Hi all,

I have a few questions, all of which are likely very basic "newbie" questions, so I apologize in advance. I did some forum searching and just didn't find all the answers.

Our deck needs help this summer. But we didn't build it, it came with the house. We know nothing about it. Currently, the wood is in ok shape, and the few rotted pieces were replaced last summer. It's a horrible tan color, which was applied over some other, darker color once before.

We pressure washed (gently) and have removed most of the flaking color from the floor boards. The railings are not flaking, for the most part. But we don't know what that color is, or how to cover it. I think it was an opaque stain (over an opaque stain). My husband thinks it was exterior paint. How can we tell?

Husband thinks only exterior paint will cover this mess. Do we need to strip/sand everything, or is there a nice product that we might be able to use to bring new life to our deck? Thanks in advance!!