Need to strip and stain a deck...anybody use TWP stain?

muncybob

Based on some reviews I spent more than I would normally to stain one of our decks using Defy acrylic stain. Did the usual prep work and less than a year later it's peeling. I did not realize at the time, but if you want to use a different stain over this it has to be stripped.

Once again, after reading online reviews the TPW 1500 seems decent....any experience with it? I used Flood brand from owes on our barn vertical surfaces and it held up OK but I'm leery of big box stores for quality stain on horizontal-high traffic areas.

motorhead43026

Olympic stain and sealant in one. I have tried many and this is the best I have found yet. Good Housekeeping seal of approval and lasts 5 years. I live in Ohio so it gets its share of weather abuse.

bikezappa

You can definitely strip it first and apply a clear stain. What type of wood is it?

gudnoyez

If it's treated lumber and you used a semi solid or solid be prepared to do the same tedious job every couple of years. I have to do it again I used a semi solid a couple of years ago that is pretty much gone. I did use Cabot went on easy but it's a high traffic area and the weather here is murder on decks. I might just invest in the Trex boards this year. I wish you luck.

muncybob

It's pressure treated pine with semi trans stain. I know it must be restained every 3 years or so(should have put in a stone patio!). Just want to use something that has a good track record. I'll check out the Olympic.

tonyb

I have pressure treated pine too. My deck is 40 years old with a redwood stain on it. Last time I power washed and stained it was 4 years ago. Given I have a wedding coming up in my yard I need to do it again.

Now last time I power washed, all the old stain did not come off. I'm not frickin;' sanding a 24 by 12 deck with rails and stairs to boot. So I stained over it but the old stain could still be told where it was.

So my question is.....is it better to just stain again, maybe a tad darker in hopes of hiding crap, or some outdoor paint ?

Heavy foot traffic too as any given party has 20+ people on the deck. Not sure how well paint would hold up to that. Any products you guys find last under heavy foot traffic in a stain or paint ?

mrbiron

Azek.....T-dawg......Azek
Stain, deck sealer, paint....CYA!

bikezappa

You can buy a chemical stain stripper at HD. No need to sand.

tonyb

My secondary problem is....I can't use anything too strong because the deck is elevated over the edge of 2 ponds. Anything with strong chemicals would kill the fish.

bikezappa

yes it wood kill the fish

TNHNDYMAN

Do a solid color non transparent darker stain over top existing after pressure washing.

bikezappa

If your deck is fabricated over a fish pond pressure washing has bad chemical also.

tonyb

TNHNDYMAN wrote: »

Do a solid color non transparent darker stain over top existing after pressure washing.

That's what I was thinking.....

....and no, I can't use any heavy detergents while pressure washing either. I guess when I initially put the ponds in, I was thinking of replacing the deck with that Trex stuff that you don't have to stain. Yeah....right, always somethin' else to suck your coin up.

txcoastal1

Trex does fade in the sunlight at least down here on the coast. After hurricane Ike many replaced their decks including the big sun decks at the hotels. The Trex is more durable in the salt air and the color is throughout the boards so it does stay consistent.
The only reason I would spend the extra $ Trex is for heavy moisture/humid climates.

Mikey081057

Timbertech is nicer IMO and will outlast anything had it at my old house and looked like new after 5 years. Powerwashes with water and cleans up like new.

http://timbertech.com/advantages?gclid=Cj0KEQjw-YO7BRDwi6Stp7T296ABEiQAD6iWMZxYwuaQC_pABdZtmDq21Y5gW6cMHyOUXp-RheMxah4aAkw78P8HAQ

tonyb

Chicago ....humid ? Naaah...lol

My yard is almost completely shaded. Good thing your thinking eh ? Maybe if the dumb arse previous owner never decided to put so many DECIDEOUS trees next to the house. They drop crap all year long.....thank God for who ever invented the blower otherwise I'd be taking up an ax pretty quick. I may take it up anyway, my x is a pain in the rear.

That Trex stuff hold up in northern climates ? Chicago winters.....freezing and thawing over and over again.

mrbiron

Yes they hold up in northern climates. This stuff is bulletproof...at a cost.
Cleans up with soap, water, and a scrub brush. Although i can't speak for Trex and timbertech, my Azek deck installed easily and effortlessly. If you are going to make that house your tomb, then i would spend the extra money, do it once and be done with it. You're not getting any younger

Deciduous trees...thanks for the reminder. Wife gave me the go-ahead to cut down 6 deciduous trees this year. I know what my lunch break will consist of. Looking for dudes with chainsaws. w00t!

bikezappa

Pressure treated pine is not the best wood for a deck. Pine warps easy and can look like crap in a year of weather.
I like a transparent stain because it holds up much better. Solid color stain wears out very fast with foot traffic.

tonyb

bikezappa wrote: »

Pressure treated pine is not the best wood for a deck. Pine warps easy and can look like crap in a year of weather.
I like a transparent stain because it holds up much better. Solid color stain wears out very fast with foot traffic.

That's my conundrum....solid stain wears out under foot traffic which I have a lot of, and transparent stain won't hide the old stuff that doesn't come off. Guess I have to pick my poison and live with it.

bikezappa

That's my conundrum....solid stain wears out under foot traffic which I have a lot of, and transparent stain won't hide the old stuff that doesn't come off. Guess I have to pick my poison and live with it.[/quote]

yes

GospelTruth

Sorry to hear about your deck issues. I used to work at a paint store way back when and my father was in the paint industry until he retired a few years ago. My experience (and his) will tell you that any solid stain or paint on a deck will not last that long due to the any kind of traffic - I don't care if it even says it's made for a deck or porch. It's hard for a painted floor surface to handle that kind of traffic and the outdoors. The best recommendation for a deck is to use a transparent stain - with some pigmented color. A color based transparent stain will outlast a clear. Clears don't have the ability to repel the UV rays as well. I would say if you ever use a clear, you will still get the "gray" weathering over time and you'll have to do it twice as often as one with a pigment. Some of the clear sealers we tested only lasted a year before not only turning gray, but also losing their water repellent nature. My advice is to find something with a pigment that is close to what you want or that matches your existing wood color (cedar, redwood) and use that instead of a clear.

The best product we ever tested was by a company called Rymar. Expensive, but lasted way longer than any other brand we tried. If you figure in the time and cost of sealing your deck more often - the price was not out of line.

If you do have to finish your deck with something solid, you may want to go with something along the lines of ARBORCOAT Solid Deck and Siding Stain-Solid Waterborne Stain(640). While it may not last as long, it is at least made for horizontal deck surfaces and should cover your existing stuff.

Hope you get things worked out OK with your deck situation.

Michael

motorhead43026

Tony, check out Olympic Maximum stain and sealer "redwood natural tone", being it is also a sealer it acts more like a toner than just a stain. If you need to touch up it makes it real easy also.

bikezappa

GospelTruth wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your deck issues. I used to work at a paint store way back when and my father was in the paint industry until he retired a few years ago. My experience (and his) will tell you that any solid stain or paint on a deck will not last that long due to the any kind of traffic - I don't care if it even says it's made for a deck or porch. It's hard for a painted floor surface to handle that kind of traffic and the outdoors. The best recommendation for a deck is to use a transparent stain - with some pigmented color. A color based transparent stain will outlast a clear. Clears don't have the ability to repel the UV rays as well. I would say if you ever use a clear, you will still get the "gray" weathering over time and you'll have to do it twice as often as one with a pigment. Some of the clear sealers we tested only lasted a year before not only turning gray, but also losing their water repellent nature. My advice is to find something with a pigment that is close to what you want or that matches your existing wood color (cedar, redwood) and use that instead of a clear.

The best product we ever tested was by a company called Rymar. Expensive, but lasted way longer than any other brand we tried. If you figure in the time and cost of sealing your deck more often - the price was not out of line.

If you do have to finish your deck with something solid, you may want to go with something along the lines of ARBORCOAT Solid Deck and Siding Stain-Solid Waterborne Stain(640). While it may not last as long, it is at least made for horizontal deck surfaces and should cover your existing stuff.

Hope you get things worked out OK with your deck situation.

Michael

Michael
You appear to have much experience in deck stains. I have a mahogany deck that has not weather well the past few years. It's 11 years old. I have stripped it and stained with clear Sickens stain a few times. It has greyed and you can't see the grain anymore.
What Rymar products would you recommend to strip and seal?
Thanks

tonyb

Any of you guys use that stuff that's suppose to fill in those rough groves on wood decks ? I forget what it's called, but it's suppose to smooth out those rough areas on older decks.

ken brydson

tonyb wrote: »

Any of you guys use that stuff that's suppose to fill in those rough groves on wood decks ? I forget what it's called, but it's suppose to smooth out those rough areas on older decks.

Check with @mantis. He used a product called deckrestore(sp?) a couple years ago. I've been curious how it's holding up.

pearsall001

Ditch the wood & go with Trex...you'll thank me 20yrs from now. Why are you guys still farting around with wooden decks? My arse is too darn lazy for all that refinishing & staining crap. Not worth the time & aggrevation in my book

GospelTruth

bikezappa wrote: »

Michael
You appear to have much experience in deck stains. I have a mahogany deck that has not weather well the past few years. It's 11 years old. I have stripped it and stained with clear Sickens stain a few times. It has greyed and you can't see the grain anymore.
What Rymar products would you recommend to strip and seal?
Thanks

If your deck has lost it's water repellent nature, then you can clean the deck and re-stain. I would go with a product called Dekswood (or something similar) to clean the deck. Might need a brush on a long broom handle to give it a good scrub down and/or power wash the deck to get rid of the gray. Prep work always sucks, but it is the best way to have a good finished product.

Once clean, let it dry out and then watch the forecast for a good stretch of sunny weather. With the Rymar products, I would go with their Premium Wood Stain. That's what we always tested and it was pretty darn good. It's not cheap at $65 a gallon, but I remember it supposedly lasting at least 7 years between applications where most other stains on a deck might last 3 (if they had a pigment) before losing their water repellent nature. Their clear was supposedly 3 years - which is great for clear, but always better to go with the pigmented stain for longer lasting. Clear no mater what will gray out - it's whether or not it will still be water repellent. Their directions say to recoat every 18-24 months, but testing showed that was not necessary. It does depend on how much sun you get where you are located and how exposed your deck is. The more sun, the more intense the sun, then the more often you will need to redo a deck. Living in Michigan vs. say Arizona would be a prime example. An Arizona deck will take much more sun abuse and the stain will break down sooner. They do recommend re-coating after your initial coat. We always advised folks to do this. The second coat goes a lot further than the first because of the first coat sealing the deck more.

It says they are sold by Sherwin Williams stores and online. If you do go to Sherwin Williams, set up an account with them. Having an account will usually get you a discount and that can be 10-20% off product. It will take down the price. You may be able to get a sample set from them as well for color - or contact Rymar and they may send one out to you.

As others have said, if you have the option for Trex or something similar, I find that the way to go. Of course it's all preference.

Michael

Mikey081057

I would be interested in factoring the cost of labor and materials to determine the total cost of ownership for an engineered product vs a treated lumber product deck over 20 years. I know the initial upfront cost of the engineered product is much higher but if you have to pay for labor and materials every couple of years the charm/case for the wood deck becomes nominal. Maybe? I think you would have to replace the wood deck in 20 years once perhaps...

Mikey081057

Found this:

http://www.overthemountainremodeling.com/uncategorized/6-benefits-of-a-low-maintenance-deck/

I am sure tho as with everything there is controvertible evidence. They basically say that with new deck construction it pays to go engineered product and that a professionally installed composite deck has an roi of 81% on your homes value.

mantis

ken brydson wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

Any of you guys use that stuff that's suppose to fill in those rough groves on wood decks ? I forget what it's called, but it's suppose to smooth out those rough areas on older decks.

Check with @mantis. He used a product called deckrestore(sp?) a couple years ago. I've been curious how it's holding up.

It's been great, still looks like new. I highly recommend it to anyone re staining their deck floors and steps.