Thank you so much! Do you think I should just do a heavy power wash for now and get it re-done in the spring? Just because we still have these aphid...

You need to remove the SD and that requires stripping and brightening the wood. A cleaner will not work. Use the Restore A Deck Stripper/Brightener ki...

Thank you for the quick reply. What I'm observing is that the exact same outlines are appearing after it gets wet.

That is mineral deposits from the rainwater drying on the deck. Hopefully they "wash" off with time.

You will have to sand this to get all of the solid stain off. If you are able to remove 100% then you can try the Restore A Deck Wood Stain,

Thanks for such a fast response! I'm in the process of stripping all the old stuff off. It's very labor intensive, but I think I will be able to get ...

You will need a solid stain to cover this current coating. Try Flood Solid stains. Unfortunately, we do not know of any solid stains that can be appli...

Sorry the other picture did not come through. Here is the condition of the deck.

You cannot strip this off. The only way to fix is to power sand or replace the wood. Adding more will not fix the problem and will make it even harder...

Sand fully and then clean and brighten for the final prep.

Thanks. What about sanding and brightening vs just sanding?