I have a cedar swing set I bought used...I was intending on pressure washing it and re-staining it, but I started pressure washing my "test" area, as any good dyi'er should do. I noticed that where it was exsposed to the elements (UV) it blew away alot of the wood and left grooves, and non-exsposed areas were fine...very solid wood there.

So the exsposed wood is soft, I'm thinking of plan B...using a belt sander to sand it and then restain.

I need this to last about 10 years, I don't mind restaining/sealing every few years, but I want it to look as nice as I can get it with out to much effort and with tearing it up...

ANY IDEAS???????? Thanks,

I had the same problem with a set I bought used. I found out that the wood that blew away from the pressure washer was rotten. I also had a lot of algae on mine so there was apparently some standing water at times that didn't help things out. If the woods rotten there's not much you can do, if it's just soft, then try decreasing the pressure on the washer to see if you can still use it, otherwise that's a lot of sanding! With a good powerwasher you can etch the wood - even hard wood - with too much pressure, so make sure you differentiate between the two. Also, if you do powerwash, remember to let that wood dry for a good long while before you stain as it will have soaked in a lot of water.