Deck & Fence Restoration in Austin
Wood needs a gentler touch than brick or metal. We strip years of old stain and paint from decks and fences without gouging the grain — bringing the wood back to bare and ready to refinish.
Wood Isn’t Like Other Surfaces
Decks, fences, and pergolas are some of the most rewarding surfaces to restore — strip off the gray, peeling old finish and the natural wood underneath comes right back to life.
But wood has one weakness: the wrong removal method tears up the grain, leaving fuzzy, gouged, or scarred boards that show through whatever finish goes on next.
That’s why so many methods that work on masonry or metal are wrong for wood:
- Aggressive pressure washing raises and shreds the grain, especially on softer woods like cedar and pine.
- Open sandblasting chews straight through the surface and destroys the wood. Anyone offering to sandblast your deck should be avoided.
- Harsh chemical strippers can darken and burn the wood and leave residue that interferes with the new finish.
- Belt sanding by hand gouges and dishes the surface and is brutally slow across a whole deck or fence.
The correct method is surface-safe media blasting at low pressure, tuned to wood. The media lifts the old coating off without tearing into the grain underneath.
What We Remove from Decks & Fences
- Old, flaking solid-color deck stain
- Worn and graying semi-transparent stain
- Failing paint on fences and railings
- Old sealer and clear-coat buildup
- Mildew and weathering trapped under the finish
- Coatings on pergolas, arbors, and gates
- Finish on deck rails, balusters, and posts
The result is bare, clean wood that shows its natural grain and color again — ready to take new stain or sealer evenly, the way fresh lumber would.
Why Our Process Works for Wood
We adjust three things specifically for decks and fences:
Media choice. We use fine, surface-safe media on wood — chosen to lift coatings without driving into the soft grain or leaving residue that would interfere with re-staining.
Pressure level. We drop the air pressure to the low end of our range. That’s enough to remove the old finish but not enough to fuzz or gouge the wood.
Angle and dwell time. We work at a flatter angle with shorter dwell time in any one spot, distributing the media’s impact evenly rather than concentrating it and digging in.
These adjustments mean wood jobs take a little more care than a metal railing or a brick wall, but the result is a clean surface with the grain fully intact and ready to refinish.
Should You Re-Stain or Seal After?
Yes — and the window matters. Once wood is stripped to bare, it’s at its most receptive to a new finish. We recommend re-staining or sealing reasonably soon after restoration, before the bare wood weathers or grays again in the Texas sun.
We don’t apply finishes ourselves — our focus is clean removal — but we leave the surface prepped exactly the way your stain or your contractor needs it, and we’re happy to talk through what holds up best on Austin decks during the assessment.
Deck & Fence Questions
Won’t stripping damage my deck boards?
Not the way we do it. Most aggressive methods damage wood, which is exactly why we use fine media at low pressure, tuned to the grain. The old finish comes off and the boards come through clean and intact.
Will the wood look different after stripping?
It’ll look the way it did when it was new — bare, clean grain. Most homeowners are surprised how much natural color comes back once the old gray finish is gone.
Is it safe for older or weathered wood?
Yes. We adjust the media and pressure to the age and condition of the wood. Older decks and fences just call for a gentler setting, which we dial in during the work.
Can you strip the rails and posts too, not just the deck boards?
Yes. We restore rails, balusters, posts, gates, and the whole structure in the same visit, so the entire deck or fence is ready to refinish together.
Get a Free Deck or Fence Assessment
If you have a deck, fence, or pergola in the Austin area that needs the old finish gone, we’ll come out, look at the wood, and tell you honestly whether restoration will bring it back. We accept all major credit cards and cash.