I am going to fix up my deck. It looks old and beat down but I think it can be restored. I have been reading various things online about cleaning and sealing the deck in order to bring it back to greatness. Do I also need to sand it? Splinters are becoming more frequent and I want to do this right the first time.

You need to tell us exactly what the deck is made of first. Cedar, PT pine, PVC can all be cleaned but methods are different. Sanding is not the way to go, at least yet.

I thought you may ask for that. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to figure that out. When we bough the house, it had a red stain on it so it is tough to even see the color of wood. If you can point me to the best way to tell, I will let you know.

OK go to a place not readily seen and sand down a small spot so you can see the wood. Cedar will be soft and slightly reddish. PT pine will be yellow with a hint of green and you will know PVC or plastic the moment you start to sand. My bet is cedar. Your biggest issue will be the existing red stain. Do you want to remove every speck of it or just more red stain?

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. It appears to be pine because it look yellowish.

I want to get rid of the red but am coming to terms with the fact that it may be too difficult.

So what would you say my plan should be? What would the difference be between this and cedar (just out of curiosity)?