Recommendations for deck staining and maintenance.

[JoyfulNoise]

Getting down to “good” wood is the key. You have to get all the previous layers of stain off so that the penetrating oil has the ability to sink in. It will be interesting to see what the retail products look like. I’ve just used straight Tung oil on wood which is slow but gives a really nice finish once it’s cured. Hopefully the stuff from Behr or other manufacturers makes the process quicker.

 

[pb4uswim]

Looking at that picture, you’re almost done sanding. I was going to say to rent a machine, but apparently you are a machine. . Last time I did a deck, many years ago, we used a product from Sikkens. At the time they were the best. Maybe they still are. Worth checking into. Exterior Wood Finishes | Exterior Stain | Sikkens, Cetol

 

[Woody007]

If I understood your post correctly, you have pressure treated wood, right? If so, there's not much that is going to stick well and certainly not penetrate deeply as you can tell from where you painted it.
You might consider letting it age naturally after you sand it back to original.
Reference: I have some in ground pressure treated post that I painted, and the paint only last a season or so before it starts to peel. I also had a beautiful Cedar deck that I used many different oil stains on, and at best it looked good for 3 years before needing another coat. It was mostly covered too.
New house installed a Azek (Timbertech now I believe) solid vinyl decking and it's been outstanding! Not composite, but solid vinyl. Has a nice wood grain look and feel. No staining and light power wash to knock off surface grime and it looks like new. Prepare for sticker shock.

 

[chking1]

I did quite a bit of research a few years back. We did some custom wood benches around our outdoor seating area and wanted to stain them, but didn't want to deal with the wear and peeling that most experience after a few years. I found this old school method of protecting and waterproofing wood that can be applied very easily (seriously it is super easy and you can't mess it up). If you live farther north I would recommend you do this at the beginning of Spring and mid-Fall. Your stain/wood will look like new all year long.

ETA: this can be applied to treated, untreated, and stained wood alike. However, let your stain coat "cure" before you apply this.

I'm going on three years now and for the past two I've only reapplied this mixture once a year. It is incredible, and once again serves as an example that the cheap/simple ways can be better.

 

[Toad_stools]

If I understood your post correctly, you have pressure treated wood, right? If so, there's not much that is going to stick well and certainly not penetrate deeply as you can tell from where you painted it.
You might consider letting it age naturally after you sand it back to original.
Reference: I have some in ground pressure treated post that I painted, and the paint only last a season or so before it starts to peel. I also had a beautiful Cedar deck that I used many different oil stains on, and at best it looked good for 3 years before needing another coat. It was mostly covered too.
New house installed a Azek (Timbertech now I believe) solid vinyl decking and it's been outstanding! Not composite, but solid vinyl. Has a nice wood grain look and feel. No staining and light power wash to knock off surface grime and it looks like new. Prepare for sticker shock.

Yea that’s right it is pressure treated spruce. This is good info thanks. I am coming around to the realization that a pressure wash and sanding every couple years is prob the way to go on this deck.

 

[Toad_stools]

Looking at that picture, you’re almost done sanding. I was going to say to rent a machine, but apparently you are a machine. . Last time I did a deck, many years ago, we used a product from Sikkens. At the time they were the best. Maybe they still are. Worth checking into. Exterior Wood Finishes | Exterior Stain | Sikkens, Cetol

Ha ha I wish. The deck is big. I am about 1/3 of the way through!

 

[Toad_stools]

Getting there. It def looks better than the stain.

 

[mcba2020]

I am also located in Ontario and after several times of staining and then sanding after the stain failed and peeled, I decided to use Cutek Extreme. It is a penetrating oil and just fades, rather than peels so it is easy to reapply without the sanding or stripping.

It is pricey, but worth the cost to me since I won't have to sand the deck again only clean and reapply. I have used it on our deck and fence.

You buy the can of clear and then purchase colour tones to tint it. It is sold at deck and lumber stores, as well as Home Hardware. If you are familiar with RedFlagDeals there is a 22 page thread with people's experience using Cutek.

Deck Stain - Cutek Extreme - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

Hi All, I have decided to go with Cutek Extreme to stain a two year old deck that hasn't been treated due to the many recommendations on this site! I

forums.redflagdeals.com

Here are some pics of our deck and fence. Our deck in the sun fades faster and have reapplied once and it just went on right over top (with a cleaning before). I can't find a good pic of our finished deck, but pic 2 is of the upper deck finished with Cutek and the lower deck being sanded of the old stain.

 

[Toad_stools]

I am also located in Ontario and after several times of staining and then sanding after the stain failed and peeled, I decided to use Cutek Extreme. It is a penetrating oil and just fades, rather than peels so it is easy to reapply without the sanding or stripping.

It is pricey, but worth the cost to me since I won't have to sand the deck again only clean and reapply. I have used it on our deck and fence.

You buy the can of clear and then purchase colour tones to tint it. It is sold at deck and lumber stores, as well as Home Hardware. If you are familiar with RedFlagDeals there is a 22 page thread with people's experience using Cutek.

Deck Stain - Cutek Extreme - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

Hi All, I have decided to go with Cutek Extreme to stain a two year old deck that hasn't been treated due to the many recommendations on this site! I

forums.redflagdeals.com

Here are some pics of our deck and fence. Our deck in the sun fades faster and have reapplied once and it just went on right over top (with a cleaning before). I can't find a good pic of our finished deck, but pic 2 is of the upper deck finished with Cutek and the lower deck being sanded of the old stain.

View attachment 498906View attachment 498908View attachment 498910View attachment 498911

Wow thanks for this info. Your results look amazing. I will look into this a bit more.