deck staining

[Unregistered-vfr4rf]

Hi, I stained my deck (redwood color stain) two yrs ago. I wore away a little (doesn’t look like it’s peeling – it looks more like the stain wore off) so I restained it last year. This year it’s really worn away. The front area, which is somewhat protected by a roof/overhang looks fine. I used Home Depot Behr product – a Premium Woodtone Weatherproofing Wood Sealer & Finish Oil Formula Silicone enhanced. Behr suggested I strip, condition and restain. I personally don’t want to go through all that, especially after reading the labels & directions. Any suggestions? Should I just put another coat of stain on the worn away sections? Thanks a million for your help. Gail

[Jasper]

* Use a power washer, rentable at your local Home Depot or Rental Store.
* This will remove any loose paint or debris.
* When you’re done, the deck will look like new.
* Stain it…
* Good luck… Adios… Jasper…

Jasper Castillo

[Faron79]

Hi Gail!
We used to sell the Behr stains like you have, but SO MUCH depends on prep and maintenance for a good look. We always counsel our clients how important the RIGHT kind of prep is.
***- Pressure-washing is the preferred way to rinse off a deck cleaner, BUT you’ve got to be careful. The SIKKENS stain company has very good tips on this…
1) Keep the tip of the wand about 1′ away from the surface.
2) Dial down the PSI to about 500.
3) Get a good deck-cleaner, lightly scrub it in, & wait the proper time…usually 15 min.
4) Then rinse correctly with the pressure-washer.
>>> If the pressure is any higher than this, and your tip is too close, you end up doing more harm than good! The outer wood fibers (Cellulose & Lignin) can only take so much pressure before they get crushed. Sunlight on a horizontal surface does enough damage!
>>> Even the SIKKENS stains stress “recoat when visually neccessary”. That can often mean EVERY OTHER YEAR ON THE HORIZONTAL portion. Vertical portions should last 3 to 4 yrs. between recoats.
>>> If your deck is over 10 years old, it’s time to sand the walking area. To much damage has happened to be fixed by a simple “cleaning”. It would be like an 80-yr. old woman trying to look like Christina Aguilara just by using a good make-up…IT WON’T HAPPEN.
>>> Not what you wanna hear, but it’s the truth. I have a 10-yr. old Redwood deck that never gets any shade. I sanded the walking area and steps in the 8th yr., and I have to put a refresher-coat of SIKKENS Redwood SRD on this yr. to stay ahead of the damage.
Good luck!
Faron

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