Is it clean enough

It does not look clean enough to me. I would use a deck stain stripper followed by a wood brightener to remove as much as possible of the old coating.

Thanks. I am going to buy the restor a deck. If I do ther cleaning on a Saturday can i stain the next day or will the wood still be too wet? Thanks and this site is great.

I just thought about what you wrote. You said I have to strip the deck. So I guess I can use the cleaner and brightner only? I have to remove ALL the old stain? Wow that sounds like a lot of work especially since we have many mnay spindles with stain on them and remove all the old stain seems awful time consuming? THanks

And there are many places where the old stain is not faded or removed. All that still has to come off? Thanks

The Rad kits contain a cleaner and a wood brightener. They do not strip old coatings. If you are going to switch brands then yes you should use a stains stripper such as the Restore-A-Deck Stain Stripper. If going with the same brand then using the RAD Cleaner and Brightener Kit should be enough to prep the wood for another coat.

I used Cabots last time and did not really like it. It seems like a lot of work to remove ALL the old stain. I understand that is the best way to have the new stain adhere/penetrate but even using my power washer I would imagine me and my wife will have to rub/scrub it all off too. Soooooo mnay spindles etc. lol

Thanks for you advice, I appreciate it.

Improper prepping is the number one reason a deck stain fails faster then normal. You spray on the stain strippers then pressure wash off. The more you get off the better chance the new stain has to perform well. It would be to your benefit to at least try to get more off.

ok, thanks.

Have a deck with Behr Premium Wood-Toned Weatherproofing Wood Sealer & Finish Penetrating Oil Formula. Verticals have held up well, horizontals have peeled in the sun. They changed the formula since we originally put it down in 2003, it is more transparent now. Rented a big floor sander to sand the deck, there are parts where stain won't come up, color is imbedded in the wood. Close to the house in the shade, sanding didn't take anything up. Water still beads up on deck even on surfaces that are bare wood. Have concrete patio below and flower gardens around edge so don't want to strip and damage concrete or gardens. Will I be okay with cleaner and brightener? Would like to match same color of stain as outside railings and support posts are fine. Can you put cleaner and brightener on back to back or do you need to wait for each one to dry separately. Any suggestions?

You need to get it all off if you want your new coating to work at maximum potential. Cleaners will not do anything for this. Continue to sand is your best option.

Quote from G_abHWhbpY_74.108.47.183 on May 7, 17:06
I just thought about what you wrote. You said I have to strip the deck. So I guess I can use the cleaner and brightner only? I have to remove ALL the old stain? Wow that sounds like a lot of work especially since we have many mnay spindles with stain on them and remove all the old stain seems awful time consuming? THanks[/quote

I used cleaner on my deck. But I couldn't get all of the old messmer stain off. I too, have alot of spindles. Should I start over and use a stripper and a brightener? Or could I use a semi-solid stain like Cabots?

Use a stain stripper and pressure wash off. Brighten when done.