[Sticky] Deck Staining Help

1. State you live in: Jersey Shore
2. Full Shade, Partial Shade, or Full Sun: Full Sun
3. Type of Wood: Pressure Treated Pine
4. Mold or Mildew Issues
5. Main Issues with Previous Stains: Five year old deck. Made the mistake of using Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Semi-Transparent. After powerwashing and using a stain remover, there are still areas that are blotchy and darker than others. Question 1. Should I now use a cleaner at this point? Question 2. Once I get this thing to a point that I can restain, and assuming its not 100% free of this horendous BM product, what stain would you recommend? I was thinking thta the only thing I can use is a solid stain but it seems that TWP, Armstrong and Defy only offer semis? Thanks for your advice.

A cleaner will not remove the Arborcoat. You would want to sand it all as much as possible then use a wood cleaner. You really want this to be all off otherwise you will have issues. If you get to this point then any of the higher rated semi-transparent stains will work. if you do not get all off then you might want to consider Armstrong Clark in one of the semi-solids to try to blend.

Have you written a post on your experience with the Arborcaot?

What is the Worst Deck Stain

We live in the Seattle area and are having a hard time deciding on what stain to use on our cedar deck and fence. They are 10 yrs old all clean and prepped. We are looking at Defy Extreme or TWP 1500 or 100. I read Defy is good for mold/mildew which we have had an issue with but also heard it's hard to apply and get an even finish since it's dries so fast. Any suggestions on what to use?

Either products would work well. Defy would give better UV protection. It is not the hard to apply.

I live in Olympia, WA, lots of rain. Have a 15-year-old cedar deck, previously stained with Superdeck red cedar color, which I didn't like (the product or the color). I want to go with a gray color this time. Armstrong and TWP have a gray. Any advice on gray? Neither product is available in my area so I'll have to order online. Thank you.

Armstrong has a better gray in our opinion then the TWP.

Thank you so much! I can't wait to get started.

Regarding the Armstrong-Clark, which says you can apply second coat when still wet, how do you do that without walking on the wet first coat?

quote]Quote from administrator on December 29, 2011, 11:58
When asking questions on Deck Staining please include:

• 1. State you live in

• 2. Full Shade, Partial Shade, or Full Sun

• 3. Type of Wood

• 4. Mold or Mildew Issues

• 5. Main Issues with Previous Stains

Florida
full sun/partial shade
PT Pine
Mold, Mildew - there but no that bad
Have stained with Behr Premium water base 3 times over the last 5 years Doesn't last even one year. Now we are stripping and starting over again. Problem is almost impossible to remove the old stain completely. Can I put TWP over the old stain?
Have pressured washed, sanded, and stripped as much as possible.

What is your reommendation for a dock with a few coats of the Behr Stain (Put on poorly by me!)Yes, this time we are doing it right. But want to make sure TWP is good in Florida under these conditions.

You should not put TWP on top of the Behr. I would shoot for 95% removal before applying any stain or TWP.

1. Massachusetts
2. north side of house, half in shade, half in full sun.
3. cedar, new
4. some mildew in shade

I removed old cedar decking (a lot of rotted wood) and replacing with new cedar decking. Is it advisable to stain all 6 sides of board before nailing boards down, or should I nail down decking and then stain. The deck is between 12" and 20" off the ground. Also, what product do you recommend? I'm having a hard time locating places that sell your top picks, except for Defy. Are they only available online? Thanks for your help.

Kathy, no need to do all sides. Just the exposed sides. All stains we rate are sold in stores. Just need to ask the manufacturer of the stains to see if there are dealers and if so where. For this new wood in MA I would look at Armstrong Clark.

When asking questions on Deck Staining please include:

1. State you live in: MA

2. Full Shade, Partial Shade, or Full Sun: Partial - SW exposure. Gets good sun but we have a small yard with trees and part of deck is below 2nd floor screen porch.

3. Type of Wood: Mahogany

4. Mold or Mildew Issues: No

5. Main Issues with Previous Stains: Used 2 coats of Cabot Timber Oil Mahogony 4 years ago on new deck. Has worn well until this year; underside of some railings still tacky.

Deck Stain Help
I heard the formula has been changed and don't know whether to stick with it but don't want to strip everything (too many railing spindles - deck is 6 ft above ground). I've power washed with a cleaner. Any suggestions on further prep or products would be welcomed.

I would use Armstrong Clark in Mahogany color. Excellent stain for your wood and will perform better the Cabot ATO.

1. Tennessee (Nashville)
2. Partial shade (deck is on north wall of house)
3. Pressure treated pine (deck is 22 years old)
4. Limited algae growth
5. Previous stain (Cabot 1406) applied approx. 6 years ago, has worn off in heavily trafficked area. Deck was pressure-washed one year ago, but not stained and has been pressure-washed using Olympic deck wash 5 days ago. The old stain is not flaking where it has not worn off.

We will probably replace this deck in a few years. What is the best stain to use on it, given its history?