Erin asked 6 months ago
Hello! We have a brand new deck that we hired someone to seal for us. They used Penofin and applied so much that the wood looks wet (a week later!) and applied it when it was too hot so now we have black patches all over. We tried first to clean it with the Penofin cleaner and that didn’t work. Then we tested Behr stripper, and that took off the Penofin, but now the wood is dark, gray, and looks 20 yrs old! Any advice for how to remove the Penofin and get the deck back to it’s brand new beauty? Thanks!
William Stewart Staff answered 3 months ago
Hello Erin,
I’m sorry to hear of your difficulties. It’s hard to know if the dark gray color is due to the Penofin application or the stripper, but certainly, wood does need cleaning after stripping as it’s a harsh process.
The usual method is to use steel wool or abrasive scrubbing pads and mineral spirits to remove all traces of the stripping process. Some people prefer vinegar over mineral spirits as it’s more environmentally friendly. I’d try an inconspicuous area to see if you get the desired result. If not, you may face a light sanding down to get back to clean wood before reapplying your sealer.