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solid or semi solid? or neither?

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notyou
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Hello.

South Jersey, mostly sun all day, pressure treated almost 1 year old deck with pool access (chlorine). Ready for first seal. 

I have been trying to learn as much as I can before sealing this new deck, mostly from the internet and more so this website.  I am unsure though if I should use a solid, semi solid or transparent. I think it would be best to use a solid for the UV protection, but I don't want a deck that "looks painted". Plus I don't want the problems of peeling.  I would like to keep the wood grain look.  I thought I was going to go with Armstrong Clark semi solid, but am unsure now as to what the best choice is to protect my investment. Time is running short for me, however, as the deck has never been sealed and it is coming up on a year old soon. Plus the carpenter bees have started drilling.  I could sure use some help in making a decision.


   
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Scott Paul ~ Restoring Wood & Decks Since 1993
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notyou
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Topic starter  

Thanks for the input.  Am I right though in thinking that a solid or semi solid gives the appearance of a "painted surface", hiding the grain of the wood and potentially peeling?  Of course now, as I feared, I'm second guessing my original choice and considering something different which brings up more questions.  After reviewing the link you sent me, my next question would be, oil or water based?  I'm going to read further into each one from your link to try and narrow it down.  Any suggestions?  Based on the UV protection, I think I may be leaning towards the TWP 1500 series. 


   
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Scott Paul ~ Restoring Wood & Decks Since 1993
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Solid stain looks like paint. Semi-solid shows some wood grain but the depends on the brand of stain. AC semi-solid does not look like a paint. Stay with oil based. Both AC and TWP 1500 are oil based.


   
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notyou
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Joined: 6 years ago
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Thank you.

After some further research, looks like I will be going with the TWP1500.                                  (1) Is TWP 1500 the best for my “new” pressure treated deck? Will it stand up to the hot sunny summer days as well as the sometime brutal winters?
Ok. Lets talk prep. As I mentioned this is roughly an 11 month old pressure treated deck with no prior staining or sealing:
(2) Do I still need to clean and/or brighten?
(3) If so, is power washing acceptable with or without cleaning solvent?
Also, as I mentioned, this is in mostly full sun conditions:
(4)Do I need to wait until night time and stain under spot lights or can I do it under the sunny conditions?
Also, being in South Jersey, although a weather forecast might say no rain, quick storms can still pop up. So even with the best of planning, rain could always be an issue during the staining process:
(5)So how much rain or moisture during the process is tolerable without diminishing the results?
Also, being a fairly new deck:
(6)Should I do 1 coat or 2 coats wet on wet?
Back to the carpenter bees. They have already started drilling their holes, and it was to my understanding that they did not like new pressure treated wood:
(7)After staining, will bug sprays affect the finish of the stained wood or is there a product to treat the wood prior to staining?
Lastly, I have 532 sq/ft of deck:
(8)How many gallons would I need to do either 1 or 2 coats and,
(9) If I order extra to account for miscalculations or spillage, can I return any unopened cans.

In regards to my 8th and 9th questions, I should add that miscalculations might be due to the irregular shape of my deck as it has curved areas where it meets the pool and some of the calculating is actually guesstimating:                                                                                   (10) Is there a way you could help me with a more precise calculation?

You have been a great help so far and I hope this is the last of my questions.


   
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Scott Paul ~ Restoring Wood & Decks Since 1993
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1. Yes

2. Yes.

3. Yes, pressure wash.

4. You can stain in the sun.

5. It can not rain when applying the stain or be wet when applying.

6. 2 coats wet on wet

7. Spray for bees after

8. 5-6 gallons

9. Depends on who you buy from


   
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