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.

Thanks everyone. Since it's going to rain, I'm going to have to wait a few days before cleaning and staining. I'll look into Cabot.

Do I need to put a sealer on afterward?

The lumber is pressure treated pine. I probably should have done this in May though.

How bout any good contractors you can recommend to do this? I'm not doin this shit

Do you want or need to prssure wash a new deck before you stain it? If it doesn't have any moss in it or ground in dirt or something why would you need to clean it so deeply?

The stain and sealer are all in one with the Cabot product - and many others.

You don't necessarily have to pressure wash new wood but it cleans surface grime and actually opens to pores of the wood slightly so it will accept the stain more readily.

Our company does tons of deck work.

I have seen redwood and cedar come from the lumber yard filled with water and weighing twice what they weigh in two weeks of drying out. It's not something exclusive to treated lumber

Do you spray or wipe it on?

I've used the pump action sprayer and it was very messy.

I now use a foam based roller, it works fantastic.

I'm staining my shorts for the 20,165th time.

Depending on the grade, Redwood and cedar are kiln dried or at the very least air dried. Yeah, they'll retain some moisture but as water is able to penetrate the pores, stain/sealant will do the same. I've never installed a redwood or cedar deck that wasn't able to be sealed upon completion.

Phil: Have you had any experience with Sikkens stain. I used some of that to do my last fence and wow, it wears like iron. They don't give it away, but in this case, I got what I paid for.

http://www.sikkens.us/en/Pages/default.aspx

Their auto paint is the best in the business, so they probably know a thing about fighting weather.

It looks like they are into a few applications.

http://www.sikkens.com/Pages/default.aspx

I use sickens on my fence and shed. I get about five years in between coats

If you need to clean your wood before application, use a powdered product called Wolman Deck Brightner. Mix it up and brush it in, let it set for a bit and power wash it off. Sure helps cleaning the dirt/grime/oxidation off.