# staining pressure treated deck and rails.



## save$ (May 29, 2012)

Ihave a deck about 10 yrs old made with PT decking and rails. I let it age two years, and then attempted to paint it. At first, it looked wonderful, but then during the first winter, the paint blistered up and off. I had followed directions and was told by the sales staff that the paint was the right one. I scraped and did the deck over. Same thing.

then last year I tried Cabot solid color acrylic Deck Stain. I did the recommended prep, then painted. The paint stayed on. I have yet to do the flooring.. Anyone have any experience with this product on the deck floor? The stain has some do and don't. Hard to get several days running without rain. so the product can be put on correctly. When I did the raisl, I just covered the painted area by plastic for several days. Not sure what to do about the floor
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## Jack Straw (May 29, 2012)

I put Thompson's sealer on my deck 2 weeks ago, it needed to be dry without rain in the forcast and you're not supposed to apply it in direct sunshine. If you followed the directions properly, there would be about 3 days a year that you could do it.


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## midwestcoast (May 29, 2012)

Yeah, hard to get days without rain both before & after application. 
I'm leery of any acrylic-based outdoor stain. I think they have just been developed as a poor substitute for penetrating stains due to VOC content regulations. I'm definitely not a fan of chunky brown air either, but it just seems wrong to me to cover a deck with a layer of acrylic.  
I wonder if the first stuff you used happened to be the Behr product?  It is notorious for peeling & just generally being crap.
Before continuing with the Cabot I would take a hard look at the top of the railing.  If there are any signs of peeling there I wouldn't use it on the decking.  The flat deck surface gets hammered by the sun & foot traffic so it's a much tougher spot on finishes then the railings are.

My BIL used Cabot semi-transparent 2 years ago & it is holding up pretty goo.  Not peeling, but it has darkened where the sun hits it.  Don't know anything about their solid stain.

Anyway I recently prepped & stained my PT deck.  I took a suggestion from the all-knowing Google & for a pre-wash I used "Oxo-Brite" which is an oxygen bleach (same as "Oxy-clean"). My wife uses it for laundry.  It worked awesome! Beats the heck out of paying $$$ for specialty deck cleaner from the big box.

If you decide to look for yet another stain check out this site:  http://www.deckstainhelp.com/ 
I used TWP 1500 based on the reviews. Nice so far.


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## greg13 (May 29, 2012)

I'm not wild about Thompson's. I put it on year old deck and when it's wet from rain it may as well be ice.


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## semipro (May 29, 2012)

save$,
I've read that what happened to you occurs because the wood left untreated for two years decays. When painted or stained, the decayed surface of the wood falls off along with the paint/stain on it. The wood has to be cleaned well to remove the decayed surface to expose clean wood. Then it can be stained or painted. How to clean the wood is debatable. Many pressure wash but this tends to raise the grain as the softer "spring" wood is removed at a higher rate than is the denser "autumn" wood. Many coating vendors recommend chemical soaking (usually with oxalic acid) and brush washing.

Its best to stain PT wood relatively soon after its put in place.


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## jebatty (May 30, 2012)

... or not stain at all and save yourself wasted days and wasted nights and wasted $$$ pressure washing with chemical, staining/treating, and repeat infinitum. Two decks on our house, both nicely weathered gray, and neither been touched by anything except sun, rain, snow, ice, sleet, hail, and lots of use: one 18 years, and the other 10 years.

Neighbor has to re-do his deck with wash/stain about every 3 years. Those are the times I like to sit out with a beer, brat, and lovely bride contemplating more enjoyable things to be doing ... not ... already doing them.


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## coaly (May 30, 2012)

I brush it heavily with linseed oil. It darkens it, and prevents splitting, cracking , and shrinkage. Boiled linseed oil dries quicker, but is not as good as raw linseed oil that takes much longer to dry and soaks in better. The longer you keep it wet, the more it soaks in and strengthens the wood when it dries. I soak the wood spokes on my Model T once in a while to keep them strong with raw oil since drying time doesn't matter. I soak all my wood garden tool handles and plow handles as well. Prevents wood from drying out and splintering.
  Decks under roof every two years, exposed every year.
Properties I buy for rentals with decks and wood rails, I clean with bleach solution 50 / 50 or stronger before linseed oil. If tenants cook on the deck , or rebuild thier transmission on the deck (yep, it's happened) spilled oil and grease doesn't soak in like dry wood.
  Large decks or entire cedar sided homes can be sprayed with a pump pesticide type sprayer.


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## semipro (May 30, 2012)

jebatty said:


> ... or not stain at all and save yourself wasted days and wasted nights and wasted $$$ pressure washing with chemical, staining/treating, and repeat infinitum. Two decks on our house, both nicely weathered gray, and neither been touched by anything except sun, rain, snow, ice, sleet, hail, and lots of use: one 18 years, and the other 10 years.
> 
> Neighbor has to re-do his deck with wash/stain about every 3 years. Those are the times I like to sit out with a beer, brat, and lovely bride contemplating more enjoyable things to be doing ... not ... already doing them.


 
I don't get this.  I'd much rather avoid applying coatings and spend time with the better things in life you mentioned. 
Any PT wood I've left exposed and unfinished has quickly checked and degraded.   Maybe you're not talking about PT wood?  Maybe you have older arsenic-based PT wood? 
Even the western red cedar siding we have will quickly oxidize, turning gray and start turning to dust if not coated.
Maybe its just always really cold in MN


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## Bocefus78 (May 31, 2012)

The idiot at the paint store was wrong as you found out. I'd be interested to hear what product he recomended. Anyway, the deck will need to be cleaned before using anything. As far as finish goes, oil based products would be great for this situation, but thank the EPA, those types of products are being phased out due to VOC levels. Sit down, as you are not going to like my next sentence.

My advice is take off every floorboard, flip it over, and start with a new surface. Yes, I know this means cutting some new boards where they cannot be flipped. Your other option is rent a floor sander, and take it down to raw wood again.

If solid color is what you want, you need a HIGH quality bonding primer and then paint......NOT stain I use Porter acrylic bonding primer. Its not cheap, but it sticks to about anything. Then use 2 coats of paint....again, HIGH quality is the key here. The cheaper your paint, the cheaper your paint additives are....ie: bonding agents. The more it stinks, the better it sticks. Do not fall for ANY of the primer and paint mixed crap. It is junk. Good luck.


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## btuser (May 31, 2012)

I've had good luck with solid-color stain.  Horizontal surfaces will take the most beating, but when you add it up they're the easiest to apply.  Staining the balusters is what drives me crazy. 

If you sand make sure you're protected.  I used a stripper + renewer on mine and it's held up well for 3 years.  I will probably have to re-do it next year but its a deck.  I've had bad luck painting pressure-treated wood.


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## save$ (May 31, 2012)

My deck is half covered with a screen room. Both decks were coated with the same material.  The part that is in the open is the one that can't hold paint/stain.  The covered one han't flaked at all. While it can get wet from lowing rain or snow, there is seldom any wet areas for any length of time.   I've read all sorts of advice about pt wood.  That is why I left it to age for two years.  But,  when I built my front porch and stairs, I didn't wait.  I used a paint/primer all in one.  No peeling yet in 4 years.  I freshen it up with the same product after a good cleaning.   The pt rail on the old deck was pressure washed before putting on the last product, the Cabot solid stain.  One winter, it is still on the rails and stiles.  When I do the deck I am going to pressure wash it.  Seems the advice of getting a clean surface free of aged matter is the right process for any of the selected paint or stain materials.  If I get thee years with this, I'll be happy.    Thanks all.


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## Hogwildz (May 31, 2012)

The more solid the stain, the shorter lived it lasts. Translucent is best as it penetrates the wood deeper, semi translucent is middle, solid is the worst. Don't matter how you prep, or what you use, the solid will flake, peel and be coming off in a much shorter time than the translucent stains. As far as primer and paint, IMO that is the worst and will come off even sooner. I am not a believer in changing wood from it's natural appearance. Not to mention coating it traps in moisture which rots the wood prematurely. Myself, I leave decks as they are, and pressure wash as needed. The pressure wash cleans them right up leaving the wood looking new again. Solid.....sucks.


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