Deck stains

Deck stain reviews, Deck refinishing

Choosing the right stain for your deck can make your life easier. There are so many brands on the market, it’s very confusing to differentiate which stain sealer will hold better. The “Consumer Reports” did some testing in the past, and it’s very helpful. Deck contractors have preference of one product over another. I believe that a good prep work matters as much as choosing the right product. Most of us here in the grand San Francisco Bay area have redwood decks, however, different types of wood such as IPE wood, and composite decking have become more popular. Right now, let’s examine redwood decks:
Redwood is a soft wood, which making it easy for the wood to absorb the stain. However not all stain/sealer have the same quality. My experience with Penofin was not great with redwood, however their product for IPE, Comaru, and other dense wood was one of the bests sealer. Other stains such as, Behr at Home Depot and CWF didn’t do well. The latter has better looking semi transparent colors. Cabot did in my opinion better than the others so far, please note that Cabot has an oil base product and a water base Cabot SPF. The latter is very tricky, in a way, you have to sand the deck to bare wood, and to apply two coats of stains. At this time I’m testing the latest stains on the market, I will have a better idea by June of this year.

After one year of exposure, Cabot SPF was holding the best,  followed by Wolman Dura stain, then super deck came in third.  People who elect to do the work themselves, should sand the deck to bare wood, or strip down completely old stain from deck surface, then use a wood brightener, before they apply the stain.

The application of the product should be done preferably in the shade. Cabot SPF requires sanding for good adhesion. This year I started using Behr top of the line semi transparent (it’s rated 6years on decks), realistically if the sealer holds for 3 years or so, I will be happy with it. I will keep you posted if I come across something new. Meanwhile, please let us know what your experience with deck refinishing products in our blog.