Our deck is finally done! You have no idea how good it feels to finally say that, as we haven’t had a good outdoor entertaining spot in forever! Thanks to Rust-Oleum for sponsoring this project, and providing all the products needed to restore our deck!
We ended up using Rust-Oleum’s 20x deck resurfacing product, and it’s true that you can restore your deck in a day! It came with their deck wash, primer, and the 20x deck resurfacer paint in white. It also came with the special roller because this paint is thick!
Deck Before
Our deck is old and will need replaced in a few years, but we didn’t have the budget nor the time for that this season so paint it was! Our deck had some major cracking and was honestly debatable on whether we could save it.
This was one side of our deck before. We have a large concrete patio separating the two wooden decks, but altogether have approximately 300 square feet of wood decking that surround the side of our farmhouse.
And the other side of the deck after we ripped down the rotting railing that served no purpose!
Deck Makeover Materials
You will need to measure your deck to decide how much of each product you will need! Each product specifies the square footage it covers.
You will need each of the following:
RockSolid Deck & Patio Cleaner
RockSolid 20x Deck Resurfacer in White
Paint Tray
Foam Roller
Step One: Rust-Oleum Deck Wash
The First thing we did was wash our deck with the deck and patio cleaner. It is a concentrate so you do need to mix it with water according to the directions on the back. We had a long handled scrub brush, and used this to apply it to the deck and scrub the years of dirt and mildew off.
Once you’ve washed the entire deck with this, let it sit. We waited about 10 minutes since we had already power washed our deck prior, and rinsed the deck wash all off.
The directions say to only let your deck sit for 30 minutes after cleaning and rinsing before moving on to priming. This means your deck WILL still be wet when you apply the primer. Just remove any standing water with your deck brush, a squeegee or a leaf blower (which is what we used) and you’ll be ready for priming!
Step Two: Prime
Once you’ve washed and rinsed your deck off, let it sit for 30 minutes, and then removed any standing water, you can start the priming step. We simply poured it into a painting tub we had and used a spare 3/8″ nap roller we had on hand to roll the primer onto the deck. This step was very quick, and the primer applied in a milky color. When completely dry, it does dry clear!
This DOES need to dry before applying your topcoat. Let it dry for two hours, until it has dried to a clear color, and is dry to the touch! Now you’re ready for the exciting part!
Step Three: Topcoat
This is where that handy special roller cover comes into play! After stirring VERY thoroughly, we poured some of our topcoat paint into our painting bucket, and swapped out our roller for the one specially made for this paint. The paint is VERY thick and almost feels like a wet concrete. Which is why it requires the special roller cover.
Keep in mind, this product is meant for HEAVILY WORN decks/patios. If your deck is not in as bad of shape as ours, maybe thinking about using Rust-Oleum’s 6x or 10x product versus the 20x we went with. This particular paint does dry texturized, as it’s meant to fill cracks and hide large imperfections. And it did just that!
It was now or never, so we just went for it and started applying the paint. I read as many tutorials as I could when it came to this point. Some people said to not roll back and forth, but rather roll in one direction. We found it didn’t make a difference, and rolled in both directions, ensuring the deck was covered in white paint. We did always work with a wet edge, meaning we never painted next to or over an area that was drying, but instead waited once it was all dry to touch up some spots that needed it!
Because this paint is so thick, it can get messy and splash. It is a water based paint, so while hubby painted, I just followed along with a wet washcloth, and cleaned up any mishaps we had. We then waited for the entire deck to dry, and cut in the hard to reach areas with a paintbrush. Overall, the deck covered well with one coat, with minor touch ups here and there to ensure full coverage! Where I painted with a paintbrush, I did need two coats.
P.S. Our deck is not wet. The primer dries to a sheen so although it does look wet, it is totally dry in these photos!
Once done with your topcoat, you are done and now it is only drying time standing between you and enjoying some quiet time on your brand new patio!
You will need to allow 4-6 hours of drying time before paint will be dry to the touch. Wait 12 hours for light foot traffic, and 24 hours before replacing furniture. It does take 7 days for it to fully cure to a hard finish. Also remember to tackle this project when there is a MINIMUM of 24 hours with NO RAIN! I cannot stress this enough. We had a 10% chance of rain, and it still rained. Thankfully we had enough tarps to cover up our deck for the sprinkle!!
So we waited several days to ensure it had time to cure before placing furniture back. This is a view at both decks before the real magic happened..decorating!
Patio Lights
We wanted to spruce up our patio area by adding those market lights that are super popular right now. I picked up three sets each 16′ long at Target. We also picked up a large eye bolt for the end that would screw into the tree and cup hooks for the lights that would be hanging from the gutter on the house.
Hubby was an arborist at his last career and was more than happy to climb this tree and install the eye bolt. We then strung the market lights from the gutters on the house to a single point on this tree using a large eye bolt. The lights come with clips that can easily be clipped to it!
Deck Makeover: After
With the lights complete, I was able to finally place my furniture back where it went! We re-used all of last years outdoor furniture, making this patio project super budget friendly!
My husband built me the potting bench last year using a tool bench we found in our basement and studs removed from the nursery. We framed in an old window my in-laws had given me and made the perfect potting bench where we can display our small plants all summer long!
The umbrella is a 9′ offset I found online last year for a great price. I found a similar one here! The great thing about the offset style is you can install them right into your deck, no pesky umbrella stand to deal with. And you can swing them around to cover different areas on your deck!
The benches are built from 2×4’s and are easy and cheap to make! I just painted them with Country Chic Paint’s Lazy Linen and applied an outdoor deck sealant to waterproof them.
I found the metal patio table on sale at At Home Stores last year and it’s perfect for an uncovered patio. It doesn’t fade and can be exposed to all types of weather!
The deck no longer sticks out like a sore thumb and instead blends in and now looks like part of the house! We love how easy Rust-Oleum’s product was to work with and how quick we were able to achieve the patio of our dreams!
The other side of the deck now has a new and refreshed walkway! We filled it in with a white stone we picked up in bags from Walmart. It cost about $60 to do this and was well worth the money! Again, that new white deck just looks so good and clean!
While we were at it, we gave our two front doors trim a refresh with a new coat of paint. No more chipping white trim!
I am so thrilled with how this project turned out! I would 10/10 recommend Rust-Oleum’s 20x deck resurfacer to anyone looking to upgrade a worn-out deck or patio! We can now get a few more years out of our current deck and have a great entertaining space just in time to throw some summer parties!
If you’re thinking about giving it a try too, you can find Rust-Oleum’s complete instructions for using these products here!
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