Wood

Deck/Painted/Flaking or Peeling/To Be Painted

a. Surface Preparation:

NOTE‚ If lead is suspected in the paint, do not attempt to scrape, sand, power wash, use heat gun, etc., which might put lead into the environment, but rather contact a contractor qualified for lead assessment and abatement

• remove all loose or poorly adhering paint by scraping, or by careful power washing using plain water; wear eye protection and work gloves; NOTE: woods that tend to be very soft, such as old and weathered cedar and redwood, can easily be damaged by the high pressure jet of power washing
• feather sand rough edges of remaining paint; refresh surface of exposed, weathered wood by sanding; wear eye protection, work gloves and a dust mask
• dull any glossy paint by sanding with fine (#220) grit garnet paper; wear eye protection, dust mask and work gloves
• treat any mildew with a 3:1 water:household bleach mixture, leaving it on for 20 minutes and adding more as it dries; wear eye and skin protection; rinse thoroughly
• remove dirt, chalk, dust, residual particles of paint, treated mildew, etc. by scrubbing with detergent and water, rinse thoroughly; or by careful power washing; eye protection and work gloves

b. Priming:

• after preparing the surface, apply primer
• use quality exterior latex or oil-based primer recommended for repaint of deck surfaces
• do not leave a primer unpainted

c. Painting:

• use top quality exterior latex deck paint if remaining paint is latex or is oil-based with excellent adhesion
• use quality oil-based deck paint if surface has build up of old oil-based paint
• do not apply oil-based paint over latex paint