Behr acrylic removal in progress

Ok, me again. Ignore the pressure washer question. I just bought a homelight 2700 psi 4-cycle washer from home depot, that should work. I'm still wondering about whether to do the railings.

Just do the floors if you are okay with the color being off a little.

Thanks. A followup question. The site recommends armstrong clark semi-solid to cover a Behr stained deck, however the closest color seems to be 'Mountain Cedar'. The sample images look a little greenish for that stain. This deck is more of an orange/brown/red color. The 'semi-transparent cedar' sample image seems to match better. Does that seem correct?

Here is the current status of my Behr stain removal project after three treatments with HD-80 and about 16 hours of pressure washing with a 2700 psi washer (see photo). I stopped when I ran out of HD-80, so now all I have for stripper is Behr #64. Am I done yet? Will the Behr #64 work?

Also, I'm thinking of staining the floor soon with Penofin Red Label Cedar Semi-transparent next (as I can get it in the lumber store quickly while the good weather holds). I'm planning to go over the top rail with Behr again since its unlikely I'll be able to strip that part this year. The reviews here on Penofin seem to say its ok, but let me know if I'm making a mistake.

We have found that the Behr stripper does not work that well. Penofin makes a decent stain. Its biggest issue is that it has a tendency to darken in color.

I located some Defy stain at a lumber yard, so I'm switching to that, as it is quick drying and the color matches somewhat.
The issue is going to be that it will be impossible to remove every bit of the Behr stain, so there will be spots of Behr here and there under the Defy stain. Any idea what the results of that will be? I'm guessing the Defy that is on top of the Behr spots will peel off rapidly, but maybe that residue can be washed away?

It will hopefully blend and not have too much of an issue but most likely the Defy will fail quicker in those areas.

Ok, I sanded the deck, quite an operation but the sander took the Behr off much faster and more evenly than any of the strippers, though having stripped it may have reduced the amount of time sanding. Restained it with Defy using a car brush. It was tricky getting two coats with a 'wet on wet' application because it dries so fast. I basically had to do a second coat on the same board right after I finished backbrushing it. The end result looks good though, not much evidence of lap marks because the stain penetrates quite well.

Can you post a picture?

Can you post a final picture?

Ok here it is. I forgot to take a picture after the sanding, but it was about 98% clean.

So the full protocol is as follows

1. Strip with HD80 and a pressure washer 3X. (put up plastic tarps to protect the house, lawn and plants) (two weekends, about 18 hours of hard work), then rinse and let dry.

2. Brighten with Citralic (aka lemon juice) (half hour of work, then rinse and let dry).

3. Sand with a handheld random orbit sander. (I only had 60 grit, which clogged frequently, I recommend 40 grit to remove stain, then a brief smoothing with 60.) I wore an N100 respirator, goggles, and a tyvek suit, since this was an old deck. If you survive to this part, you have it made. (12 hard hours)

4. Hose off all the toxic dust, still wearing the protective gear.(15 mins)

5. Do the 'detail work' on railings with a natural fiber paintbrush.(2 hrs)

6. Brush on the Defy on the deck with a car brush. Its more like 'swabbing the deck' than painting. It dries fast so it keeps you on your toes. At this point you should stay well hydrated, very aerobic. (2 hrs)

(it rained the next day, but the Defy did not seem to care, it dries fast. The pic is after the rain).

How does it look?

Looks good! I would do a light maintenance coat on the horizontals in 18-36 months or as needed. Redo all in 3-4 years.