Deck Stain Questions and Answers - Deck Stain Help Forum

Using 3 year old unopened Wood Stain

stevo — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 20:56:18 +0000

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba and about 4 years ago after researching your site, I bought a 5 gallon pail of Armstrong Clark Wood Stain - Sierra Redwood colour to stain my PT wood deck. I ran into some health issues and am only now ready to get to work! I cleaned and pressure washed the deck, sanded off the fuzzy bits but am wondering if the stain will still be good after all that time? It's still in the sealed original container and has been kept inside during that time.

Thanks for your advice in advance

Steve

Help on cedar deck in PNW

goldchops — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:16:36 +0000

Hello-

New here and not sure where this belongs but my giant deck was built with 4x6 cedar posts and after 2 years in the PNW there is significant checking/cracking do to freeze/thaw/heat. What are the best steps and products to repair and restain? The original product used was C2 Guard for wood which I have discovered is not good on horizontal surfaces.

Play Set Staining Help

shorkj01 — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 20:06:22 +0000

Hello, I have a play set that I built using reclaimed barn wood that needs a new coat of stain. Also, around the playset I have a border that I used treated rough sawn southern yellow pine 5x5's for, these should be plenty ready for a first coat of stain as well.

A. The previous stain was applied 2 years ago (barn wood only), about when the wood started seeing daylight. Before that the wood was inside a barn built in the 1890's.

B. Most of the wood is rough and not sanded, this includes some decay and bug damage.

C. I assume the old stain needs stripped and I should use a wood cleaner or brightener? I would like to remove the UV damage to bring back some color, such as using the Armstrong Clark.

D. Best application method? Brush, pump sprayer, airless sprayer?

1925 1920 1922 1924 1923 1921

1. Indiana

2. Full Sun

3. Unsure, whichever hardwoods were cut down nearby to build the barn

4. North side, which is the rock wall seems to be the only area with mold/mildew

5. Previously used Sherwin Williams super deck oil based transparent stain (6511-52639). While it looked great at first it did not provide protection for much longer than 6-12 months and weathering/discoloring started to appear, so now a lot of the wood looks gray/white.

Get old finish off?

emf — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 21:20:32 +0000

My deck has Behr premium transparent waterproofing wood finish coating. It's peeling and looks terrible. How do I best remove it please?

1895

Staining untreated white pine in upstate SC

north south homes — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:35:23 +0000

Hi,

I'm building a new porch addition at a lake house in upstate SC. I'm working with new untreated white pine on the ceiling of the porch and beams. I need to know what is the best exterior stain for unfinished white pine, in a high humidity area and I won't be able to wait 6-12 months for the wood to acclimate.

Brice

Restaining with another brand

jpalidwar — Mon, 18 May 2026 20:15:18 +0000

Live in Canada . Recently stripped messmers UV plus from my PT deck and trainings.
Unable to remove 100% especially around knots.
What new semi trans can I apply. I want color retention and longevity.
Do any the recommended brands need 100% removal? Ie are they only for new wood only?
Her are some photos after stripping and whitening
1884 1885 1886 1887

Staining a Deck with new and old wood

Anonymous 35500 — Mon, 11 May 2026 18:18:55 +0000

1866 1867 1868 Last year we replaced a large portion of our deck boards with pressure treated pine. We left the built in benches as they were still in decent shape. Now that the new wood has dried out, we used RAD stripper and brightener on the entire upper deck(doing the lower area next). We are going with TWP 1500 (pecan) for the stain. We tested 2 boards—one old and one new and the contrast between them is a lot more than we were anticipating. My question is—should we use a darker stain like dark oak on the new boards and use pecan on the old boards, do some sort of mix of the colors, or go with a different stain altogether? Thanks!

Constant rain

oldrookie — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:47:05 +0000

I prepared my deck for sealing/staining with TWP 100 about 6 weeks ago. the deck had had little attention for 40 years, had some residual paint, and was very weathered-hence sanding was required. it has been raining 3-4x week since the initial prep. I am hoping for some drier weather in August. That will mean 2 months since initial prep. Given this time lag, are additional steps needed before applying the TWP 100?

TWP natural effects vs oil base

aaflowers — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 03:13:19 +0000

We’re staining/sealing a south facing IPE wood deck that is partially covered and partially not and also staining rough sawn, 10x10 pine posts and trusses of the deck in SE Idaho where we have a decent amount of snow for about 6-8mo of the year. We will use the Gemini restore and brighten products before application. I can’t find many reviews on the use of the Natural Effects series of TWP stain. I understand that the top coat would need to be reapplied as frequently as stain of the 100/1500/semi-solid lines if we do use the natural effects. I feel like applying a clear top coat every couple of years would be easier than a new stain coat. Am I wrong? Do you have experience about the absorption and durability of the natural effects products? If this was your home, what product line would you choose to use and why? (FYI - we will be using the ebony natural effects or the charcoal color in the other lines.) TIA.

sealing posts with TWP 100

oldrookie — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 17:40:05 +0000

My deck is elevated 5 feet above the ground. Do I seal/stain them with TWP 100? Down to the ground? These posts are 40 years old but are in good condition. The bad news is that they were set before sleeves were readily available. The good news is 1) the substate is primarily sand so it is very well drained and 2) the prevailing breezes from the lake blow under and through the deck platform. Additionally this space has had an open lattice screen around it. This has kept leaves and snow (this is in Minnesota) from accumulating under the raised platform and the deck supports