I have a wrap-around covered porch near the coast in Savannah that was previously painted with a latex floor paint. With 4 kids and a dog, the paint chipped very easily. I decided to try and remove the paint completely and put down a solid stain.

My problem is the nature of the wood grain and cupping of the boards has made it very difficult to remove all of the paint. I started with a drum sander, then a random orbit floor sander, then sanding with hand held sanders. 90-95% of the paint was removed. I then tried 2 different strippers that had very little effect (I tried to pick a good, but less hazardous stripper to protect all my shrubs and trees).

What remains are areas with thin, narrow strips in some of the wood grain, and strips as wide as one inch and several inches long in cupped areas. I have spent too much time and money already, and just want to get this done, but done right. Can I use a solid color latex stain, or should I play it safe and use a product like Sherwin Williams Armorseal Tred-Plex latex paint.