Wood – Restoring the deck: is washing necessary if I sand

cedardeckwood

I'm restoring my untreated/unsealed cedar wood deck. It was left with no care for 12 years old before we bought it.

I changed the damaged board and I'm now at the sanding stage. I saw all the how-to guides, but the only question that I have is: is it necessary to clean (either w/ high water pressure or with washing product) the wood if I'm going to sand it anyway?

The surface will be a mix of old (12 YO) and new cedar.

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Best Answer

No washing will not really help and will slow the process, to get things to match a fair amount of sanding may be needed to remove the weathered surface. In cases where I have a mix I usually paint but some stains will work ok.

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