Should I Keep Sanding My Deck or Just Repaint?

Instead of sanding so much, consider pressure washing it first, but be gentle so you don't mess up the wood grain. After that, just apply a good stain and make sure to re-coat it every couple of years. It might save you a lot of work in the long run!

Oh man, I totally feel you! We're dealing with layers of paint removal in our new home too, and it's a slow process. My advice: If you're not sure about how it'll look afterward, keep going with the sanding. But don't forget to take breaks—your sanity is important! If you can, try to reroute traffic in your home while working on the deck to avoid the wear and tear.

I say sand it down and then stain it! The sun destroys paint way too fast. From my experience, staining is the way to go—just make sure to use a high-quality exterior sealant for the best results. Good luck!

I had a similar experience repainting my deck a couple of years back. I put so much time into prepping it—scraping, sanding, washing—and it still peeled within a month. If you're looking for an alternative, you might want to try a semi-solid stain instead. It can handle the wear a bit better than paint did for me.

I opted for spar urethane after dealing with constant peeling paint, and it's holding up great months later. If you're really fed up, maybe look into replacing the floorboards? It could be less time-consuming than you think.

Just a tip—if you're thinking of changing colors, solid stains cover up imperfections pretty well, but they can look rough once they start to chip. Transparent stains show the wood but can last longer looking decent as they wear down. In your case, if you're feeling burnt out on the whole thing, solid colors will hide a lot.