Deck Stain

BigDawgWill44

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 25, 2020
Messages
223
I need to refinish the deck at our vacation home. Not sure if I should use transparent oil based or a semi transparent deck stain. It hasn’t been treated in probably 10 years so the plan is to power wash/strip/brighten/hit with sander, then stain. The boards are actually in really good shape just rough. I think semi transparent or a solid will last longer but aren’t they usually much harder to deal with down then road when the paint peals? That’s why I was thinking just oil based transparent and stay up the maintenance every few years. Let me know what direction you think I should go.


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Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Messages
1,760
Location
Oregon
I've only built and stained cedar or hardwood decks like mahogany and ipe, hopefully someone else thats dealt with redwood can chime in. Most of the softwood decks i just leave untreated or have the customer use a semi transparent if they want to but those are new decks. Ive only finished and refinished dense hardwood decks personally and i use some specific oil based treatments on those. Im sure the climate factors in as well, im in the pacific northwest
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2015
Messages
537
Location
Wyoming
I like something like Cabot ATO for redwood in a long term situation. You can give it a light sand to remove surface damage then apply another coat every couple years. Works great if you are ok with that level of maintenance. No need to ever strip it again. Spray on and back roll is pretty fast too.


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elkguide

WKR
Joined
Jan 26, 2016
Messages
4,816
Location
Vermont
I use "Australian Timber Oil" (the oil version.... do NOT use the latex version) and have had great results with it. It's now a Cabot product. I have been a house painter for over 30 years and the way that I describe today's paint products is that they are environmentally friendly BUT THEY SUCK!!!!!!! Both the solid body stains and paints will peel, and you'll be right back scraping and sanding and refinishing in just a few years. The biggest thing to remember with Timber Oil is to not put on too much. Apply a good coat and let it dry for a day before walking on it. My preferred method for decks is to put a coat on in the spring once the deck has dried and then put another coat on in the fall. The following spring put on a third coat and then watch it and apply another coat in a couple of years. Good luck.
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
6,172
Location
Outside
Don’t stain redwood! Just VERY lightly sand it and then again, very lightly seal it with clear. Redwood has natural acid tannins that are bug, rot, and super weather resistant.

I’ve seen 40-50 year old redwood decks in excellent shape with a light sand and seal every 10 years or so.
 

Marble

WKR
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
3,601
If you sand it you will risk sealing the wood pores and having uneven stain areas depending on how much sanding is applied to certain areas.

Chemical cleaning with stripper and/or a brightener will yield a more uniform result and better penetration.

Follow instructions on how many coats to use. More is sometimes worse.

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