Staining a deck for the first time
 

Needless to say, I know next to nothing about deck maintenance. I probably should have done it a while ago.

I know I have to pressure wash the deck prior, but I'm stumped as to what type of stain to get. This is a new deck and hasn't been stained yet.

Is there a brand that's better than others?

Any guidance or advice you can offer is much appreciated.

if it is treated lumber, it needs to season and weather before you can stain it.

I know when I am stumped I like to drive around, and find an example of something I really like, and take a picture. Maybe if you find a few decks you like, you can see if they have a common color or whatnot...

What kind of wood? I personally think the best consumer grade stain is Cabot which is available at Lowes but Behr and Olympic have closed that gap in recent years.

All new wood should be well dried before staining....treated or otherwise. As far as stain....can't go wrong with Cabot's..at lowes.

I use Pittsburgh Paints Ultra Advanced. Do it every two years. Holds up well in the sun.

you can stain redwood and cedar immediately (though not sure why you'd want to). If you stain pressure treated lumber (or paint it) it will begin to bubble and peel fairly quickly, and the stain will not take evenly - there is simply too much moisture in the wood.

It's not really about seasoning or weathering. It's about the heavy liquid chemical drying enough so the wood can absorb stain. The "secret" to making sure that the wood is dry enough is throw some water on the wood. If it beads up then that's the same thing your stain is going to do and it needs more time to dry. Dry time depends on a number of factors - climate, sun exposure, mill, and duration of time lumber sat waiting for purchase and installation. I've seen decks become ready in a couple weeks and I've seen it take 3-4 months before they were ready to accept stain.

I like Cabot cheddar cheese on my sandwiches, pretty tasty!

I use thompsens water seal with the cedar stain.... but I don't know if it sucks or not because I've never used anything else.

of course. The drying out of wood is called seasoning, just as you season firewood. and it's not the chemical leaving the wood persay...they chemicals used are water-borne. The water eventually evaporates out of the wood, leaving the chemical treatment behind. you'll notice I didn't specify a duration of time for this to occur, due to the factors you mentioned. You and I both are highly aware of the way ACQ is - some sticks you find at the lumber yard are twice as heavy as others in the bunk. A deck likely will have some parts ready to accept finish long before others. and of course if you use that lumber Lowe's sells, or used to at least, that had the "built-in" water repellant, it will take a little longer.

OP, also, be very careful when pressure washing. A lot of novices get too close and end up etching and gouging their deck with the water.

You probably use Thompsens because your daddy used it. It was the best thing going for decades. But it's not nearly the product it used to be since they stopped using lead in it. Sure, it will do the trick but it's not rated as highly as other products in terms of longevity these days. There are much better values.

Burnt motor oil works well.

Nailed it.

After seeing this thread, I will try out another brand come time to restain the deck.