preparing old deck for repaint

[liseylou]

 hi. We have an old weathered deck that I’m preparing to repaint. Just want to know the best way forward! We are removing some rotting pieces but trying to salvage others. How do I best get paint off between posts? And do I need to use an undercoat or some other preparation before painting it white? 
thankyou. 

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @liseylou 

Your timber looks free of loose  paint  smooth and ready for  a repaint great  job  done.

Only loose  paint between the posts needs attention so just scrape it off as it will come easy as it is allready flaking.

Paints these days do not need and under coat due to advanced  paints so this saves us a $ on an under coat. And will last many years.

Exterior Paint

I thought about the deck  as  far as I can tell there is no specific super tough paint for that. So just use the same  white  paint but you may needto spruce it up more often every 5 years due to walking wear and tear so a cosmetic thing.

Enjoy.

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @liseylou 

Welcome to the Bunnings Community pages Perfect place to land with your question!

If you can stick a flat head screwdriver into any timber that you think may be rotten then it probarlly needs replacing.

Any flaky material should be sanding off, the bits between the rails just will take extra patience. Id suggest to use say 120grit sandpaper and using a small piece of timber offcut (stick) fold the sandpaper over the end so its like a large nail file type deal.

Your timber has aged so I wouldnt worry about those cracks that you have in the pic, its normal. You dont need to go nuts sanding them

Painting, I would actually go the route of an undercoat and a final coat with the age of your timber to best preserve it. I will let the Bunnings guys suggest a product or products as There are new ones all the time that may be more suitable.

Please take photos of your revamp! Bringing something back from a used state will be stunning!

Dave

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @liseylou. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about painting a deck.

If the current paint on the deck is flaking, powdery, or damaged, it’s best to completely sand the deck back to the timber. For those tight areas between the posts, you can use a detail sander or even fold a piece of sandpaper around a small piece of timber (as suggested by @Dave-1) to get into the gaps. This will ensure that all the old paint is properly removed and create a smooth surface for the new coat of paint.

I can see that some of the nails are rusting, so I would recommend using a stain-blocking primer. This will prevent the rust from bleeding through your white topcoat, which could otherwise cause unsightly staining over time.

You might also want to consider whether white paint is the best option for a trafficked surface. While it will look great initially, white paint can discolour quickly and show dirt marks easily. For example, if a gum leaf falls on it, you could have an irremovable stain by the next day. If you want to maintain a pristine look, you might need to clean it regularly, or you could opt for a more forgiving colour that might hide dirt and stains better.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[liseylou]

Thankyou Dave. That’s really helpful. 

[liseylou]

Thanks Mitchell. 
we will be replacing rusted nails and rotting boards. Most of it is in pretty good condition and it’s a huge deck so no way can we sand it all back! Also the floor boards will be a dark grey. Just the palings will be white…. But thanks so much for your help! 

[liseylou]

Awesome. Thankyou!