Stain / Sealer for Deck in Crisis

Check out TWP oil base stain. Clean and sand with a deck sander I rented one from Home Depot. Add screws where needed. Make sure the old screws and nails are below the surface will damage the sander sand paper. I got the TWP from Ace Hardware.
 
It is replacement time. Seriously considered the plastic, ok composite, wood. It will cost more, not quite twice as much as Douglas Fir, but will last a long time and no slivers or pitch. If you go with wood, only Douglas Fir. Not KD is okay. I did our deck with 2 x 6 Western Red Cedar in 1985. When we sold the place in 2011 the deck was still in fine shape, but also mostly protected from weather.
 
And this is under the outdoor rug, I had no idea.

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I'd cut out those rotted 2xs with a drill and jigsaw or a multi tool and replace with new sections.
For the entire deck surface, fill a pump sprayer with a mixture of 3/4 gallon of bleach the rest water and a 1/4 cup of liquid Tide or similar.
Give it a shake and saturate the entire deck. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then rinse with a hose or power washer. Let it dry for a day or 2 .
When completely dry, put down 2 coats of this:
BEHR DECKplus 1 gal. White Base Solid Color Waterproofing Exterior Wood Stain 21101 - The Home Depot https://share.google/fqVBhV9O0fBoqpoYy

Assuming the substructure is sound, you'll get some years out of it still.
I've built 4 decks and cleaned and stained them more times than I wish to think about... including the one outside our front door at our beach house where I am now. I've tried different brands of stain... settled on Valspar/SW from Lowes until I tried this Behr from HD.
It's not their premium but it's the best I've used and it's held up going on 2 years in a tough environment.
Good luck 🤞
 
How big is your deck? Are you willing to do the work? Start with a thourogh cleaning, sanding, tighten/replace/add deck screws, replace wood where necessary and then finish with a quality stain.

It just might look beautiful when you are done. Perhaps consider hiring someone who knows what they are doing?
I would add “quality oil based stain”.
 
It depends on how much time you want to spend on the project, and what your expectations are. It can be made to look good, for a while, the wild card is how many rotted boards there are. If I were to attack that project the first thing I would do is make sure the screws are sunk below the surface of the boards so they don't tear up sanding belts. Then I would go around putting in more screws where needed. The next step would be sanding until I had a smooth surface, it looks to me like a 1/16" or more would have to be sanded out, and the deep splits, cracks, and checking will still remain. Make sure it is clean and mildew free. Wood fillers don't hold up well to expansion and contraction along with people walking on the deck. Bondo is hit or miss especially on a deck people walk on. All dust must be removed after sanding, if the surface is slightly damp it helps with applying the 'first' coat solid acrylic stain, try and work in shade or on a cloudy day! Regarding finish, I would use a solid acrylic deck stain, no priming, just two coats. Oil based products on a deck are a breeding ground for mold and mildew. It should look decent when done, some might say like a suit on a Gorilla. As I mentioned earlier, it depends on your expectations.
 
Use the solid color acrylic stain by BEHR Premium at Home Depot. It holds up 10X better than any semi-transparent stain due to a magnitude level more particulate content. It will last 10 years if applied correctly. My deck is 16 years old and is only now showing signs that it needs re-staining on some areas.
+100. Our fence was a mess when we moved in about 5 years ago. Sun damage and lichen growth on most of it. It appeared to have never been treated with any stain or water repellent. We bleached then power washed it, front and back that summer. The worst pickets tore apart and had to be replaced.

We used Cabots solid color and it came out great. Luckily our deck was already a solid stain, so we reapplied last summer. Solid stain hides a lot for a structurally sound deck where transparent stain will not work.
 
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