Tis the season--- for staining decks

[wvguy]

I am very glad that you found the products. Companies will make house brands for stores. Parent company of Olympic and Pittsburgh is PPG so you are in great shape. Would love to see pics on how it turns out.

[DKAudio]

I finished a couple months ago. At first it looked great, nice and rich and water would just bead up on it. Now it looks old already and a little grayed. Also, water does not bead up like it did. Is this normal? I am worried that it is not protected like it should be.

I think I mentioned I used cedar naturaltone and like I said I got the Ultra Advanced that is supposed to be the Maximum (5 year protection).

Thanks

[wvguy]

As long as you cleaned the deck with deck cleaner, tsp or the like it is normal that the beading will subside some.
Your deck is protected. If the deck was gray when you sealed it, it will shorten the life of the product and give it a gray or ish look.
hope this helps.

[DKAudio]

This was brand new wood that I left unportected for about a month and a half. I did not clean it before I stained since it was new, I didn't think I needed to. It hasen't really gotten any worse and I posted that question about 2 months ago. It still looks pretty good, just reminds me of stain that is a year or two old instead of a few months old.

Was not cleaning it going to hurt me even though it was brand new?

It is normal for water to not bead up anymore? The beading only laster the first 2 weeks or so.

[wvguy]

so DK how did it turn out?

[MichiganPowerWashing.com]

First of all...
1. Deck MUST be cleaned the right way
2. Never paint the deck ...unless wood is in a very bad shape
3. Darker color = BETTER UV PROTECTION and color will last longer
4. Oil based stains are penetrating products - it means no peeling off , cracking like regular paint or solid color stain
5. Even the best stain will fail if wood is not prepared the right way
6. Even on best prepared deck with best stain - results will vary a lot depending on how much sun , shade , moisture and trees are over the deck.

NEVER NEVER NEVER USE HOT WATER OR BLEACH TO CLEAN YOUR DECK.

If you are here asking about DIY - that's good - you are learning but it also telling me you probably shouldn't do it by yourself.

Because all of that and more other things - I hate to see when Painting contractors are cleaning and staing decks . It's almost always disaster.
By the way ...with all respect guys....Olympic products are good but not a ideal products. There is many other and much better . Also you will find that many deck / power washing contractors are using contractor grade products usually impossible to buy in regular stores.
Go figure ...now you have to choose the right guy for the job and that's the hardest part of the whole project.

[sirchrisalot]

I built a deck in August 2007 from Brazilian Redwood and used Olympic Maximum to treat the wood because of the two-year guarantee. I sealed 4 sides with the Olympic (clear) and end-sealed with Anchorseal. The sealing was done in a garage prior to installation so as to adhere to the manufacturer's recommendation that the wood be given 24 hours of dry time without exposure to excessive sunlight or rain. I applied one coat using a brush and backrolled to even the finish. We've recently had a few instances of snowfall here (Syracuse, NY), amounting to 3-4 mornings with around 1 inch of accumulation. Since the snow has fallen, I've noticed that the deck surface has weathered dramatically. I'm not necessarily attributing this to snowfall, but in the past 2 weeks nearly 1/2 of the total surface area has grayed out. This is occurring unevenly: some areas are grey right next to areas that appear protected, without a transition. Anyone have an experience like this before? My inclination is to wait out the winter, sand off the rest of the Olympic, and apply Penofin, though this is obviously going to take some time. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

[wvguy]

dudeeee.. easy now.. deck cleaning is something that is not difficult to do by most home owners. If I may make a few corrections. Olympic products are as good or better as whats on the market. Second, contractors use the exact same products the the final consumer would use, and yes I know this for a fact. If a contractor is selling his snake oil that he gets a product that the general customer is not able to buy be afraid due to that is not the case. It sounds by your website that you are selling. This is not a selling site it is a question and answer site.

[thecoz]

Could someone educate me as to what method (easiest, quickest but most effective) should be used to stain a deck? Brush, roller, airless spray? Thanks!!

[DKAudio]

Originally Posted by wvguy

so DK how did it turn out?

Sorry, didn't realize that you posted this. Well, it is spring now. My handrails and spindles look great, still dark in color. My 2X6 pressure treated do not look as good. As my earlier post, I noticed this about 3 weeks after staining that the color was fading. Also, as mentioned earlier, water does not bead up on it anymore, that only last a couple weeks. I would say the wood color is between untreated and newly treated. Nothing is pealing up though. I wonder if I should use a deck cleaner, rinse off with the hose and then put down another coat of my Ultra Advanced by Pittsburgh. A pic can be posted if you would like to see. Only the top sides of the boards were protected.