your deck is dry, give it a light sand with 80 grit sandpaper just to remove any fuzzies from the surface…
- Use one of the better deck stains and apply a thin coat of stain with a deck brush applicator. Make sure you use the Brush on, Brush off Method…
- If needed, once it’s dry, apply a second thin coat of deck stain…
- Let it dry for 7 days before having a party or putting furniture on your deck…
And there you have it…
But I know that some people hate the idea of using a chemical stripper, so your old pal, Me, has graciously given you another 10 step option to fix a stain that’s peeling off your deck…
The Deck Peeling Solution, Option 2
- Take everything off your deck, the BBQ, ratbag kids, empty Bourbon bottles. (Wow you really live a life of debauchery don’t you?)…
- Sweep deck with a stiff bristled broom to remove any flaky deck stain…
- Punch or screw down any raised deck screws…
- Use a belt sander and 40 grit sandpaper to sand your deck and remove all of the peeling deck stain…
- Follow up with a light sand with 80 grit sandpaper and an orbital sander…
- Blow, sweep or vacuum all of the dust from your deck…
- Wet your deck down and scrub it with a brightener…
- Let it sit for 15 minutes and then hose it off…
- Let your deck dry for 24 to 48 hours and then apply the first coat of deck stain. Make sure you follow the Brush on, Brush off Method…
- Once your stain is dry, apply a second coat if required…
So there you have it…
2 of the best step by step ways to fix a deck with peeling stain…
And yes, stripping back and starting again is the only way…
Don’t try to save your peeling stain…
It never works…
To go from this…
To this…
You have to strip it off and start again…
Your deck stain has peeled for a reason and if you try to cover it up, the problem that caused it to peel is still there…
That’s why I’m going to show you why your deck peeled so it never happens again…
Ok here goes…
Why did my deck stain Peeling deck after?
It’s actually quite simple…
I have to be blunt with you…
You messed up…
You messed up real bad…
Why did you followed the advice of some “drunken” clerk at the hardware store?
Now look at what happened!
Maybe you should have come to me earlier…
Oh well, you’re here now and that’s the main thing…
There’s rules and laws to this deck staining biz…
And if you don’t know these laws, your deck stain will peel…
It’s as simple as that…
Ok, let me show you these “Laws” that govern how long your deck stain will last…
There’s simple reasons why your deck stain peeled…
And they are…
You applied too much deck stain…
The thing with staining a deck is that you only want to apply thin coats of deck stain…
Your decking timber can only absorb so much deck stain at one time…
And do you know what happens with the stain that your deck can’t absorb?
It can’t soak into the timber so it sits on the surface and dries like a skin…
And then when you start walking on it and sliding furniture across it, it peels off like a snake skin…
Make sense?
Now if you apply too much oil based stain you open another can of worms…
You end up with a deck that is sticky and won’t dry…
Either way, you only ever apply thin coats of deck stain, wait for it to dry and then apply a second coat of stain…
The best way to do this properly is to apply my Brush on, Brush off Technique…
Did I show you my method yet?…
It’s a secret deck staining technique that I discovered that allows you to get that flawless finish without any lap marks and it applies the perfect amount of stain everytime…
You’ll have no sticky deck…
No unsightly lap marks…
And best of all, no peeling…
That’s the only way to give your deck a fighting chance…
So make sure you only ever apply deck stain using my method…
Anyway, let’s continue on with some other reasons why your deck stain is peeling…
You stained new wood…
This is another really common problem…
You just get your deck built and it costs you a small fortune…
There’s no way in the world that you’re going to let this “second mortgage” sit there and get damaged by the weather…
Not today Bub!!
Get out there right now and give it a couple of coats of sweet protective deck stain…
The thing is, your deck actually wants to sit out in the weather and soak up its environment…
And you know what?
Your deck needs it…
The thing is, new decking timber has been through a whole process just to get it ready to become your deck…
These processes form a mill glaze on the timber and can stop deck stain from absorbing properly…
And we know what happens with stain that doesn’t absorb into your timer don’t we?
That’s right, it sits on the surface and peels off…
You actually need to let your brand new deck sit in the weather for at least 3 months…
Don’t worry, it won’t get damaged…
It will start to turn grey but that simply washes off, so don’t freak out…
What will happen in those 3 months is that the surface of your deck will start to open up…
Plus it’ll dry out your timber…
And any tannins in the timber will leach out…
You want these tannins to leach out…
They’re coming out either way but you don’t want them leaching out under your deck stain do you?
No you don’t…
So make sure you let your new deck weather for at least 3 months before you stain it or it will peel…
Guaranteed!!
Moving on…
You didn’t prepare the deck properly…
One of the main reasons that your deck is peeling is usually because you messed up the preparation process…
You sanded and then you cleaned it but there’s a few unwritten rules that you possibly don’t know about…
How about I start with the sanding…
Well, the most important thing you need to know about sanding your deck is that you should never sand finer than 80 grit sandpaper…
If you go finer, you’ll close the surface of your deck and the stain can’t absorb properly…
Do you know what happens next?
That’s right, your deck stain peels…
The next part is that no matter what process you use to prepare your deck, you always need to use a deck brightener…
Did you skip the deck brightener?
A deck brightener opens the surface of your decking boards so it can absorb the stain…
Maybe you used a brightener but did you use it in the right order?
There’s times when you sand first and then brighten and then there’s times that you brighten first and then sand…
If you get this wrong, you know what happens…
And finally…
Did you give your deck enough time to dry out properly?
If your deck is not completely dry when you stain it, the water stops the deck stain from penetrating deep into the timber…
You generally need to let your deck dry out for a day or 2 depending on the weather…
Then and only then can you stain your deck…
We’re not done yet…
You applied a different stain than before…
Now perhaps your deck stain has lasted a year or 2 and you decided to apply a maintenance coat…
And that’s when all of your peeling problems began…
One problem that people run into is that they can’t remember what stain was used last time so they go out and purchase a completely different stain…
This is a bad idea…
No 2 deck stains are the same, so the rule that us deck restorers live by is, never apply a different brand stain to the one that is already on your deck…
These deck stains were never made to bond together…
They are made from different ingredients and different formulas…
So it’s no wonder that if you apply a totally different brand of stain onto your existing stain, it’s going to peel…
If you don’t know which brand of stain was used last time, you’ll have to strip it off and start again…
It’s as simple as that…
You applied in the heat of the day…
Did I ever tell you that deck stain is very, very precious?
Well it is…
It can’t be too cold or too wet or too hot…
So while you do want to stain your deck on a warm day, you never ever want to apply a coat of stain in the heat of the day…
While there’s no perfect time to stain a deck, some times are better than others…
And one thing’s for sure…
It’s a bad idea to stain your deck with the sun beaming down on it…
Your deck boards get really hot…
So hot in fact, that if you try to apply a coat of deck stain, it’ll dry on the surface of your deck before it has a chance to absorb into the timber properly…
The deck stain will sit on the surface and then eventually peel off…
That’s why you should never apply deck stain in the heat of the day…
Wait for a cooler part of the day or when the hot sun isn’t there to speed up the drying time…
You didn’t apply your annual maintenance coat…
One of the most important factors to having a deck that doesn’t peel is making sure you apply an annual maintenance coat…
The maintenance coat is usually every 12 months but it could be as often as every 6 months…
But if you wait too long between coats, your deck stain will become damaged and then can end up peeling…
The moment you notice any sort of fading, that’s the perfect time to get that maintenance coat on there…
Every coat you put on your deck will give it that added protection and help stop your deck from peeling…
Just know that if you let your deck stain go too long without a maintenance coat, any damage that starts to show up can’t be hidden by a coat of deck stain…
The damage will show straight through the fresh coat…
It might not peel but it will look extremely ugly…
Well that’s about all you need to know about your peeling deck station problem…
Just follow along with the steps to fixing a peeling deck and then make sure you don’t commit any of the “cardinal sins” of deck staining and you should be alright…
Well, what are you waiting for?
Don’t you have some work to do?
I’ll see you on our next decking adventure…
Peace,
Jason…
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