# Removing Rust-Oleum "Restore" Deck Coating



## BhamPainter

Hey all,

I've got a small deck (about 300 sqft) that the homeowners previously coated with Rust-Oleum's "Restore" deck coating. They want it removed and stained with a translucent.

Any thoughts on the best way to remove it? I can't find a TDS to figure out what the chemical make-up is, but I think it's a one-part epoxy. My first thought was Back to Nature Multi-Strip, but I'm not sure it will cut it.

Heat gun and a floor scraper? Floor sander? Angle grinder? Other thoughts?


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## Epoxy Pro

I have not tried to paint or remove this stuff but hear it is not easy.


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## PressurePros

Rebuild the deck. Yeah, its that hard to remove.


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## Epoxy Pro

I can not believe any one would put a product out like this, I understand the concept but damn test if fully before releasing it to the market, test all aspects, application and removal to see if it is cost effective for the contractors to even offer. I hope we don't run into one with these products that fail, I will instantly say rebuild it and bill the MFG.


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## Jmayspaint

Why do they want it removed? Is it failing in some way, or some other reason?


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## NACE

Turn the boards over? Not a bad idea for 300 feet.


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## NCPaint1

cdpainting said:


> I can not believe any one would put a product out like this, I understand the concept but damn test if fully before releasing it to the market, test all aspects, application and removal to see if it is cost effective for the contractors to even offer. I hope we don't run into one with these products that fail, I will instantly say rebuild it and bill the MFG.


So wait, if the product doesn't last, you all complain, if it doesn't come off, you complain.....you want a product that lasts forever and is easily removed? Cmon now....seriously. 

I agree with NACE, flip the boards over if possible.


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## Epoxy Pro

For the price I expect a so called great product to last for more than a year. If it doesn't last and is a b1tch to remove wouldn't you complain? What about the HO that paid for this to be put on and now hs to pay a whole lot more to remove it? Flipping the boards and having the end grains facing the wrong way will also cause cupping issues. Why not just use what we all know and trust that works like it should and lasts like it should?


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## BhamPainter

Jmayspaint said:


> Why do they want it removed? Is it failing in some way, or some other reason?


It's failing in a few areas, but mostly it's just ugly. Flipping the boards may indeed work, but yeah, I'm worried about cupping. I'll look, though, maybe they were installed the wrong way in the first place. There's always hope, right?


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## 6126

Another good example of why I don't really do decks anymore.  Just not worth the trouble :no:


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## PressurePros

NCPaint1 said:


> So wait, if the product doesn't last, you all complain, if it doesn't come off, you complain.....you want a product that lasts forever and is easily removed? Cmon now....seriously.
> 
> I agree with NACE, flip the boards over if possible.


Only a fool would buy into anything that "lasts forever" outside.. especially a deck coating. I want a product that is easy to maintain and will come off when it needs to. These coatings are nothing new. They resurface every few years with a different label and marketing hype. In the end, the consumer gets taken for a ride. I'm sure many of you guys know about/remember the ceramic exterior paint craze.


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## slinger58

NCPaint1 said:


> So wait, if the product doesn't last, you all complain, if it doesn't come off, you complain.....you want a product that lasts forever and is easily removed? Cmon now....seriously.
> 
> I agree with NACE, flip the boards over if possible.


Good point. Is this similar to the "strippable" wallpaper concept? 
BTW, I know next to nothing about wallpaper, just asking.


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## NCPaint1

slinger58 said:


> Good point. Is this similar to the "strippable" wallpaper concept?
> BTW, I know next to nothing about wallpaper, just asking.


No idea. What works best for me is to provide information and be honest. When the customer understands what products are truly capable of, their expectations follow. If these heavy coatings work as a stop gap then great. If applying them saves the cost of replacement for a few years, then they did their job. As long as the customer understands this, that's fine. 

BTW, I have no pony in this race, I sell none of these "restore" type products. Closest product I have is the Insl-x Sure Step. The nice thing about these heavy coatings is that they're easily fixed in most cases. Not stripped....fixed.


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## Jmayspaint

NCPaint1 said:


> No idea. What works best for me is to provide information and be honest. When the customer understands what products are truly capable of, their expectations follow. If these heavy coatings work as a stop gap then great. If applying them saves the cost of replacement for a few years, then they did their job. As long as the customer understands this, that's fine.
> 
> BTW, I have no pony in this race, I sell none of these "restore" type products. Closest product I have is the Insl-x Sure Step. The nice thing about these heavy coatings is that they're easily fixed in most cases. Not stripped....fixed.


 Do you carry any Super Deck products? 
Just curious, my BM does.


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## NCPaint1

Jmayspaint said:


> Do you carry any Super Deck products?
> Just curious, my BM does.


Just TWP, and Sikkens SRD at the moment. I had high hopes for the Arborcoat Translucent, it looks good but application was discouraging to say the least. If it holds up well I'll figure out a good way to apply it and start stocking it so I have a WB option.


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## BhamPainter

NCPaint1 said:


> Just TWP, and Sikkens SRD at the moment. I had high hopes for the Arborcoat Translucent, it looks good but application was discouraging to say the least. If it holds up well I'll figure out a good way to apply it and start stocking it so I have a WB option.


Oh man, "discouraging" is an understatement. I re-stained a cedar shake house with the stuff. It's like brushing on water. The UV resistance far outclasses SRD, though.

To get back to the topic at hand, though, am I right to assume this product is epoxy-based, or is it an elastomeric?


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## straight_lines

I think its an acrylic paint, and I don't think I would even attempt to strip it especially if its pressure treated 5/4. Price it out and offer to replace the decking boards.


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## Oden

straight_lines said:


> I think its an acrylic paint, and I don't think I would even attempt to strip it especially if its pressure treated 5/4. Price it out and offer to replace the decking boards.


Yeh. and how bout this system. I'd think it a gimmic except for that I know this company and they sell top of the line stuff only. http://www.greatrailing.com/deck-topper.html


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## straight_lines

If its installed correctly it looks like it would last a long time. PVC is pretty resilient.


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## Moonstruck

After you get done flipping those deck boards over, let me know how digging those screw heads out from under 20 mils of Restore worked for you.

By the way, where does Restore claim it lasts forever?


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## DeanV

It says it has a limited lifetime warranty


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## Jmayspaint

DeanV said:


> It says it has a limited lifetime warranty


 Yea, in doing a comparison of these type products recently, that was the only warranty I saw for the Rustolem stuff. 

One of the other ones had a 15 yr limited warranty I think. 

The Rustolem applies literally twice as thick as thick as the competitors.


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## DeanV

To be honest, thick coats seem to just peel in bigger pieces often.


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## ddonhauser

I painted a 20'x12' deck with Paint restore last summer, was please with the results until this spring!! After the snow melted I saw a huge mess of crumbly paint...but only the northern section was crumbled the Southern side was fine!! I took photos and emailed the company, the reimbursed me for the paint, but it was been hell to clean up. Almost have it off, I have found that if you let it get hot from the sun it will come off in sheets using a paint scraper.


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## Gough

DeanV said:


> It says it has a limited lifetime warranty


Does that mean that they actually guarantee that it'll have a limited lifetime??:jester:


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## Shakey0818

I put the Restore on my staging planks for better traction.Like above mentioned it too crumbled.I think it has too much grit in it.I did use the Behr Deck Over per customer request a month ago.I was kinda impressed but am waiting on how long it lasts.It's much thinner and less grit than the Restore.Sorry i have no help for you other than to charge real high.


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## BhamPainter

My own post, back from the dead! I stripped it with methylene chloride, then sanded the heck out of it. It was a real PITA, and I didn't really make any money on it, but it didn't ruin my summer.


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## restore2801

*The only way to get rid of Restore*

I have had so many issues getting my old peeling Restore off of various decks. The only remedy I found was pouring boiling water on the paint, it peels right up! Here's a good YouTube video to watch that explains how to peel it up: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUf-dr1cAPM&sns=em


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## tnw322

I found scrapping when it's super hot out works well too. Crap turns to soft rubber


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## junker1

NACE said:


> Turn the boards over? Not a bad idea for 300 feet.


I just flipped some deck boards. Trust me not as easy as one might think. very labor intensive. I believe in the long run replacing the boards with new and fresh is quicker and cheaper.


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## Drbelitz

NCPaint1 said:


> So wait, if the product doesn't last, you all complain, if it doesn't come off, you complain.....you want a product that lasts forever and is easily removed? Cmon now....seriously.
> 
> I agree with NACE, flip the boards over if possible.


Rustoleum states that this product releases with 185° heated water. Simply rent a heated pressure washer from sunbelt and have them load it into a pickup. Leave in pickup during wash. Use low pressure, 300psi. It falls right off. Just watch the videos of people using boiling water on this stuff, it falls off the wood. Btw, sodium hydroxide treatments releases it from wood followed by reg pressure washing at 2k psi. It is water based acrylic. Not brain surgery. Always use SSE (STAIN AND SEAL EXPERTS) OIL BASED STAUN. self leveling, no drips, no brush marks and last years with no flaking ever.


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## Wooddoctor

BhamPainter said:


> Hey all, this is easy. The release temperature of rustoleum deck restorer is 185°. Rent a heated pressure washer from sunbelt. Have them load it in pickup and leave in bed until returning machine. Make sure you have long enough high heat pressure hose and gun. Low pressure wash it slowly and it falls right off the wood. Low pressure is essential as to not damage wood. Let dry 3 days and sand with hand random orbital where needed. Blow off and stain. Sunbelt unloads the 380lb machine. $170 rental per day.
> 
> I've got a small deck (about 300 sqft) that the homeowners previously coated with Rust-Oleum's "Restore" deck coating. They want it removed and stained with a translucent.
> 
> Any thoughts on the best way to remove it? I can't find a TDS to figure out what the chemical make-up is, but I think it's a one-part epoxy. My first thought was Back to Nature Multi-Strip, but I'm not sure it will cut it.
> 
> Heat gun and a floor scraper? Floor sander? Angle grinder? Other thoughts?


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## Betty18076

Hello everyone I came across this searching for better Solutions. I'm working on one of these decks now. Stripping it has been a nightmare. In this case it's not an option to remove and flip boards because they didn't use the right deck screws and most of them are rusting. What has worked is time consuming. Drummond's peel away 1 works but you need to leave it set for 12 to 24 hours. I also have a paint eater which did a good job except I went through a pad for every 20 square feet. What's worse is the deck wasn't properly built. I'm still trying to figure out how to resolve the fact that deck boards are way too close to each other allowing water to pool on the surface. Once the deck is stripped-down the plan is to use an oil base semi-transparent. The post and rails and caps are also coated with this. But the owner wants them painted two colors. I will be using Kilz 2 and then applying paint to the posts and rails. I wish I had added an extra $800 to this job! Any ideas appreciated.


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