Solid Color

Porch and deck floors are sometimes difficult surfaces to paint, as the softer a coating is, the easier it wears off, but the better it tolerates moisture transfer and wood expansion cycles. Conversely, the harder wearing a coating, the less able it is to handle expansion and contraction of the wood, so most solid-color choices represent tradeoffs to consider.

For a solid painted look on exterior porch floors or decks, you could consider Sikkens Rubbol DEK, which is the only flexible, breathable oil based wood floor coating (not a paint) that we are aware of. It looks like paint, but performs like a stain--no film to peel. It is breathable and flexible when applied to bare wood.

We also like Benjamin Moore® Acrylic Solid Deck Stain 065 for many projects. The Acrylic makeup gives this coating excellent satin sheen and color retention.. It offers excellent adhesion to properly prepared surfaces that have been previously coated. This stain is flexible and breathable and is a great choice to consider when coating exterior wood decks and flooring.

Previously Coated Wood

Regardless of your coating choice, it will still be best to try to strip or sand any old, failed coating. After using strippers, many times wood is "fuzzed" and should be sanded following the stripping process.

We like Norton's 60 g paper followed by 80G. Norton's 3x series paper is also designed for coating removal. The paper really does make a difference. Most floor coatings will recommend 80g or 60g bare wood sand, but it depends on the coating you choose. We use a Dust-free Palm Sander. If you have sharp corners on boards that could be slightly sanded round, that would be helpful. We always do a final brush vacuum prior to coating application, and actually wipe the surface to insure no dust can interfere with coating absorption and adhesion.