Thanks. The wood is lighter than the photos imply. I’m not keen on using any brightener at this point (now that the sun has dried it nicely). I will ...

Thank you so much for the speedy reply. This website is extremely helpful.

Prep with the Restore A Deck Cleaner/Brightener Kit and then stain with Armstrong Clark in a semi-solid color. Do not use a solid stain.

Hello, I live in Illinois. The deck that we are looking to stain has never been stained before (deck was built 4 years ago). Deck receives full sun ...

Try Armstrong Clark stains. Return the Behr Cleaner as well.

Only if you want to for appearance.

Try Flood Solid stains for this.

That is normal for knots to be lighter in color. It is based on the density of the wood there. Nothing you can do.

Any of these would work well: Top 6 Deck Stain Reviews

Try the Restore-A-Deck Prepping and Wood Stains. Another option would be the TWP 1500 Series and the Gemini Restore Kit.