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Topic starter
10/09/2023 3:21 pm
I have an older deck that had peeling solid stain on it when we bought the house 10 years ago. About 7 years ago we had it redone with solid stain, Cabot, but I can't remember if it was oil or water based. It started peeling within 6 months. We hired out the job so I'm not sure what their process was. I've been ignoring it and now it ranges from areas that are in pretty good shape to areas that are bare wood. I'd like to avoid solid stain, as I don't want to repeat the peeling problem.
I know the answer is that I have to remove all the solid stain before using semi-solid, but WHY? My main priority is protecting the wood, and I'm not terribly concerned about the appearance (I figure it's not going to look worse than it does now.) Is this an issue of appearance, or is there a functional reason not to use semi-solid over solid? Google just keeps telling me not to do it, but not the reason. I'm going to sand it but would prefer to avoid chemical strippers. Some areas have come pretty clean with a 1/4 sheet sander and I now have a belt sander to try. If I can get away with removing most of the solid stain but not sweating the last bits, it sounds like a much more manageable project. I tested out some areas about 3 months ago by putting oil-based semi-transparent stain on areas I'd sanded but not removed all the old stain, and it's doing ok, but it's only been 3 months.
If it matters, I'm in the mountains of the southwest, so we get little rain, sun almost every day, snow, and a temperature range of 95*-10*F. I suspect it's pressure treated wood.
10/09/2023 3:50 pm
It is impossible to add a stain of less opacity over a solid opaque stain. There would be zero reasons as well. Either sand it 100% off or reapply another solid stain over it after proper prep to remove the loose and peeling stain.
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Topic starter
10/09/2023 5:39 pm
1. It is not impossible. I could put a coat of mayonnaise over it. Now, mayonnaise would be a terrible choice, because it wouldn't seal the deck, wouldn't dry, and would wash off.
2. There is a reason to do it, which is that I'd like to do less work and not mess with the solid stain that is still well adhered. Large areas where the solid stain is well adhered I wouldn't add more stain to.
What I want to know is WHY it's not recommended to put semi-solid over remaining solid.
10/09/2023 7:19 pm
No, there is no reason. The work is the same by just putting a solid stain where you would use the semi-solid and it would blend much better by choosing the same color.
Why? It will look like crap and will not adhere well, creating premature failure, possible stickiness, and you will end up sanding off all coats to fix it. That creates more work later on.
12/09/2023 12:58 am
Because semis and solids protect your deck in different ways.
Semi-solid stains contain mostly penetrating oils that need to absorb into bare wood to protect it. Solid stains contain mostly film-forming ingredients that dry opaque on the surface to protect it.
Applying a semi-solid over a solid will result in oils sitting on the deck surface because they can't absorb.
It would be like trying to deep condition your hair over a hat that you already put on. A big mess.
