[Sticky] Deck Staining Help

Strip off the Thompsons and then brighten the wood. That should remove the mildew.

Can this deck be saved?  Approximately 15yr old pressure treated deck that's been neglected for the past few years.  Located in Rhode Island in partial shade. 

I was able to remove the mold & algae with 30 Second Outdoor Cleaner (worked great) & then pressure washed.  Some of the boards are pretty weathered (splintered) so I’m now in the process of sanding with 80 grit sandpaper, but I can see there’s no way to fully remove some of the larger splinters & deeper gouges.  Should I use wood filler before using solid stain?  Also I’m tempted to use a splinter-correcting stain, but the reviews are all over the place (users either love it or hate it!). Some of the splinter-correcting stains I’ve considered are:  Cabot Deck Correct / Olympic Rescue / Behr Premium Deck Over / or Restore-A-Deck.  Short of replacing the boards, any advice on what stain to use?     

No, do not use wood filler on outside wood. Use a solid stain for this. RAD or Flood Pro Series.

• 1. North Carolina

• 2. Full sun most of the day - shaded early/late in the day

• 3. Pine wood

• 4. No mold issues

• 5. Previously had Behr "Semi-transparent" in Chocolate (which seems a lot more opaque than most other semi-transparent stains?). The Behr was wearing and peeling/flaking

I've done 3 full rounds of stripping and power washing with RAD stripper + both boosters, followed by brightening. This got "most"--but not all-- of the Behr stain off.  I just can't bare to do any more prep at this point (sanding this is out), but would prefer to avoid a full-solid stain covering.

What's going to get the best results (with easy reapplication of future coats), despite the little bit of lingering old stain remaining? I had hoped the RAD stripper would prep this well enough to be able to use TWP, but it seems like the oil-based might not provide good "coverage" of the lingering Behr?

A darker color will help to blend this. Maybe Espresso semi-solid from Armstrong Clark. If TWP, it would have to be Black Walnut or Dark Oak.

Oh interesting, I figured that trying to cover this with any oil-based stain would just sit on top of the leftover bits and be unsightly, and that something water-based/more paint-like would be needed.

One of those oil-based choices would really work here you think?

Why is sanding out?

Too much time/effort to sand; my contractor is doing all this and using these products at my direction.  Sanding will add far too much time and cost to the project.  I'd rather replace all the deck boards and railing than spend all that time sanding all the little nooks and crannies, and I don't want to do that either.

I need something that will adequately cover and blend despite the 5-10% leftover stain that 3 rounds of RAD stripper wouldn't remove

Omg this is exactly my current deck.  Behr semi transparent in chocolate but feel there might be a kiltz oil base primer underneath.

This was all done by previous owners but after the polar vortex in Illinois this past winter....the part of our deck exposed was bubbling up, flaking, and peeling off.

Found a company that would re-stain it. They first suggested I Use a semi-solid by Sherwin-Williams then after realizing much didn’t come off with power washing they suggested a solid stain. The look of the solid stain does not have the natural grains and is more flat which is not the look I wanted to achieve. I want to see the nots and grains in the wood.  They said sanding would not be good at all.  However everything I’ve looked up suggest a 60 or 80 grit sandpaper with an electric sander would be good then to wash it and use a brightener?? perhaps to get the pH balance of the wood back so it would absorb the transparent or semi transparent stain???

I'm nervous to go with the solid stain as I too think the Behr semi-transparent stain in chocolate looked opaque and like it was painted.  Please help open to suggestions.

The only way to remove this fully is to power sand and that will be a lot of work. Once fully sanded off, clean and brighten for the final prep. You can then use a semi-transparent stain.

1. Live in GA

2. Morning shade, afternoon full sun

3. Pressure treated wood from Home Depot

4. No mold issues. Brand new deck built in May. 

5. Hired out contractor to stain deck and discovered half way into project he was over staining deck. I could see paint marks on the railing where it dried. He also used a roller which looked blotchy. Spray painted underneath the deck which also looks blotchy. Hand painted support beams that are probably over painted.

How do I.....

1. Remove the stain from underneath the deck? Do I need to? 

2. Tools to removed stain on side rails and boards on top.  

3. Products to use and process. I am overwhelmed seeing so many reviews and what to do and not to do. Applied in the deck was BEHR semi transparent cordovan brown. 

Vert hard to remove Behr, especially when brand new. In the contractors defense, Behr is a terrible stain to apply.

Strip off what you can and then power sand to remove the rest. Brighten all after.

Once removed, use a true penetrating stain like Armstrong Clark.

https://www.deckstainhelp.com/tag/armstrong-clark-deck-stains/

We applied one coat of Armstrong Clark semi-transparent oil on kiln-dried premium stain ready wood. However, it looks like it might benefit from another coat. That was about a week ago. The directions say to put the second coat wet on wet. But I was wondering if it would hurt to do another coat after a week has passed. 

More is not better. Leave alone and apply another coat int the Spring of next year.

I live in North Carolina.

1100 sq ft covered front porch with 3" ipe tongue-in-groove flooring but 6 steps of full sun exposure (West-facing)

Flood SWF Solid wood finish applied 9 years ago with still very good appearance under porch (esp screened area - photo 1) except peeling at exterior edges (photo 3,4). Also replaced front steps with new 4" boards that have now weathered 3 months.(photo 4) - Water and Miracle Grow staining around flower container pots.(photo 2)

About to paint entire exterior of house, which is cedar siding and want to re-stain porch for even color and appearance. Also need to initially stain new front steps.

I've been reviewing your Ipe stain reviews and like the Restore-A-Deck product but prefer a solid stain to a semi-transparent, because of the darker color and less frequent staining. 

1. Is Restore A Deck Solid recommended for Ipe?

2. If so, can the RAD strip/clean/brightener system remove the Flood Solid effectively? Will that also clean the water/feeder marks?

3. Is this RAD better than Flood Solid (read that company has changed in last 10 yrs)?

Thank you very much.

JGA