Beware Acrylic "RESCUE/RESTORE" products!!!

I'm posting because people need to be informed of the nightmare I'm experiencing. I recently moved into a new home last year, with a beautiful 800 sq. ft. PTP deck. According to the previous owner, this deck had been covered with a "solid stain" in 2012. Unfortunately, it had started to chip and peel in random areas. I decided over the past holiday weekend to strip it, clean it, and refinish it. I knew it wouldn't be an easy task, so I enlisted the help of 4 gallons of Sherwin Williams Deckscapes Stain and Sealer remover, along with a pressure washer. I followed directions to a tee--brushed off surface with a broom, applied product to test area (slightly dampened areas in the sun that would dry), allowed it to work for 15 minutes, went to PW it off...and BAM! Nothing! It didn't touch it, nor did it even soften this covering. I chose SW stripper due to it being sodium hydroxide (lye), and figured it would beat the non chemical strippers from big box stores. Oh, how wrong was I! I kept trying the stripper, switching up variables, such as applying it to a soaked area, leaving it for an hour...shoot, I even got desperate, slathered it on, and left it overnight! Nothing happened!!!

Disgruntled, I then proceeded to the nearest HD, and purchased Klean Strip Premium Stripper (contains methyl chloride), and a small jug of Citristrip. Sadly, KS did nothing for this either. It was at this point I realized this couldn't possibly be a solid stain, nor a typical "deck paint". The Klean Strip label suggests that this product will remove anything from stain, to latex paint, to urethanes, going as far as even removing epoxy! I followed directions, and yet again, no results. I also allowed this to sit overnight without drying....again, NOTHING! I couldn't possibly understand what this might be covering the deck! It is only 1 layer whatever it is. The worst part is that I applied Citristrip to the white banisters and spindles, which are clearly latex paint. I honestly thought I had wasted money on this "non harsh chemical citrus-y product", but it actually softened AND bubbled the latex paint up! Out of all of these chemicals, the citrus one appeared to work best, so I then applied it to the deck boards, allowed it to set for 12 hours....again, NOTHING!

Finally, I went to Lowes, purchased Klean Strip Strip-X, which appeared to have more hardcore ingredients (methyl chloride, toluene, acetone, etc.). I applied this according to directions in a small test area, went nuts with a wire bristle brush, and left it. This did seem to slightly work, but I don't know if it was due to the scrubbing action, or the chemical itself. It was still impossible to fully remove this mysterious coating. I got to the point where I'm literally 3" away from the wood with the pressure washer, and it seemed to be somewhat effective. I've tried like crazy to avoid destroying the boards, but at this point it was the only thing working. The coating was too thick to fully sand off, but if I can just get it halfway off, I'll be able to sand the rest off. But, I wasn't ready to call it quits on the chemicals just yet.

My fiancé happened to mention our predicament to a guy he works with, whom suggested a place that sells log cabin supplies. He called this place, and they said they have something that takes everything off...but you must be a licensed professional to purchase. Long story short, he bought 5 gallons. It's basically the same chemical composition as the KS Strip-X, only more concentrated for industrial use. We armed ourselves with PPE, and started slathering it on the deck. It had rained all day by the way. Amazingly, we didn't have to get as close with the pressure washer before it started to wash away. It started storming again, and at this point we had to put it away until the next day. However, we slept soundly knowing we had found a solution to this nightmare.

Next day, storm cleared up so we broke out the industrial chemical. Repeated the process, and guess what?! Not a daggone thing happened! So we pretty much concluded that the only reasoning behind it being successful the night before was due to the rain. The rain appeared to be the culprit in the softening of this mystery garbage. So here is our plan as of right now...

Pressure wash the crap out of this deck, sand it smooth, and do a stain/sealer preferably in a transparent finish....I am not about to get down to the wood grain only to turn around and cover it right back up! I have never heard of TWP, Defy, or even Armstrong Clark...but I'm willing to go with the best if it means I can get at least 2 decent summers from this finish. I would much rather have something I can strip off every couple years (or even every year if it's not as labor intensive as this finish we are currently dealing with), and refinish this deck to have it looking brand new each and every time. I'm afraid if I go with a solid, I'll end up with layers upon layers year after year.

So, here was the original intent of this post...to warn you.

I have consulted with several people that know deck finishes all too well, and every one of these individuals seem to think that this is one of the "deck restore" products. Whether it be Behr Deck Over, Olympic Rescue It, or Rustoleum Restore...it has been agreed upon that this is NOT a normal paint. It appears to be one of the acrylic products. That explains why it is impossible to somewhat even soften this finish, and why it came up and looked like crap after 2 summers. I have spoken with a few people who have tried the aforementioned acrylic deck finishes, and they all agree that it came up within a year. Unfortunately, none of these people have attempted to remove it, and have simply kept painting over it with more of the product. After living in this house for a few months, I have realized the previous owners always seemed to neglect doing their homework when it came to home improvement, so they cut a lot of corners with their halfhearted DIY attempts....and if I had to guess, the deck was one of those "quick fix" projects. They were selling the house for 2 years before I came along, so I'd say they were trying to make it look presentable by enforcing the least amount of effort possible...and didn't care what they were doing as long as it looked good until it became mine.

People, just stay away from stuff that hasn't been out for at least 5 years! We probably won't start hearing the real horror stories until people go to remove these "semi permanent" deck finishes....because that's what they are! Semi Permanent! Semi is the part that chips off from normal weather....permanent is what's left when you get fed up with this garbage, and you won't be able to get it off without destroying the whole top layer of your wood!