I should be moving in 1 week, and first order of business after move-in and preliminary unpacking is going to be to stain the back deck, so I can then finish moving all my grill/smoker/prep table/fridge/etc. out there.

What's your preference for deck stain type/brand?

Bonus points for a product that can hold up to frequent traffic from a dog. My previous deck stain got scuffed/flaked rather easily from the dog's claws.

(It's a brand new deck, so no need for "weathered wood repair" or "deck restoration" products, or the like.)

We have a trex deck, but I built a screen room, and privacy wall out of PT wood.

I bought this stain from Menards and have been very happy with it. I'll preface this with the fact that this is my only experience with outdoor stain.

It goes on like oil based (which I've used on smaller projects), but cleans up with water. So far it's very durable, and was very forgiving of overlap, dry edges, etc.

https://www.menards.com/main/p.../p-1444450068589.htm

Forget the deck "restoration" products, you can't fix wood at the end of its life. But if the wood is good for another maintenance cycle, buy a high quality oil based stain with a medium or darker pigment if the deck is in the sun. And if the stain you want to buy are sold in the big box stores, you're in the wrong store. I've had very good luck with TWP brand oil base stain, but it costs more.

If it is new pressure treated wood let it cure for about 6 months and then stain. I like a semi transparent stain that lets some of the grain show through.

I really like Ready Seal because it soaks into the wood and when you need another coat you don't have to strip it off to stain again. It won't peel and gets better with age and additional coats. Email me if you need some photos of my deck and I can go into more details about application cleaning etc.

https://www.readyseal.com/

OK, here is the stupid question of the day.

My deck has a latex stain on the tread surfaces. Can I scuff and use an oil base over it or am I forever locked into the latex? Between grandkids and dog the latex lasts about a year.

Info.
https://www.deckstainhelp.com/...eck-product-reviews/

On recommendation from a home improvement radio show I started using "One Time Wood". It's not cheap but it lasts.
I had a deck still looking really good when we sold 5 years after application.

I highly recommend Ready Seal. It's oil based so it soaks in and lasts. I rebuilt my deck 2 years ago and it still looks great. I have two dogs and it's held up. The only part that hasn't is where my dog's claws are digging in the wood itself.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod..._title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After years of frustration, found this. Still looks good in third summer

https://www.flood.com/products...wood-finish/cwf-uv-5

quote:

Originally posted by ubelongoutside:
We have a trex deck, but I built a screen room, and privacy wall out of PT wood.

I bought this stain from Menards and have been very happy with it. I'll preface this with the fact that this is my only experience with outdoor stain.

It goes on like oil based (which I've used on smaller projects), but cleans up with water. So far it's very durable, and was very forgiving of overlap, dry edges, etc.

https://www.menards.com/main/p.../p-1444450068589.htm

I use this too. The front porch on the North side of the house gets very little sun and after 6 years still looks great (although I've been a bit rough on the steps). The deck on the East side of the house I have to do every 2 to 3 years. Still better than Cabot or Behr that stuff only lasted a year for me.


The next place I get I'll eventually go with something maintenance free.

My deck is fairly large, about 400+ square feet or so - and is now over 25 years old. The horizontal wood parts are finally starting to show some deterioration - I am thinking we will rebuild the deck in 2-3 years.

But: for a 25 year-old deck, it still looks great. The secret is we powerwash it every 2-3 years and re-stain it. Believe me, in my climate, we get everything - extreme cold (on occasion down to zero degrees), and high heat/humidity (up to 100 degrees, near 100% humidity). Many summer days over 90.

In the early life of the deck, we used oil-based stain, but about 10-15 years ago, the stain we use is no longer oil based, it's now water based. We've always used Benjamin Moore Arborcoat.

I think what has kept ours so good for so long are the powerwashing every 2-3 years, and re-application of stain.

I used to love Cabot stains but they are now part of Sherman Williams and they have reformulated all the products. I have not ideal if they are still any good.

Now I use California Stain with supposedly uses a formulae similar to the old Cabot Oil Stain.

Like all good commie states you can not buy the best deck stains in all states.

They regulate the VOC content.

Back porch discoloration ,
Because my mind is bent
The wrong way

TWP is good stuff.

Get a solid colored stain if your deck gets a lot of sun. I went semi-transparent and I learned my lesson. A couple of different guys I know that do decks also seconded that opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
OK, here is the stupid question of the day.

My deck has a latex stain on the tread surfaces. Can I scuff and use an oil base over it or am I forever locked into the latex? Between grandkids and dog the latex lasts about a year.

Get yourself some Jomax Stain and Finish deck stripper. Spray that on a a light power washing that latex stuff will be long gone you’ll be down to the bare wood.
I was amazed how well it worked.

I just did my deck using Cabot Gold Oil Stain and it looks good. We’ll see how well it holds up. The father in law used Cabot Timber oil and it is still going strong after about 4 years.

We used Cabot decking stain and so far it has held up. We have four dogs and no problems. We applied it just this May. Pricey but good shit.