Your contractor is not very well versed on stain brands and types. I am sure he does quality work but being limited to HD for his products is a no no....

To be sure of removal you should use a stripper and then brighten when done.

You would need to prep with both the Deck Cleaner and Wood Brightener for this. This removes the mill glaze. Oil based stains are not all prone to mol...

I would also request suggestion on prep work. Would just cleaning suffice with a cleaner as deck is just six months old?

This appears to be an oil based stain. Isn't this prone to mildew,algae and mold, with my situation of some water/moisture which may be present under ...

Armstrong Clark stain for this in Ontario. Make sure you clean and brighten for the prep.

No. The new deck was installed in September of 2014 and has not been stained till now.

Do you already have a stain on the wood?

If they say it will work then you should be okay. Latex and acrylic are the same thing.

Thank you. Based on your response I'm considering a Cabot 100% acrylic solid stain. I called Cabot and they were confident this was the best choic...