It was with a tiny bit of trepidation that I attempted to stain a pressure treated deck. (front and back)
It had been stained at least 3 times from what I could tell.
First I pressure washed it. It didn’t do much except clean it.
Next I used a stripper to remove the stain. It did not work too well but did get some off. I had to pressure wash it again to remove the stripper.
Lastly I sanded it with a 5″ orbital (80 grit). This step was much easier than I anticipated and I possibly could have saved a lot of time by skipping the stripping step.
Now it was ready to stain. My customer provided the stain (an opaque from Rona). It applied well. My only concern was that there was some stickiness in some areas after a week. But it seems to be fine now.
I also varnished the posts and railings later with Spar Varnish.
Front Deck:
Back Deck: