Painting old composite decking

I'd say that it'll start coming off even without foot traffic. No matter how bad it looks, whatever you try to do to it will make it worse in relatively short order while making it an ongoing maintenance problem. Heck, you can't even get paint to hold up on wood decks.

Have some more back story?

Joe67 said:

I'd say that it'll start coming off even without foot traffic. No matter how bad it looks, whatever you try to do to it will make it worse in relatively short order while making it an ongoing maintenance problem. Heck, you can't even get paint to hold up on wood decks.

Have some more back story?

Click to expand...

Just a client who was wondering if it could be done. One of those little optional add-ons on a big exterior, so not a big deal if I tell them I can't do it. I did come across this product called Versacryl, but it comes in a 3 gallons kit at roughly $1,500.

I did a bit more reading since I posted and it sounds like some of the older generation composites ( that don't have the PVC outer shell) theoretically can be recoated. Of course you can always find your desired answer somewhere on the internet😄 I may just stay away from the deck.

fromthenorthwest said:

Just a client who was wondering if it could be done. One of those little optional add-ons on a big exterior, so not a big deal if I tell them I can't do it. I did come across this product called Versacryl, but it comes in a 3 gallons kit at roughly $1,500.

I did a bit more reading since I posted and it sounds like some of the older generation composites ( that don't have the PVC outer shell) theoretically can be recoated. Of course you can always find your desired answer somewhere on the internet😄 I may just stay away from the deck.

Click to expand...

RE: Versacryl. Don't know it. But did you ever notice how the before/after pics and "reviews / testimonials" are largely right after the job is done but don't report 5 years down the road? Hell, I can make an old, worn deck look great - for like a minute - with a coat of anything. But what's going on with it in 3-5 years?

I'd not tell them them that you can't do it. I'd just tell them that it can't be done in any long term way by anyone. And that whatever they do, if they want to do something, it will just be a regular maintenance kind of thing. The problem with the composites, I think, is that everything will be a thick-ish film kind of coating. So that just means more of a nightmare when it does start to fail.

Anyway, right now, other than cleaning, they have what is basically a maintenance free deck. Ugly as it might be to them, coating it will turn it into a bigger headache. IMHO.

Dont do it.

Joe67 said:

RE: Versacryl. Don't know it. But did you ever notice how the before/after pics and "reviews / testimonials" are largely right after the job is done but don't report 5 years down the road? Hell, I can make an old, worn deck look great - for like a minute - with a coat of anything. But what's going on with it in 3-5 years?

I'd not tell them them that you can't do it. I'd just tell them that it can't be done in any long term way by anyone. And that whatever they do, if they want to do something, it will just be a regular maintenance kind of thing. The problem with the composites, I think, is that everything will be a thick-ish film kind of coating. So that just means more of a nightmare when it does start to fail.

Anyway, right now, other than cleaning, they have what is basically a maintenance free deck. Ugly as it might be to them, coating it will turn it into a bigger headache. IMHO.

Click to expand...

No kidding, it would be nice to have some pictures down the road to see what really happens. Appreciate the feedback, I think staying away from it is what I'm going to do.

I think it could potentially be stained, but I wouldn't test it on a customer's property. As ugly as some of the old trex decks age, their finish will last longer than us. Putting anything on top of it would eventually call for maintenance. As to when or what extent, I have no idea.

So I was just sitting on the patio having a beer (or two) after a Sunday of yard work and stuff... and just had a thought.

You're doing their exterior, yes? So they'll have a fresh, new exterior look. Except they won't like the look of their deck. Nice new stuff and old worn stuff and maybe they just hate how it looks. The long term solution is to replace the decking, but the expense of that is huge, of course. So you say "hey - I could spruce it up with a coat or two of something. But that will be temporary. Maybe a year. Maybe 5. But eventually it will turn into an even bigger job. The worst thing that happens is that you have to re-do the whole thing anyway. But for now, I could buy you a year or two..."

It just has to be clear that you're making no promises about longevity and can't guarantee a darned thing. Best effort to buy them as much time as you can while you imply that it's really not all that bad as it stands.

Yeah, just time to replace it rather than spend money on trying to paint it. I don’t think the composite decking products that were available that long ago were nearly as good as what you can get now. At 20 years old it‘s at the end of it’s life cycle.

Well I have a customer that really wants the old composite decking stain or painted. I'll have her sign a contract that states I won't guarantee for any amount of time. I put a sample on the deck last fall it held up fine, but I'm not convinced. I used Arborcoat deck & siding. I'll take pictures before & after & post them.

Joe67 said:

RE: Versacryl. Don't know it. But did you ever notice how the before/after pics and "reviews / testimonials" are largely right after the job is done but don't report 5 years down the road? Hell, I can make an old, worn deck look great - for like a minute - with a coat of anything. But what's going on with it in 3-5 years?

I'd not tell them them that you can't do it. I'd just tell them that it can't be done in any long term way by anyone. And that whatever they do, if they want to do something, it will just be a regular maintenance kind of thing. The problem with the composites, I think, is that everything will be a thick-ish film kind of coating. So that just means more of a nightmare when it does start to fail.

Anyway, right now, other than cleaning, they have what is basically a maintenance free deck. Ugly as it might be to them, coating it will turn it into a bigger headache. IMHO.

Click to expand...

Looks like a 2pack polyurethane, I wonder how well that would hold up

Sometimes, as professionals, we need to be blunt with customers even if we ultimate tick them off and talk ourselves out of a job.
Regardless of what a customer “wants” sometimes the right thing to do is simply refuse to do something we know is just a temporary fix at best. I realize how “holier than thou” that sounds but when the customer is insisting on having something done that we know in our bones will be just a waste of their money, it’s best to just walk away and not be a part of it.

At ~ $6/sq ft just for the Versacryl paint at $1590/kit plus shipping and sales/use tax which only provides 2 coat coverage for ~ 300 sq ft with no guarantees how it will perform, it would probably be more cost effective to swap out the decking boards with budget friendly Trex Enhance at ~ $5/sq ft for materials.

cocomonkeynuts said:

Looks like a 2pack polyurethane, I wonder how well that would hold up

Click to expand...

I'm sure many would thank the guinea pig who wanted to try it out to see and report back in five years! (Though as Redux just pointed out, the costs are do high it makes it even less attractive as an option).