[Sticky] Deck Staining Help

I am located in Northern New Jersey. I have a mahogany porch that is covered. It gets sun about 6 hours a day. The porch is not covered on the sides. Only has a railings that are white vinyl. So it does get wet from the rain and snow.  I have used the 3 steps of RAD.  I cleaned it, stripped it, and brightened it.  I am most likely going to sand it also.  You mentioned to use either Armstrong Clark or the Defy Hardwood stain.  I would like something that has a shine to it or a gloss finish.  What would you recommend to use?  Thanks for your time.

You cannot use a stain that has a gloss on an exposed wood deck. It will peel and blister:

https://www.deckstainhelp.com/apply-polyurethane-to-a-deck/

Try Flood Solid stains for this.

Hello, I live in Illinois.  The deck that we are looking to stain has never been stained before (deck was built 4 years ago).  Deck receives full sun in summer, I think wood is cedar.  Is the wood damaged/worn so much that our only option is a solid stain?  Would solid stain look best in this situation or is it possible to use semi-transparent or semi- solid instead?  Worried that if we use a solid stain, our only option going forward will be to continue with a solid.  Thanks for your help. 

Prep with the Restore A Deck Cleaner/Brightener Kit and then stain with Armstrong Clark in a semi-solid color. Do not use a solid stain.

Thank you so much for the speedy reply.  This website is extremely helpful. 

Have you ever used ExoShield hardwood and softwood?  If so, could you share your feedback?

ExoShield

Posted by: kevo2233

Have you ever used ExoShield hardwood and softwood?  If so, could you share your feedback?

ExoShield

Sorry but never heard of it.

OK, here goes. I currently have a deck with Thompsons WaterSeal Cedar Semi-Transparent on it. We power washed and stained a couple years ago, but it started to peal right away and the attached picture is what it looks like now. How do I prepare the deck correctly and re-stain correctly? I don't care about the color nor the brand. We just used what the previous owner already used.  I just want a stain to last more than 1 season here in Michigan. 

My plan so far is to use an orbital deck sander first. Then I am not sure what to do. I have heard from many places that power washing could actually do more harm than good. So what would you recommend after sanding? (assuming sanding is a good idea first) (I am afraid of sanding the deck due to lead exposure. Do you have any protection recommendations?) 

After that - what stain product do you recommend? I liked the sound of the review on the Armstrong-Clark brand. I could get a semi-transparent cedar color it sounds like. But I don't know if it is OK to change the brands since I would be going from a latex to an oil base. Maybe the Thompsons WaterSeal would hold up as long as I sand first anyway?

How many coats are recommended? 

Thank you!!!

Hello, for the prep, stand this all off, 100%. Clean and brighten the wood after. The AC is a great stain and works very well in Michigan. You can use it if you remove the Thompsons fully first.

Didn't think about it until just now... Any suggestions for the railing? That is not in as bad of shape and I do NOT want to take the time to sand all of that down... 

Try a two-toned deck:  https://www.deckstainhelp.com/advantages-to-having-a-two-toned-deck/

I have power washed our deck, spindles, railings, two gates and two sets of steps.  It looks great. The deck is mostly clean with some leftover old stain which is very light in colour and very little of it is left on the deck surface.  The spindles have more stain left on them.  We do not want to stain with a solid stain, we would like to just seal it with a clear sealer or something with very light colour in it.  Do we have to make sure the stain in out 100% (which I don't think I can actually do on the spindles)... not sure what to do.  Would really like to just seal it with a clear product but am told the stain or sealer  will go milky looking where there is currently old stain on the deck. I have to do some sanding of the deck and everything as the power washing made some places a little fuzzy.  Can I just sand and apply a sealer? We are in the Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada

Yes, remove the current stain 100%. Try a stain stripper while pressure washing. Brightener after. Use a semi-transparent penetrating stain so you have UV protection. Clear sealers will gray within months.

Can you suggest a stain stripper? and do you spray it on and then power wash it off or do you have to scrub it in?