[Sticky] Deck Staining Help

Hello, I would appreciate some advice about my decks. We have 2, a small side deck and a larger back deck. We bought the home 5 years ago, the home (and presumably the decks) were 7 years old. About four years ago I re-stained the deck with Behr Waterproofing Wood Finish, which was the brand the previous owners used. It looked good, but started peeling 2-3 years later (I am not sure I used brightener after destaining). I was recently told by a family friend to use urethane as a top coat after the stain next time.

So earlier this year we did the side porch, and used Varathan Spar Urethane as a top coat. It looks ok, but was too smooth and slippery (even though we added Behr Anti Slip Finish Additive to the top coat) so we had to put down anti slip tape.

Now we want to do the back deck, and we were thinking to do the Behr Waterproofing Wood Finish again (mostly because then we don’t need to redo the side rails as those still look good) but use TracSafe anti-slip sealer as a top coat on the floor boards.

But before purchasing that stuff I wanted to make sure it wouldn't hurt the deck. Is there a better option? After reading some of the reviews on your site, I am now more inclined to try something like restore a deck wood semi transparent stain if I could get a similar color to Behr’s Cedar Natural tone, so the railings don’t look weird. What do you reccomend for anti-slip surfacing?

I don’t know much about stain or sealers, but I want to protect the decks better moving forward as we already need to replace a few boards that have rotted.

Thank you in advance for any advice,

L

• 1. I live in MA

• 2. Full Sun

• 3. Not sure, looks like the boards at Home Depot, Premium GC weathersheild 

• 4. A bit of mold and/or mildew at certain joints

• 5. Just didn't last long

Posted by: @lkn8

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• 1. I live in MA

• 2. Full Sun

• 3. Not sure, looks like the boards at Home Depot, Premium GC weathersheild 

• 4. A bit of mold and/or mildew at certain joints

• 5. Just didn't last long

It was stained initially with transparent Behr Waterproofing Wood Finish (Cedar Natural tone), and that is what I restained with 5 years ago. It started peeling after a couple years, but then I got pregnant and had a baby so this summer is the first time I have been able to get around to it again. I was thinking to do the Behr Waterproofing Wood Finish again (mostly because then I don’t need to redo the side rails as those still look good) but use TracSafe anti-slip sealer as a top coat on the floor boards. The pictures above are the only recent pics I have unless you want pics of the can of stain.