Bad patching by previous workers caused deck paint to peel off.   The planks are very old and were severely warped.   The problem is compounded in that the planks sit on a bed of sand.   This means moisture under the deck which absorbs into the planks causing blistering of alm0st any paint.

This called for complete removal of the existing paint for a good bonding surface.   We planed the wood down and applied extensive epoxy paste patching to get the planks to a more even flat surface.

The only material that can resist negative side moisture and vapor pressure is a good epoxy coating.   Epoxies have a tenacious grip, stronger than the wood’s bond to itself.  We used Devoe Bar Rust epoxy coating with a Devthane urethane topcoat for sunlight resistance.   A heavy silica sand broadcast was applied between coats to create a rough surface for slip resistance.

Our preference is 100% solid epoxies.  However, we believed the solvent based Devoe epoxy would have better wood penetration.   Also, the solid epoxies do not offer much of a variety of colors.   We needed to keep within the color theme of the rest of the palace and the Devoe products can be custom tinted.