Deck stains

woodbutcher

Well-known Member
I've posted with this problem before, and everybody seems to have their favorite brand. I've used the most expensive brands- Olympic, Cabot, Sherwin-Williams-transparent and solid, none of these last any longer than the Flood SWF I bought at WalMart for a much lower price. I can only get two years out of any brand. But the problem I'm having with SWF is that it's bubbling and separating in areas exposed to a full day of sun. Areas that are shaded for at least a half-day are still solid. So, I'm scraping the bubbled areas. There is still half of the surface that has the solid stain sticking to the wood. I'm thinking about priming the bare spots with Red oxide metallic spray primer and recoating with SWF. Is there a better way to protect the cedar deck?
Butch
 
If its bubbling up, wood did not absorb it. If it were me, I would sand the area and re-stain.
I think that many bad reviews for products, is the fact that the surface was not prepped properly.
I have seen people just go out and stain their dirty deck and then get mad and blame the product.
This is not to imply that you did not prep properly but why have you used so many different brands of stains?
I just stained a 1500 square foot deck that was completed in January. I read many reviews and decided to use Olympic semi transparent stain. Before staining, I cleaned the deck thoroughly and let it dry completely.
The only problem I have had is that two boards have sap rising and I have scraped and cleaned the areas and washed with mineral spirits. Stain is still good but the areas have turned chalky on top from sap smear. I will replace the two boards. Too early for me to recommend Olympic stain.
 
Thanks for the replies. The reason I've tried so many is that this deck has to be redone every two years. I've read reviews that say the better brands should last five to seven years, but I can't get more than two out of any of them.
Butch
 
I'm not an expert...but i have a couple decks, the biggest is 80 ftx18 ft. Full sun and hot 30 - 38 d C in summer. Full rain for 4 months in the winter...we are right on the coast.
I have used just about everything on these pt boards. I see no advantage to the high end stains. If I want the deck to look good, I restain every 2 years in the spring. I pressure wash to get rid of dirt any loose cracking stain...I will even belt sand some areas if bad or uneven. Wash again with bleach. Let it dry well. Then two coats of oil base solid colour stain. I don't stain when its hot, or cold or damp for a week. Hard to find the right time...but it makes a difference.

When I fixed the surface up really well and used a pretty good stain, it made a big difference. But as I said every two years is best. I am actually getting 3 years this time...but it looks tired...I should have done it this spring.

Good luck, Grant
 
Deck stain?
What's that?

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Use to have the same problem. We used Sickens(sp?) and it did last a long time. Our deck had the run off from the roof run right onto it. The sickens held up for about 5 years. But then my mom painted it with some product that has a texture to it. It keeps it from getting slippy and looks good but its a paint so you cant see the wood grain which most people like. I want to say it was a lowes product but I can't be sure. It has held up for about another 4 or 5 years and we haven't had to do a thing to it.
 
what is the best way to apply the stain? I am in the process of cleaning and re staining a large, multi section deck. Using Sikkens brand semi solid stain.
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