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Deck Stain Questions and Answers
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Topic starter
13/05/2014 6:14 am
I purchased a home along a river in Northern California. It has two decks and a fence both have not been well maintained. It appears that there was a solid stain on the deck earlier that had worn off in most places.
1. State you live in - California - about an 1.5 hours north of San Francisco
2. Full Shade, Partial Shade, or Full Sun - Partial Shade
3. Type of Wood - Upper deck appears to be redwood, other parts of deck I believe are Doug Fir. Wood is old and dry.
4. Mold or Mildew Issues - Winters are very moist and the fence and some deck boards have black marks
5. Main Issues with Previous Stains - Unsure of what solid stain was used before but it had worn off in most places.
Objective: I want to get more years out of my deck and fences and improve their look.
Prep completed to date: I used Wolman deck cleaner and brightener to clean the deck. It removed a lot of dirt and some gray but I don't think it was enough. I then lightly sanded the deck.
The spindles on my railing have not been sanded and still have a reddish tint. The handrails, however, have been sanded to bare wood.
Pictures of my decks and fences
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12895440@N07/sets/72157644637492841/
Questions:
1. Do I need to do additional prep (e.g. additional sanding) on my decks and fences?
2. Would you recommend a solid stain?
3. If so, what solid stain would you recommend for an old deck/fence? My local paint store recommends Arborcoat but after reading reviews here, I don't think that is a good idea.
4. Is the recommended stain easy to maintain and reapply?
5. Would the stain applied to bare handrails, deck, spindles and fence end up the same color? They are not now as they are not all sanded down to bare wood as the pictures show?
Thank you VERY much for your advise and recommendation.
13/05/2014 2:49 pm
1. Use a stain stripper and wood brightener with pressure washing.
2. Probably not as I think most will come off. A similar color to the red in the floor would be better. Try Armstrong Clark in the Sequoia Semi-Solid color.
3. Arborcoat is terrible.
4. AC is a good stain and not hard to apply.
5. If stripper it should be very similar in color.
Topic starter
15/05/2014 2:49 pm
Thank you very much. A couple of follow up questions.
1. Any recommendation on a stripper other than the three you recommend on your site?
2. I assume that I need to use the stripper only on parts of the deck boards, spindles and fences where I still have some stain that remains, correct?
3. A significant portion of my deck still has grayness despite my earlier application of a deck cleaner/brightener. Seems like I should use the brightener on the entire deck and not necessarily just where I use the stripper, correct?
Thanks again!!!
Topic starter
19/05/2014 5:35 pm
The stripping is going well but I'm not done. I'm using a Sansin paint and stain stripper that is available locally. The local paint store is recommending Sansin stain instead of AC and cautioning me on an oil-based stain. I don't see any reviews of Sansin on your site so I'm sticking with AC.
A few questions on applying the AC stain.
1. How long should I wait after brightening to allow the deck to dry before applying the AC semi-solid stain?
2. Any recommendations on how best to apply? I have a airless paint sprayer and can backroll & brush in between deck boards. Should I plan to wipe down the excess as well?
3. Your review indicates 4-12 hrs of drying time for AC. How long should I wait before allowing foot traffic on the deck?
Thanks!
