[Sticky] Deck Staining Help

Try to stain within 2 weeks of prep. As to heat, some stains can be applied in the heat/sun while others cannot. Without knowing what brand you are using, it is hard to give advice. Dew usually is not an issues as it burns off within a couple of hours of sunrise.

I live in Ohio, just build a 800sqft deck with pressure treated pine. After 11am it is in full sun until dusk, no mold issues since it is new. My question is will it be more beneficial to wait and apply Twp and Armstrong before winter or would I be just as well off applying timber oil now. My concern is my deck boards are beginning to cup, I have read that is because of the full sun making the wood dry at a faster rate on the top than the bottom, which is only 20" from the ground. Would applying the timber oil stop or slow the cupping, or will staining it now not make a difference at all, thus making it more beneficial to wait and apply Twp? Thank you

The staining will not stop cupping. That is the wood drying out and nothing can be done about it.

Ok, so is it more beneficial to wait longer and use Twp or Anderson stain, or is it just as well to use the timber oil sooner? Thanks again.

Just wait and use the TWP or AC.

1. Colorado, Denver Metro Area
2. Full sun most of the deck with partial shade on one side (about 1/5 of a deck and horizontal railing)
3. Redwood, 2 years old (June 2014)
4. No mold/mildew issues.
5.Applied Woodrich Timber oil, Sugar Brown in Sept 2014. The stain did not hold on horizontal surfaces. The product barely holds color on horizontal surfaces, lot's of grey wood, about 50% left. Very unhappy. I can keep the product on vertical posts (if I find matching or contrasting colors), but would like to switch to something more durable and suitable for Colorado, with high UV exposure, perhaps with a darker tint too (current one is bright yellow). What product/technique should I use to remove residuals of Woodrich, Timber oil? Also, should I use oil or water base product for a new application? If I decide to remove the Timber oil Woodrich from vertical posts what is the best technique?
Many thanks in advance for help and recommendations.

Best to strip all. Use the Restore A Deck stripping kits. Stain with TWP 100 Series.

many thanks for your advice!

Hi there
Hood Canal, Belfair Washington
Half of house in full shade, half house in partial shade with full sun for about 6 hours. The entire deck is a covered porch. Deck includes, deck, railings, posts, beams and sofits.... We had to go big for future misery.
Wood type is cedar.
Black mold on all sides.
Deck is twelve years old. This is the third restoration job on this deck.
Previously we used an Olympic oil based stain with a anti-mold agent. I don't think we prepped the deck properly. We did not remove the previous stain, nor brighten. We pressured washed and bleached molded areas then applied the stain. Unfortunately the stain failed, go figure. Within a year the previous stain peeled significantly, like strands of paper within the grain of the wood. For periodic cleaning, we pressure washed which made the stain lift even worse. Now the nightmare begins.
I read that using bleach is a bad idea, and the using an oxy solution is the way to go. So being super zealous...I got straight up 96% sodium percarbonate. You leave it on for 15-30 minutes and then scrub off the mold. It worked like a champ. Only problem is that it totally dissolved the previous stain as well. Good and bad. The areas where the stain is gone, we're down to bare wood. That's the good news... I think. Areas where the previous stain penetrated the wood really well, it has not lifted. That's the bad news... more work. Now my dilemma. I have pickets and deck still to do... which is approximately 1/3 more prepping on what started out as over 3000 square feet of our wrap around deck. I am also noticing some water and or old stain stains on some areas I have worked. Anyways, I have put literally weeks into this job already and am ready to burn my house down... lol, but seriously I'm so over this deck job. I have reviewed your site and don't know what to do now. Do I need to use further cleaning and brightening products on areas already (seemingly) good to go? Do I use a stripper to get rid of old stain on stubborn areas? Do I need to brighten those areas as well? Do you think the sodium percarbonate may have changed the pH of the wood whereas I may now have an issue with my new stain moving forward? What about the stripper, what about the future mold? I was told by a Lowe's rep to get Jomax Stripper to remove the rest of the old stain and to use Concrodium Moldcontrol as a preventative measure on areas where I had mold previously, and to use this product on those areas before applying any new stain. I was advised to get the Olympic 6 year semi-stain. BTW, I have not used the Jomax or the Concrodium yet, nor have I purchased new stain. And lastly, what stain do I use? I saw in other posts that you guys recommend TWP 1500 for my area with similar conditions. It looks like (from their website) this product only lasts a 1-3 years though. Is there anything out there that will give me 5-6 years? I think I will have to kill myself if I am faced with this job again within 2 years... yikes! There is not enough wine in the world to drown my sorrows. HELP PLEASE!!!! Many thanks in advance 🙂

Use a stripper and then brighten all the wood when finished so it evens out the pH. You want to remove as much as possible of the old coatings. We like the HD80 or Restore A Deck products.

Concrobium will not stop future mold very well nor can you use it before staining.

Nothing lasts 5-6 years. It is a gimmick warranty by Olympic or anyone who states this. 2-3 years is the most you will ever get on a horizontal deck surface.

1. Northern California (Silicon Valley)
2. Full Sun
3. Cedar
4. No Mold or Mildew Issues
5. No previous issues, new wood.

This is a siding question, I hope you don't mind. I'm putting in cedar board and batten on my house and I actually want it to be gray.

The best reviewed stain that has a gray is Armstrong Clark. Will that be a good one to achieve?

I found a gray deck that represents the color I'm looking for and was wondering if Red Western Cedar can achieve this look?

As a newbie, I find it hard to believe that it can, but if it's a matter of time, then I'm ok with that.

Thanks, hopefully I'm not too off topic. Please let me know if I am.

The Driftwood gray by Armstrong would be your best option. The first time staining new wood will be a shade lighter. After it dries out for a few years, another coat will darken to the color you like.

In May of 2015 we installed a cedar deck in and stained it in October 2015 using TWP stain. We live in New York state, 75 miles north of New York City. It was newly installed cedar. There are no mold or mildew issues. The deck gets full sun, south east exposure. Over this summer the color has faded quite a bit and the wood has a dried cracked look to it. We had used this same stain on our front deck which is partially covered and gets northwest exposure and that has held up well over two years. What is the best way to restore/fix this issue. We used the Gemini Restore a deck on it before we stained. Thank you.

TWP suggest reapplying a second coat to new wood within 12 months of the first coat application. Prep with the Gemini Kit again and reapply is the correct procedure.

I guess I'm blind, I can't see where to start a new topic...