One option is to paint the spindles a darker color.

Big job ahead of you. Once you sand the existing deck, a deck stain may stand up better to the test of time. If you like the color of the deck stain in the picture below, they give the information for it on the page.

My vote goes to stain too :)

And grey sides.

I should have mentioned staining isn't an option. My husband refuses to stain because it is such a monumental task getting every bit of the existing paint off. We are not painting the railings, trim or siding at this time - just the deck floor.

If it chips really bad, a good pressure clean might get off most of the paint. Help him scratch/sand away the left-overs and he'll probably and/or happily stain anyway ;)

You want to get the job done right, or do you just want to get the job done.

Stain to do it right.

Paint it a brown to cover the paint you won't get off.

Note: Hub does understand all chipping paint has to go anyway?

I'd finish stripping it and seal it.

@rinqreation: We have a high pressure washer that he used for the first stripping. I am 6 months pregnant and unable to help strip.

@sophie: It was painted twice before we owned it. At this time we can't afford the cost to replace the deck with composite.

Appreciate the comments, but staining is not an option for multiple reasons.

We are looking at the painting as a 2-3 year solution until we have to repaint the siding and trim and then would also look at changing out to composite.

Behr DeckOver will cover any remaining paint that is engrained in the wood, so we talked it over and are going to go with a light to mid-grey.

That color sound great! Post a pic when it's done.

Had a friend that used the DeckOver and although I have not seen it they are very happy with results...looking forward to seeing your results as well...