[Sticky] Deck Staining Help

State: Tennessee (south central)
Full Sun
Pressure treated pine
No mold issues
No previous stain

What would be the best, light colored stain for this type of wood (color and brand)? What would be the length of time before needing to be restained? Why is Behr rated so low on this site? What about Minwax? Is there a problem with either of these brands?

Minwax is not for outside wood. Behr is a horrible stain as you will read from actual users on this site and on other sites. Use TWP 100 Series and expect to clean and reapply in 2-3 years. Nothing will last longer on a horizontal deck.

I live in North Georgia
Deck has SW exposure full sun partial sun
Yes mold issues
Cypress and cedar
SW oil based semi transparent Deckscapes

My story is fairly long, so bear with me. I had a new deck built last October. It is cypress with cedar posts and railing. It was coated with Sherwin Williams Deckscapes Oil based semi transparent stain #3524 Chestnut directly on the new wood. I was told to have another coat of stain applied 6 mos. later, which was also done after pressure washing. It has this black splotchy film on it, which I believe is a form of mold (on floors and rail). You can scrub it down with a mixture with bleach and it comes off. It comes right back though within a week or so. On the railing which is cedar along with the blotchy film, there are also small circular spots where stain has chipped off.It even appears on decking that is covered. The contractor came out and believes it is the SW stain. He agrees that it is a problem. He recommends waiting 6 mos, so new stain will adhere. He says he would clean/ pressure wash and apply another oil
based product, either semi solid or solid. He says he will do a test board before applying all over to make sure it works before coating the entire deck. Is he on the right track? He is recommending Cabot as an alternative stain.

I am the one that posted above from North Georgia. Here are some pictures!

Quote from administrator on December 29, 11:58
When asking questions on Deck Staining please include:

<ul>1. I live in Atlanta Georgia
<ul>2. I have a combinations of full sun and shade (75'x12' wrap around deck- back and side of house)
<ul>3. The deck is pressire treated and the railing is cedar
<ul>4. Mold and mildew on the shade side (25'x 12')
<ul>5. Used Ready Seat back in 2009. Looked good but faded over the years. Especially the horizontal boards. I used Light Brown stain sea;er on the Cedar railing and Cedar on the pressure treated decking to match the colors. I liked the look just didn't last and now I see the UV protection of Ready Seal is not so good. I'm thinking seriously about using TWP 100 but am not sure of the colors. Do you have a recommendation of colors to match the pressure treated decking with the cedar railing? Do you recommend TWP for the Atlanta area??

Thanks,
Opschulze in Atlanta

Yes it is mold but the stain by no means looks semi-transparent. It looks like a solid. Adding more on top will not really fix the issue. Might be a good idea to sand it off and start over. At least try to do this to the horizontals and maybe consider a two toned deck for future ease of maintenance:
http://www.deckstainhelp.com/advantages-to-having-a-two-toned-deck/

Thank you!
The stain is semi transparent! The camera just doesn't do it justice! Would it be ok to strip instead of sand? What semi transparent stain would you recommend?

My painter called and is coming in the morning to strip the deck!
1. What steps should be taken after stripping? He said he is using a chemical stripper!
2. What stain should we use and how long should we wait after stripping to re-stain?
3. I am on a lake.
4. The deck was originally stained immediately after being built. Contractor was told that cypress had to be stained immediately. From what I read on your site this isn't correct. Then coating it again 6 mos. later made it worse!? Would you say more an application error or bad product?

I live in Northern Illinois and have a 3 month old pressure treated deck with a cedar pergola. The deck has a Southern exposure and gets full sun. What type of stain would you recommend. I would like to go dark with the color

Quote from agibney1 on August 17, 22:02
Thank you!
The stain is semi transparent! The camera just doesn't do it justice! Would it be ok to strip instead of sand? What semi transparent stain would you recommend?

My painter called and is coming in the morning to strip the deck!
1. What steps should be taken after stripping? He said he is using a chemical stripper!
2. What stain should we use and how long should we wait after stripping to re-stain?
3. I am on a lake.
4. The deck was originally stained immediately after being built. Contractor was told that cypress had to be stained immediately. From what I read on your site this isn't correct. Then coating it again 6 mos. later made it worse!? Would you say more an application error or bad product?

1. Brighten after stripping
2. You can stain once the old stain is removed. Try Armstrong Clark
4. All stain brands differ but most want the wood to weather some. Adding more probaly did make it worse. More of a bad product.

It may be hard to strip this as it does appear very thick and not like a normal semi-transparent. Hopefully he gets it off.

Quote from sprinklerman on August 18, 20:51
I live in Northern Illinois and have a 3 month old pressure treated deck with a cedar pergola. The deck has a Southern exposure and gets full sun. What type of stain would you recommend. I would like to go dark with the color

Try the Armstrong Clark

I live in Ohio, have a large 3 tier deck, no mold, full sun. I moved into the house 2 years ago, previous owner painted with some type of red paint which is now peeling. There are some cracks, but overall the deck is in good shape. I would like to completely change the color. 3 new steps added last week. I do not want to sand the deck. I rented a pressure washer and did a power wash last night. I have read horrible reviews on the restoration products and now unsure what my next step should be. Any help? Thanks

If you want to change the color to a semi-transparent that shows the wood grain you will need to sand it all off. Otherwise stick with a solid color stain. Prep by pressure washing and apply a deck stripper to remove as much as possible. Stain with Flood's solid stain.

Thanks for the reply. Flood's? Your top review lists TWP. Is this because I want to change the color? It does not have to be semi-transparent, but I do not want to see the previous red color.

You have to use a solid stain and the products we rate high do not come in a solid stain. Flood does.

Hello,

Portland, Oregon
Full Sun
Pressure treated lumber - pine, fir, hemlock - not sure.

I'm a newbie property owner. I have inherited a deck that was installed about 4 years ago but hasn't had any maintenance. It's pressure treated wood with some mold growing on it. It is in full sun, but 3/4 of the surface was covered with a canopy prior to this.

What would you recommend as far as cleaning, prep, sealer - the color is fine so I'm not looking to add any color, just looking to get it clean and protected.

Thanks much!!