How exactly to Strip a Deck | Get rid of Behr Deck Stain & Sealer
Around three years ago, we used two coats of Behr Deck Stain and Sealer (the Superior, Natural No. 500 colour) to your then-newly-built wooden deck. The product price $125 for a 5 gallon bucket, and our deck needed two full buckets to perform.
After within the entire deck, we were instantly dissatisfied with the orange-tinted hue (we had been expecting a far more natural, yellow appearance). But, like great reviewer citizens, we kept off on moving judgment on the merchandise until we could view it’s longterm performance. Right here’s an image of the deck soon after using the Behr sealer.
About 2 yrs directly after we snapped this image, Kim wrote a follow-up to our initial evaluation that detailed the way the Behr Deck Sealer had been falling lacking our expectations. The top stopped beading water just 7 months after app, quickly getting uneven and dingy searching. At 2 yrs, it looked pretty poor throughout. This might not need been an issue had our anticipations been set properly. At that time we bought the sealer, Behr claimed the product worked for 4 many years on decks and 6 yrs on fences. After speaking with many folks locally over the last 2 yrs, the consensus will be that no semi-transparent product can last that long but still look good. Right here’s an image of Behr deck stain 24 months after software.
Our knowledge with Behr’s deck sealer product isn’t unique… In the event that you go through the 80+ remarks on our initial evaluation, you’ll see a large number of other folks that are looking to get rid of the product from their decks. Hopefully, if that’s you, this short article provides some help.
Strip Behr Deck Stain / Sealer
We got a suggestion from a friend who was simply similarly dissatisfied with Behr and employed a specialist to strip and reseal the deck. The pro suggested a gel item called Strip-It-All from United states Building Restoration Items (ABR, for brief). The closest dealer we’re able to find for the merchandise was about 50 kilometers apart in Fairfax, Virginia. The dealer company’s name: Virginia Chemical and Products. Sadly, they don’t have an internet site for all of us to point one to, but their telephone # will be: (703) 560-9599. In the event that you’re in the Washington D.C. Metro region and you also’re searching for some help, Expenses is very knowledgeable. In the event that you’re outside the area, ABR includes a where you can buy page it is possible to consult with a contact number.
Costs recommended that instead of choosing a straight Strip-It-All remedy, we have to use a mix of Strip-It-All and another item from ABR called Quick Surface finish Remover. The reason why he routed us this path is that Strip-It-All retails at $42/gallon, whereas Quick Finish Remover is really a slimmer liquid that runs just $26/gallon and was created to end up being diluted with drinking water. Bill recommended that people make the following combine, place it in a pump sprayer, and spray it at first glance of the deck for greatest results:
- 1 Gallon Strip-It-All
- 1 Gallon Quick Finish Remover
- 3 Gallons Drinking water
Because Strip-It-All is really a gel, you actually need to mix this great (utilizing a drill and mixer blade), in any other case the gel will only sink to underneath. Once it really is combined, though, it stays blended and you will just stir it from time to time as you’re working.
Warning: Both Strip-It-All and Quick Finish Remover are quite strong substances. They are able to rapidly burn skin. They are able to also cause serious harm to eye, irritate lungs, etc. You need to follow all of the safety directions on the bottles, which include wearing a protective fit. In the event that you aren’t up for the protection precautions, you’ll be much better off hiring an expert to strip your deck.
In the event that you read the product bedding from ABR, you’ll note that the main element to making the answer function is keeping the top wet when you are functioning. If the top starts to dried out, the stripper stops operating altogether. We tested a little section of the deck very first, and then worked over the entire surface. The answer took typically three hrs to totally strip off the Behr from the horizontal areas. This incorporated reapplying the combination about every 40 mins, whenever a spot began to dry. It is possible to tell once the product has lastly worked since it lifts the prevailing stain/sealer out and can take on its colour. Since we were taking out an orange/brownish stain, we’re able to tell once the stripper was prosperous when it switched a milk-chocolate look.
Right here’s an image of the stripper option working on one portion of the wooden. The adjacent, dry area at the bottom is not stripped. You can observe in this picture the way the liquid at first glance have not yet turned the colour of the stain it really is drawing out. It really is still clear, this means it requires to sit much longer.
After the mixture turns dark brown, it is possible to lightly pressure clean the top. Don’t over-pressure wash. Should you choose, you’ll begin to harm the fibers of the wooden. Stick with around 500 PSI. If the stain/sealer doesn’t arrive off, you’ll probably have to use even more stripping alternative and retry.
Stripping Behr Stain off Fences and Railings
Whenever we turned our focus on the railings, we discovered that the blend that integrated 3 gallons of water was way too loose to essentially adhere. Therefore we reduced the mix to include simply 2 gallons of drinking water. The resulting answer was then thick good enough that it adhered easier to the vertical areas. In addition, it likely stripped a bit more aggressively, because it was much less diluted.
Brightening a Stripped Deck
Following the deck was totally stripped, we used a brightener to eliminate the gray from the wooden and neutralize the stripper. We went with ABR’s X-180 Weathered Wooden Restorer item. This is basically pump-sprayed on, and pressure-washed clean. It certainly brightens up the top of wood.
Right here’s two images of the deck after functioning the entire factor, railings and all. You can view that the Strip-It-All / Quick Finish Remover remedy worked pretty well, yet, in some spaces it really is still splotchy. To obtain it absolutely perfect, it will cost twice as enough time working those locations, and we didn’t spend the time with this project.
Time and Price for Stripping the Deck
It had taken 50 man-hours to totally strip this 1000 sq. ft. to a reasonably uniform regularity. That included some understanding time. If we’d to redo it, it could probably take about 35 hrs. To find the deck 100% uniform, you’ll have to strike the average person areas repeatedly.
It required 6 gallons of Strip-It-All, 6 gallons of Quick Finish Remover, and 2 gallons of X-180 to totally strip and brighten the deck. Total price for 1000 sq. ft: about $600.