Deck staining

[Glenn Brown]

I have in the past been doing the power wash and removing the old deck color and reapplying the deck stain. I do this about every 2 years. Question is, if I just wash the deck and apply the new stain, like every year, ok? Or just do what I do and completely strip off the old stain and reapply? I did this again this season and last time I applied a brown color on the deck, so this time I bought a light natural color and applied....looked bad, since the old colors, where I didn't completely strip off was there visible thru the lighter new stain. So I couldn't find the right color brown, so I went with Brick Red, and this is a linseed oil based sealant. Looks good, but a pain in the ass to reapply to all the deck railings and lattice!

 

[Joe Trigony]

Well as long as your using the same product and not changing colors you will be just fine. However if you change either then you should/hafta remove all the old product for it to not only look good, but last an weather correctly. I assume your using some sorta clear or transparnet stain, as you hafta do it every year. If you wanna get a little more life out of your stain, then I suggest moving up to a semi-solid. It might cover a litle more of the grain at first, but will weather down some in no time. And you only hafta restain every other year, as long as you clean it each spring.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

If your going to change out the color wash it with a bleach solution. It will "bleach" out the dirt as well as any darker stain. Plus the bleach does a good job of cleaning. I wet the deck down, fill the bucket with water and some soap, like dawn liquid, and add some bleach. Then I use a bristle brush to get into the grain. Let it soak a bit while I move on, then re-scrub it and rinse it off while the other patch is soaking a bit. Does a very good job. Use gloves if you have sensitive skin.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I assume you are talking about a semi-transparent or transparent stain, right?



I think you have to go with the same stain color, or maybe a darker stain, but never lighter, so that you don't have the problem you describe as it is unlikely you will ever get all the old stain off regardless what you do.



I always use deck-prep, which seems like a bleach solution and and power-washer before I stain mine. And, I stain every two years, but then again, I use a solid stain, which goes on like paint. I just like the looks of it better.



TJR

 

[Glenn Brown]

Yep, its a semi-transparent deckstain!

Thanks for the info!