Charles,
I saw this on the show Rebecca's Garden. Here is the info:
Stain The Deck
Decks and patios have become an extension of outdoor living. If your deck is anything like ours, it gets plenty of use. Whether it’s entertaining, getting the hands dirty in the window boxes, hopping in and out of the hot tub or simply the weather, our deck gets abused. You should see how awful it looked before we stained it. Staining has come a long way and I wanted to show you how simple it can be.
The key to staining your deck is choosing the right products and applying them correctly. Tom Tolkinen of Behr Paints and Stains showed us how easy it is to strip off the old stain, clean the wood, and then finish it with a beautiful deck stain.
Staining rule number one: prepare for your project. Be sure to cover all plants and the surrounding work area, even under the deck if it’s exposed. Remove all the furniture and sweep off the deck. Then you’re ready to begin.
My deck was six years old at the time Tom came by to help. It had already been stained 3 times, and it looked terrible, with flaking and discolored stain on top of bare wood. Tom explained that my earlier stains didn’t penetrate into the deck properly. I had used a one-step stain remover, but apparently it wasn’t enough preparation for the wood. As a result, Tom says, the stains just sat on the surface, and the weather took care of the rest of the damage.
This time we used a four-step system, starting with Behr’s Quick Fix Finish Remover. It removes the old finish, dissolves it and turns it into a liquid. Then we just scrubbed it and hosed it right off.
The finish remover was easy to apply with a sprayer, and there was no sanding required with this product. We just let it sit on the wood for about 15 minutes and then brushed it off. I found this “environmentally conscious” product stripped off my old stain like butter!
A lot of people at this point would begin staining, but my deck still had mildew and grease stains, so while it was still wet, we sprayed on a Deck Prep Cleaner and Mildew Stain Remover. (This is all one product.) We let it sit for about a minute and then hosed it off. No brushing was needed with this step either.
Once we hosed off the deck, I noticed that the entire deck was lighter, while some areas of the wood were noticeably darker. Tom explained I was seeing some tannin bleed, from the natural tannin preservatives found in many woods including cedar and redwood. The tannins were coming to the surface. The next step was to brighten the wood and get rid of any residue so the stain could adhere more easily.
For this, Tom used a Behr Cleaner, Brightener and Conditioner, diluted 4 to 1 with water, enough to do a 1000 square feet.
Finally, we were ready for the stain. There are many finishes you can choose. I chose a red semi-transparent stain that allows the grain of the wood to show through.
With any paint or stain, it’s very important that you mix it well, so that the color is consistent and looks even. And don’t apply it until the wood is completely dry! Tom explained that it’s important to work with about two boards at a time, staining them from start to finish before moving on to the next two boards. That way, we avoided uneven lap marks.
A pad applicator is an easy way to apply a nice even layer of stain without producing any kind of puddles. And one coat of this stain is all we needed. It not only sealed and waterproofed the deck, it also provided UV and mildew protection. We allowed 1-2 days for drying, before walking on the wood.
By using the right products and procedures, it was a fun and easy project that made my outdoor living space look brand new! The stain I used is supposed to last up to three years on horizontal surfaces, and five years on vertical surfaces, so I get a vacation before it’s time to stain again!
