Help Needed With How To Use Deck Stain

[CADplans]

Just for general knowledge,, I know almost nothing about wood working,,,
ANY assistance or hints would be GREATLY appreciated,,, :thumbsup:

The stake sides for my JD 10AT cart looked really bad after I left it outside for a month,,
the wood went from a pretty light color,, to a dingy gray,,

The gray was such a solid color, I almost left it and coated it with spar varnish,,,
BUT, I decided to remove the gray,, with about 3-4 applications of household bleach.

I had some left over exterior deck stain from a decade ago,, so I applied that stain to the wood,,,

My plan was to top coat the stained wood with spar varnish,, since I have the varnish.

Well,, I went to the shed today,, and I find that the wood feels like it is coated with wax,, it actually feels like candle wax,,,
I was afraid to try to coat the stain,, the varnish might not "stick" to the exterior stain.

You can see the finish on the wood is shiny,,,

The stain is an oil base stain,, it held up pretty good on the deck,,,

SO, my question is,,,
do I top coat the stained wood with the spar varnish,, or just leave well enough alone?

 

[Diggin It]

Your next step probably depends on what the stain is made of. That old, it likely deteriorated to the point it may not cure properly, or may take much longer to do so. You might try leaving it out in the hot Sun for a few days. You may have to try to contact the product manufacturer to see what they suggest.

 

[Billrog]

I would leave it once spar varnish starts to peel it will be a big under taking to strip it. Regardless of what finish you apply it will be on going maintenance. The stain is going to cure very slowly.

 

[CADplans]

I would leave it once spar varnish starts to peel it will be a big under taking to strip it. Regardless of what finish you apply it will be on going maintenance. The stain is going to cure very slowly.

OH, I forgot how hard spar varnish is to remove,, I put it on a window sill one time (the previous owner had plants there)
WOW,, that was tough to refinish a few years later,,,

 

[MossRoad]

Not finish related, but on a side note, where did you get those corner latch/brackets? They look real nice and functional, too.

 

[EddieWalker]

What brand was the left over exterior deck stain?

 

[Fossil Farm]

After you applied the bleach, did you wash it off with water? You do not want any
residue left from the bleach on the wood.

If you think there is a wax topcoat, use a heat gun to warm up an area and dab it with
a clean cloth to see if any waxy residue comes off and onto the cloth. If there is a wax
topcoat, then it will have to be stripped off before using any stain or finish coat. Mineral
spirits will strip off most waxes, or you could sand the entire piece to bare wood and then
apply the stain and topcoat. It will just take a bit more work to see what you have on
the wood currently. Sanding grit of 120 or 150 should be coarse enough by looking
at the photos. Good luck.
Edit - or you can just leave it alone for awhile and see how it holds up. You can always
redo it later.

 

[joeyd]

Not finish related, but on a side note, where did you get those corner latch/brackets? They look real nice and functional, too.

Moss Road,
When I built the sides for my car trailer I purchased them from Nuera Trailer Parts. They have since been purchased by TexTrail Trailer Parts, TexTrail Trailer Parts - Manufacturers | Dealers | Repair Shops They are on page J9 of their catalog, I could not copy a link to the page it's a pdf catalog, sorry.

 

[CobyRupert]

Moss Road,
When I built the sides for my car trailer I purchased them from Nuera Trailer Parts. They have since been purchased by TexTrail Trailer Parts, TexTrail Trailer Parts - Manufacturers | Dealers | Repair Shops They are on page J9 of their catalog, I could not copy a link to the page it's a pdf catalog, sorry.

Wow! Cool, hard to find parts. (For me anyways, I wouldn't know where to begin)
This link should take you to the catalog.

Page J9 is also page 367.

https://textrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TexTrail_catalogVol72_2018.pdf#page=325

 

[KennyG]

you can find those corner brackets on Amazon or Ebay. Just search for trailer corner bracket. I have them on my small trailer and they are very effective. I got mine from Ebay because they were cheaper.

 

[MossRoad]

Moss Road,
When I built the sides for my car trailer I purchased them from Nuera Trailer Parts. They have since been purchased by TexTrail Trailer Parts, TexTrail Trailer Parts - Manufacturers | Dealers | Repair Shops They are on page J9 of their catalog, I could not copy a link to the page it's a pdf catalog, sorry.

THANKS!

Man! What a huge catalog!!!

:thumbsup:

 

[CMV]

So on this topic.....I have a deck I made out of PT wood. 2x4 & 1x5 deck boards. It's been out in the weather for appx 2.5 yrs and is grayed. No cover - just out in full sun/rain/snow/whatever it's doing outside....

Before staining, I should......?

Pressure wash?
Spray with bleach?
Sand?
Just sweep it off?

This is a flat platform 8 x 18 - basically just a few inches off ground sitting on concrete pavers just to keep it out of direct ground contact.

To stain it am thinking of just using the $12 HF electric spray gun. Not sure what product to use....I'm less concerned with pretty and more concerned with what will protect the best and be the least maintenance (if I didn't have to redo it for a decade that would be great). Something like Thompson's tinted water seal ~$20/gal good? Most of the other sealer/stain combos are a lot more $.

 

[RalphVa]

I wouldn't do anything to them. Really regret using a stain on our new deck wood. Should have left it bare. Had to replace several boards last year. Left them bare.

Ralph

 

[CADplans]

I wouldn't do anything to them. Really regret using a stain on our new deck wood. Should have left it bare. Had to replace several boards last year. Left them bare.

Ralph

We have had a wood deck for 25-30 years,,
about every 5 years, I pressure wash it,, then my wife puts some stain etc,,, on the deck.

My wife would never let the deck go unfinished,, just due to appearance,,

She really likes staining,, that is why I never was involved with that,,,

 

[PILOON]

In my opinion there is nothing ugly of a nice greyed aged deck.
But that's my opinion.
As long as a deck is safe and solid that's all that is important to me.
That being said I do like to spray some silicone to shed water as that is what rots the wood.
My present deck is going on25 years now and as solid as the day I built it.
LOL, last summer we hosted a fair gang and the deck was 'wall to wall' with folks and they joked that since Bob (me) built it they were safe.
OK. perhaps I'll change one or two deck boards this summer. (due to bad grain)

As to stain, IMHO most stains simply trap water and that is what rots the decking.(especially opaque stains)
When I was in the renovation /building trade I'd suggest the clients simply treat the decks every few years with a fresh coat of preservative to prolong the life.

 

[dstig1]

Look on the can and you will probably find that the product is mostly wax or paraffin dissolved in solvents like mineral spirits (though they may try to disguise it with chemical terms - a photo of the label or product name would help). Not really a stain, but a protectant, of sorts. The thing is, none of those really do much of anything, don't last and make you repeat it constantly. The one advantage you have is that those are vertical parts, so water won't sit on them like on deck boards so much, so it will hold up better here.

 

[CHF4]

So on this topic.....I have a deck I made out of PT wood. 2x4 & 1x5 deck boards. It's been out in the weather for appx 2.5 yrs and is grayed. No cover - just out in full sun/rain/snow/whatever it's doing outside....

Before staining, I should......?

Pressure wash?
Spray with bleach?
Sand?
Just sweep it off?

This is a flat platform 8 x 18 - basically just a few inches off ground sitting on concrete pavers just to keep it out of direct ground contact.

To stain it am thinking of just using the $12 HF electric spray gun. Not sure what product to use....I'm less concerned with pretty and more concerned with what will protect the best and be the least maintenance (if I didn't have to redo it for a decade that would be great). Something like Thompson's tinted water seal ~$20/gal good? Most of the other sealer/stain combos are a lot more $.

Tompson’s is terrible. Great marketing poor product unless you like pressure washing and reapplying every few years. I used to pressure was decks mostly with just water. You can do a bleach mix but I never did and got great results. With that new of wood I bet water and 3,500 psi pressure washer does great job no bleach needed.

There is a technique for pressure washing otherwise you scar the wood. I’m sure you can YouTube it but leave it for a split second too long on one spot you leave a line/lines. If you’re not particular and then use dark stain you don’t notice.

That being said you maybe could get by with some bleach or other wood cleaner to spray/brush lightly and rinse..since wood isn’t old.

I liked the oil based stains best, but you gotta roll or brush and it’s a pain. Roll and back brush for good coverage . Otherwise tape everything around with plastic and get a good (or rent one) airless sprayer if you want good coverage. Otherwise you could get spots depending what stain you use with a sprayer. But if you have no vertical uppers just roll and back brush as needed. You will fill a little can often.

I stained our rental deck with sherwin Williams solid special sun resistant stain (I want it to last!) and thought it covered nicely. It’s just terrible doing mid summer high humidity....don’t be that guy like i did last summer. I was flipping the rental... Do it with no rain for a few days when it’s cool (70s) max out. Otherwise it gets hot and terrible fast. Ha

I’d check out sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore do it will last longer whatever you use. I don’t understand what someone says about preservative.. I will ask them.

 

[CHF4]

In my opinion there is nothing ugly of a nice greyed aged deck.
But that's my opinion.
As long as a deck is safe and solid that's all that is important to me.
That being said I do like to spray some silicone to shed water as that is what rots the wood.
My present deck is going on25 years now and as solid as the day I built it.
LOL, last summer we hosted a fair gang and the deck was 'wall to wall' with folks and they joked that since Bob (me) built it they were safe.
OK. perhaps I'll change one or two deck boards this summer. (due to bad grain)

As to stain, IMHO most stains simply trap water and that is what rots the decking.(especially opaque stains)
When I was in the renovation /building trade I'd suggest the clients simply treat the decks every few years with a fresh coat of preservative to prolong the life.

Preservative like a water or oil based sealer? Clear I’m guessing.. trap the water like it sits on the wood in spots?

 

[PILOON]

Often deck problems originate from wood selection or rather which side should be up.
As wood 'cures' often it will curl and form a cup shape and that will retain some water which then soaks the board somewhat.
In other words deck boards should come labeled 'this side up', LOL.
Unfortunately poorer grades often have the nicest looking side on the wrong correct grain side.
Also comes what grade or variety of wood is use with pine the most common but then there are many different varieties of pine.
For instance white or grey pine vs ponderosa etc.
Heck some unscrupulous mills might even pass off spruce as 'treated decking' and that'll simply rot away all by itself.

Reminds me of a time when merchants were selling 'landscape' RR ties, shucks they were birch dipped in a 'preservative while still green.
Most lasted all of about 4-5 years.