Do You Really Need To Remove Old Paint Before Repainting?

A common best practice is no. You only need to remove old deck paint that is failing, before repainting with a new coat of paint. Removing any paint that is showing signs of failure, such as cracking, peeling, bubbling, or blistering.

This must be done prior to repainting, in order that a fresh new coat of paint will have something great to bond to. This is true for all outside wooden structures such as decks, pergolas, awnings, & trellises.

Reason not removing all old paint, is that it's adhering, acts as a good primer, for a new fresh coat of paint.

I know paint removal is not high on your priority list, but if it's failing, removal must be done.

Will give you some tricks & tips making this process as easy as possible, with least amount of effort.

Great News if you have a semi-transparent stain instead of deck paint. Semi-transparent stains have soaked into wood, so no removal is needed. However, you still may want to sand deck floor first, reading how to below.

How Do You Remove Old Paint From A Deck Surface?

So, you've determined your current deck paint is failing. Seeing cracking, peeling, or blistering? If only in small areas, I would suggest scraping, lifting up failed deck paint, by hand. Using a hand scraper, putty knife, or sharp flat blade, scraping it away from your substrate.

Smaller areas you might want to do this by hand, larger areas best serving you with powered equipment.

Now, if you're looking at a larger area, too much to scrape by hand, you'll need some power tools helping you along. Today's technology, latest tools offers some time-saving benefits.

This year, remembering a shed we also painted, painting the exterior of a home here in Denver. This shed was in poor shape, paint peeling off of siding everywhere. Thankfully, shed was only 8' X 8', having lap cedar siding.

What I used on shed, also works on decks as well, like a dream! This newest tool called a Wagner's™ PAINTEATER®. This tool took paint off like there was no tomorrow. Putting plastic sheathing down, encapsulating all the paint chips, leaving wood in pristine condition afterwards.

There's always exceptions, finding last year! A client called us to refinish their deck, pergola & lattice. Bringing out deck sander, sandpaper & pads did not remove as easy as we thought, deck having multiple coats of old paint. I estimate there were at least 6 old coats of paint, nearly 45 years old, hard as a rock!

What we had to do is swab multiple coats of paint stripper, scraping. This process was far more work than we had intended. But after continual work, finally got down to bare wood on deck's surface. This was a monumental task, having to remove deck paint, as owner wanted a semi-transparent stain afterwards.

Most deck stains have a more uniform finish, however this owner chose Weathered Gray. This particular stain was great, if you wanted to protect wood, having stain it look blotchy, old, weathered beaten. This is why sampling stain or paint first in a small area of your deck is so important.

Just remember, you'll want to protect deck wood, when removing old paint. Not wanting to gouge, or dig into wood. Only removing old failing paint.

Can You Sand Paint Off A Deck?

The answer is yes you can, but have a few tips before repainting it.

If you are taking down all paint off, you should begin with the coarsest grit sandpaper, normally 40 grit. But guess what? Using sheets of 40 grit is made for a heavy upright deck sander. However, if you have many old paint coats over the years, you may want to use a paint stripper first, before pulling out deck sander. See Above^

These heavy duty deck sanders can be found at some Home Depots™, which have a tool rental department. But that's not all either. You'll also need to buy a sanding pad, to place in between deck sander and paper. This pad acts as a buffer, and also allows sandpaper to grab inside of sander itself.

Owning our own deck sander, buying pads and paper at our local Home Depot™ cost about $14.00 for one pad, and one sheet of paper. Depending on how big of area you have to sand, you'll need several of each grit. 40, 60, 80, and maybe 100 grit is preferred. For every two sheets of paper, one pad is needed. So just the cost of sanding paper & pads can add up to over $150.00 easily.

Once you turn on deck sander, you'll want to keep it moving, never stopping in one place very long. Stopping too long can and will cause deeper grooves in wood.

After you've sanded off all the paint off your deck, taking a garden hose, or pressure washer, cleaning all sawdust you've just created. Letting dry 24 -36 hours before opening the first can of paint.

But Stop. If your paint is holding, grabbing, bonding on your deck properly, and wish to repaint, you do not need to remove all of it. Using same sander, scuff sanding old paint is recommended. Thereby not needing near as many sheets of sandpaper, nor pads.

Sanding handrails, just doing this on my  own deck this past summer, a Dewalt™ Orbital 20 Amp corded hand sander worked great!

5 in. Random Orbit Sander / The DWE6423 5 in. Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander Kit with hook & loop pad has a 3 amp motor that delivers between 8,000 to 12,000 OPM. 

Keeping the arm movement going, from causing unevenness. This sander is very powerful, worth every dime. Believe my initial cost was about $80.00 + sanding disks.

Can You Paint Over Painted Wood Deck?

The proverbial answer is yes you can, but let me explain;

As long as your current paint is holding properly, a good fresh coat of deck paint is recommended. Key word here is Deck Paint. Deck paints have higher bonding properties, unlike typical exterior house paints. Your standard 100% acrylic latex exterior house paints are designed for vertical surfaces such as sidings, soffits, and fascias. Not large horizontal areas such as decks.

Generally we apply a thin first coat, allowing to dry overnight. Followed by a heavier top coat the next day. This can be done by spray, brush, or roll, or a combination of the two. If wood is weathered badly, you'll want to spray, then back roll, ensuring proper mil thickness.

Important notes to remember if you can paint over painted wood deck, refinishing;

• If you have an old semi-transparent stain currently on your deck, you can easily paint over without stripping. You may want to freshen up deck wood by sanding first.
• However, if you have an old deck paint stain, wanting a natural looking wooden deck. Using a semi-transparent natural stain, you'll want to remove all old paint off, every smidgen before staining. Important to note, semi-transparent stains do not cover completely like deck paints do.
• So it's more difficult going from a previously painted deck to a semi-transparent natural deck stain. Easier going from deck stain to a deck paint. Best staying with same type of stain over a longer period, repainting or staining as needed.
• Therefore, you can paint over a previously painted wooden deck, but be sure to use a paint that specifically says ''Deck'', as it's designed for horizontal surfaces.
• Make sure you sample any deck paint or deck stain before buying bulk, protecting entire surface. This could save you tons, making sure you are pleased with overall look.
• Keeping these deck refinishing notes referencing how to, will provide many hours of outdoor enjoyment, with least amount of work.