Deck Staining Advice

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Having trouble with a deck staining project, and I’m sure someone here can help! My front porch and then a couple of sets of steps (small) in back of the house need to be restained. The wood is cedar, and had kind of a reddish stain. The old stain is peeling off; it has been several years since it was done, probably let it go longer than I should have. And now it is fall… :(</p>

<p>So I asked a handyman who has done some work for my neighbors if he can do it. He said he can, and he powerwashed the deck. Then he brought out a sample and painted one board with it, said it is the “closest match” he can find. Well… it looks awful. Because the stain is sort of see-through. And since some of the old stain has peeled off, and some is still there, it looks mottled.</p>

<p>When he first looked at it, he wanted to actually paint the porch. I don’t want that look, I want it to look stained similar to when it was new.</p>

<p>I feel like maybe there are more stain options out there that he doesn’t know about… he is not a deck professional. I am considering just paying him for his time and the can of stain he already bought, and maybe hiring a more professional painting company or something to do this. Anybody else have any opinions or thoughts on this?</p>

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<p>We have a cedar deck that we get stained every year. The key to getting a good finish, from our experience, is to sand the deck prior to applying the stain.</p>

3

<p>There are four levels of opacity on deck stains:</p>

<p>[Staining</a> Your Deck | Cabot](<a href=“http://www.cabotstain.com/do-it-yourself/steps/Staining-Exteriors-Decks.html]Staining”>Learn How To Stain a Deck | Cabot® Stain)</p>

<p>Translucent stains have very little pigment and show the grain of the wood. It’s what you might use on brand-new redwood or cedar. Won’t wear very well.</p>

<p>Semi-transparent has a little more pigment. Looks great on brand new cedar, but won’t cover very well on an older deck.</p>

<p>Semi-solid has a lot of pigment. Will hide imperfections on an older deck, especially if you use two coats. Still looks like stain with variations in color density, not like paint.</p>

<p>Solid stain basically looks like paint and will peel like paint.</p>

<p>If you really had peeling, you probably you probably had solid stain on the deck before (very much like a paint). He’s trying to cover that with a semi-transparent or semi-solid deck stain. That’s normally what you would want on a deck, but once you’ve got peeling solid stain, I don’t know. </p>

<p>I’ve always used Cabot semi-solid stain on a pressure-treated wood deck. It covers well, but takes two coats after the deck is stripped with pressure washing. it blends in areas stripped to bare wood and areas with old stain nicely. It looks uniform, but not painted when its done.</p>

<p>I started out with semi-transparent on cedar clapboards, but switched to solid for later paint jobs because it covers better and is much more durable. I wouldn’t use semi-transparent on a deck unless you plan to go the high maintenance route and restain it every year.</p>

<p>For your deck, you are either going to need two coats of semi-solid or, if you really have peeling, go with solid deck stain. Don’t freak out if it looks too “painty” when you first apply it. It takes a week or two for the deck stain to lose its sheen and look weathered, even with the semi-solid. It’ll dull down nicely in a month. You could always go with the semi-solid first and see how you like it. Each coat will make it more and more opaque if you need to cover more.</p>

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<p>Hmm, from what he said on the phone today, I think maybe he was using a semi-transparent on the sample he did. I think I will ask him to switch to a semi-solid to see if that covers better. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Semi-transparent is going to show the wood underneath. So, it only works on new wood or wood that you sand for uniformity. It’s what you use when you have really pretty wood and are willing to prep and stain every year.</p>

<p>An older deck with blemishes is going to definitely look better with a semi-solid. The semi-solid will also hold up much longer.</p>

6

<p>Replace the boards with Trex type decking. You’ll never have to power wash and stain again and again and again…</p>