Looking for recommendations for wood stain. I’ve got a wooden front porch, back deck, patio and trash can enclosure that all need stain. All have been built within past year. Any recommendations on products and perhaps a sprayer would be great.
I’m a first time homeowner so this is all new.
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Posts: 3631 | Location: Charlottesville, VA | Registered: May 10, 2005
I prefer oil based stains. Penetration into the wood itself.
Latex will skim over. Latex is easier than oil and susceptible to lack of adhesion/ peeling.
TWP as mentioned is good stuff. Try keying in TWP stain…should have a good bit of info. I’m going there now, I’ll paste the link…I think you’ll be busy reading posts on this subject. Be back later.
Posts: 5775 | Location: west 'by god' virginia | Registered: May 30, 2009
We have used oil based deck stains in the past. Not everyone's favorite but has repeatedly worked well for us is Weatherscreen semi-transparent deck stain (Pittsburg Paint product distributed through Menard's). We get 2 (sometimes 3) years between applications.
The TWP mentioned above is excellent and very well regarded. Expensive and may have to be mail ordered.
Got a power washer or can borrow one to clean the deck? Ya gotta clean that wood good. Suppliers sell prep cleaners or you can make your own if yo do a search for homemade deck cleaners. They work & ya save a bit of cash.
Man, ya gotta lot to read up on. Get a deck brush about 7” and a roller. Some folks use a garden sprayer.
Take your time and enjoy your staining! Got a buddy or two to help?
Posts: 5775 | Location: west 'by god' virginia | Registered: May 30, 2009
I asked a similar question on the forum ~1.5 years ago, and went with the recommendation for Ready Seal. I was very happy with the results and application was significantly easier than stains I had used on earlier decks.
Be careful with the power washer as high pressure and a narrow tip will leave marks in the grain. As decks age it finally gets to the point where a latex will cover and fill defects in the grain better than oil. We have one that was old when we bought the house 20 years ago and which is still there, but the pool deck we put in 15 years ago is getting it's second partial redecking.
Oil based stain And a ortho two gallon sprayer from lowes
You can control the pattern and pressure and it’s light enough to move ut around.
Tape and mask off any house siding or vinyl beforehand-even though you can wipe off the stain it will still look funky from an angle…just better to mask it off.
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Originally posted by recoatlift: Got a power washer or can borrow one to clean the deck? Ya gotta clean that wood good.
quote:
Originally posted by Tirod: Be careful with the power washer as high pressure and a narrow tip will leave marks in the grain.
The OP states that it's a new house, with wood that's less than a year old. On a new deck that's less than a year old, you shouldn't need to seriously power wash it anyway, unless you've got something like a bunch of tree sap stains or similar.
With newish wood like that, you can go simpler: Sweep off the deck. Get a cheap pump sprayer for ~$15 at the hardware store. You could buy some dedicated deck cleaner, or just use a 50/50 bleach and water mix. Spray it on the wood with the pump sprayer, let it sit for 15ish minutes, then rinse it off well using a garden hose with a nozzle. Wait for the wood to dry for 48 hours. Apply stain.
I would suggest what others have, a penetrating or semi-transparent stain as opposed to a solid hide stain which is more like a paint, which tends to peel.
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