How to Restore an Old Deck

Restore your old wooden deck with the Deck Over product from Behr available at the Home Depot. This review will show you how to use it, how to prep your deck and how much it costs.

If you caught my summer deck makeover a few weeks back, you’ll remember that one of the most dramatic parts of the makeover was the deck boards themselves. Our deck is old and while it’s still structurally sound, the wooden boards had begun to splinter and the paint was peeling off.

After a lot of research on deck restoration products, I finally settled on trying Behr’s DeckOver product which is available exclusively at The Home Depot. (FYI – This post is not sponsored in any way!)

There’s several reasons why I decided on this product:

1. I wouldn’t have to power wash the deck
2. I wouldn’t have to strip off the old paint; the product can be applied over old paint
3. It would seal any crack or splinters, thus effectively resurfacing the deck
4. It comes in a large variety of colors (we chose the color Valise)
5. I would only need less than 3 gallons for my entire deck, making it a cheap deck makeover

How to Refinish a Painted Deck

Before applying any sort of deck coating or treatment (whether it’s the DeckOver product that I’m reviewing or another) you will need to thoroughly clean the deck and fix any major issues that will prevent the product from performing the way it should.

First,  I sanded down any really rough spots where there was large bits of peeling paint.

If you have really large gaps where your wood has cracked, I also recommend filling those with some wood putty. Minor repairs like this will help give you the best end result. I did not have any cracks big enough to warrant this step.

Finally, I scrubbed the deck with a heavy duty cleaner (TSP in this case) and rinsed it off.

I allowed the deck to dry for 24 hours before proceeding to the next step.

How to Apply the Deck Over Product

Sweep the deck and use a leaf blower to get every last speck of debris off. You want a perfectly clean surface before you begin.

Make sure the can of thoroughly mixed. The product is very thick, almost mud-like and mixing it helps to loosen it up a bit. If you opted for the textured version, mixing it of the upmost importance as the sand-like texture will sink to the bottom of the can. It needs to be uniformly dispersed. If the can has been sitting in your garage for some time, it may be a good idea to bring it to the store so that they can shake it up in their paint mixer for you.

Start by applying the product to any perimeter spindles, as once the floor boards are painted, you will not be able to walk on them for 48-72 hours.

The spindles and railings can be easily painted with a paintbrush. You can apply the product pretty thick and it won’t drip. Apply in one direction so as to avoid lap marks.

For the deck floor boards, pour the paint into a paint tray. Using a 3/4 inch nap roller, begin rolling the product onto the deck boards. You can roll backwards and forwards but I noticed it dried better when my final roll was in one direction, thus avoiding streaks or lap marks.

Don’t be afraid to apply the product thick and really push it into any splinters or cracks to seal them up.

This product requires two coats. I waited 24 hours before apply the second coat so that the first was dry enough to walk on. Saying that, I painted on an 80 degree summer day and the floor boards were touch dry within 90 minutes.

Final Thoughts

So far, I’ve loved this product. It was very easy to apply and the results were amazing. There’s a lot of color choices so you’ll surely be able to find a color to suit your tastes. I ended up picking the color Valise which is a lovely medium brown (it almost looks like melted milk chocolate!). I’ve heard many mixed reviews on the longevity of this product so I’m interested to see how it holds up over the next year. I will definitely add a follow up to this post and let you know, though!

Personally, I think this product is an affordable and easy way to restore or resurface an old painted deck without the need for stripping. My deck looks amazing, the splinters and cracks are all sealed and I feel good letting my kids walk on it without shoes. At $35 a gallon, it’s no more expensive than paint. I purchased when there was a rebate going on so I saved $10 a gallon, making it only $75 in total.

Have you used Behr’s DeckOver product? I’d love to hear about your experiences with it! Tell me all in the comments below.

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