In April, following Easter, I began sanding the 4 year old stain off of the deck. This was a huge task and because of the mess, I usually reserved weekends to put on a dust mask, knee protectors, ear protection and old jeans and get to it. After buring out my old sander, I completed the sanding last weekend. I tore down the railings and began to stain new wood pieces.
Just today, I stained the 4x4's and first 2 boards. The stained board below is one which needed to be replaced.