Hi there,

New-to-us house, and we want to get the deck into shape. The wood all seems fine. The floor is stained solid, which is actually holding up well (no peeling) except for high-traffic areas (worst steps shown). The rails are in much worse shape, and this winter/spring have started peeling some kind of transparent or semi-transparent stain badly.

I know we'll need to strip the railings. I am finding mixed reports about whether we will have to strip/sand the floor before restaining with a solid stain...pro's answers to similar questions on deckstainhelp.com seem to indicate that solid stain is very difficult to remove and will be covered by another solid stain sufficiently well. Is that the case? If so, do we just clean the floor with sodium percarbonate, dry, and roll+back brush the new stain right over the old? Should I sand the scuffed sections like those shown below?

Any recommendations for solid stains? Is there any reason one way or the other to do the railings in a transparent/semi transparent vs. solid stain?

Thanks in advance!
Kacy