Staining or Painting a Deck?

[nthach]

Stain. Except when your dad makes the boneheaded move to use Thompson's Water Seal over oil-based Cabot and created a huge mold problem - Water Seal is basically paraffin wax in stoddard solvent.

I used lots of ammonia to strip the wax and restained with Behr premium solid-color. Still looks like new even after 3 years.

 

[doitmyself]

I love to research topics on the interweb, but researching outdoor stains only gave me grief. There simply is no consensus about the best brand(s) regarding quality and durability. Consumer Reports has (or had) an on going outdoor deck stain test for many years. I tried one of their better recommendations and it was a bust (many regard CR with skepticism). One big problem is that the manufacturers are changing their formulations every few years. Every time they change formulas to address environmental concerns, it seems to me that quality suffers.

This site linked below is, in my opinion, the best one to attempt to compare products and educate yourself about stains in general. Spend some hours reading the comments section on the reviews and you can attempt to make some judgements based on user input (some professionals join in).

https://www.deckstainhelp.com/

Many people learn that maintaining desk stain is a never ending battle and if you goof up, it looks really bad and requires a lot of effort to correct.

My choice always returns to the old school oil base type, but this is getting harder to find in many states.

Good luck to you.

 

[Killer223]

sand your deck first. get all the dead gray wood off, then apply the stain, i choose the Sikkins SRD as well. role on, let stand for about 20 min, then wipe off the excess,
next year do the same it'll use A LOT less. then every year there after. it'll keep it looking good for long time. if you go to long between, and let it weather. i'll end up taking more stain and getting dark.

i might add i'm a professional painter, i do these for a living.
#1 sikkins SRD
#2 superdeck
#3 penafin

 

[Donald]

Use a semitransparent stain or a sealer. Nothing that leaves a film on the surface.

Trex is good also expensive, but fades, gets hot (barefeet) and needs support 12" on center, not the normal 16". It has no strength itself.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

My deck is over 25 years old and looks real good. I've kept the same stain color all these years.

Google ''Penofin'' and see who sells it near you.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
I love to research topics on the interweb, but researching outdoor stains only gave me grief. There simply is no consensus about the best brand(s) regarding quality and durability. Consumer Reports has (or had) an on going outdoor deck stain test for many years. I tried one of their better recommendations and it was a bust (many regard CR with skepticism). One big problem is that the manufacturers are changing their formulations every few years. Every time they change formulas to address environmental concerns, it seems to me that quality suffers.

This site linked below is, in my opinion, the best one to attempt to compare products and educate yourself about stains in general. Spend some hours reading the comments section on the reviews and you can attempt to make some judgements based on user input (some professionals join in).

https://www.deckstainhelp.com/

Many people learn that maintaining desk stain is a never ending battle and if you goof up, it looks really bad and requires a lot of effort to correct.

My choice always returns to the old school oil base type, but this is getting harder to find in many states.

Good luck to you.


When you say oil based, means Stain, correct?

This website list TWP, Defy and Armstrong. I might pick TWP or CWF, price dependent.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
My deck is over 25 years old and looks real good. I've kept the same stain color all these years.

Google ''Penofin'' and see who sells it near you.


Thanks, a bunch of people sell that Penofin. ANy preference for a type of penofin?

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: Killer223
sand your deck first. get all the dead gray wood off, then apply the stain, i choose the Sikkins SRD as well. role on, let stand for about 20 min, then wipe off the excess,
next year do the same it'll use A LOT less. then every year there after. it'll keep it looking good for long time. if you go to long between, and let it weather. i'll end up taking more stain and getting dark.

i might add i'm a professional painter, i do these for a living.
#1 sikkins SRD
#2 superdeck
#3 penafin


Thanks, I truly appreciate a pro comment. Is there any specific color which would be better for UV protection? Also, do you have any input for Flood Co's CWF-UV wood toner?

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: maverickfhs
Thanks, a bunch of people sell that Penofin. ANy preference for a type of penofin?
Penofin has a reputation for soon turning black. I watched a neighbors brand new cedar woodwork do this within a few years. I also used some on a planter box I made. Read the reviews at Amazon and on the deck stain site.

IMO, the staining process needs to start before the deck boards are laid down. Meaning, the backside, both sides and end grain need a good application. 100% of the woods exposed surface. All six sides.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Penofin has a reputation for soon turning black. I watched a neighbors brand new cedar woodwork do this within a few years. I also used some on a planter box I made. Read the reviews at Amazon and on the deck stain site.


A perfect example of my comment about no consensus. Penofin that is recommended by professional painter "killer123" above maybe works well in his area (Arizona), but gets some red flags on review sites and owner experiences.

maverickfhs - oil base refers to the solvent or liquid part used for the stain. The other type is water. Some companies have an oil emulsion in water carrier.

Good luck on your quest.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Originally Posted By: sleddriver

Penofin has a reputation for soon turning black. I watched a neighbors brand new cedar woodwork do this within a few years. I also used some on a planter box I made. Read the reviews at Amazon and on the deck stain site.


A perfect example of my comment about no consensus. Penofin that is recommended by professional painter "killer123" above maybe works well in his area (Arizona), but gets some red flags on review sites and owner experiences.

maverickfhs - oil base refers to the solvent or liquid part used for the stain. The other type is water. Some companies have an oil emulsion in water carrier.

Good luck on your quest.


Thanks, I'll definitely stick to oil based, because that's easier in the long run, no need to peel or scrape off. Thanks