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My neighbor told me my deck stain was ruining the wood, now I do it totally different
I spent a whole weekend last spring staining my deck with a thick coat of solid stain, looked great for about 2 months. Then my neighbor who builds decks for a living walked over and said I was basically painting the wood instead of letting it breathe. He showed me how the stain was peeling off in sheets because I never prepped the surface right. I sanded everything down and used a semi-transparent oil based stain this time, cost me about $60 for a gallon. It soaked in way better and actually let the cedar grain show through. Has anyone else gotten surprise home improvement advice that totally changed their approach?
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clairem4724d ago
nah but see logan's got a point honestly. solid stain done right lasts way longer than that oil based stuff. i did my deck with a high quality solid stain 3 years ago, pressure washed it first, let it dry three full days in the sun, then brushed on two thin coats. still looks brand new. my buddy did the semi-transparent thing and he's already stripping and recoating this summer. plus that $60 gallon trick sounds nice until you realize you gotta buy another one every year for the rest of your life. that adds up fast. prep is prep no matter what you use.
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I see it a little different honestly. I've used solid stain for years on my own deck and it holds up fine as long as you clean and dry the wood properly first. The prep matters way more than the type of stain in my experience. Sounds like your neighbor was right that you skipped sanding, but oil based semi-transparent stains have their own issues too. They fade faster and you have to reapply every year or two which is a pain if you ask me.
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murphy.barbara24d ago
honestly tho @loganthompson is it really that deep? like prep is prep but who's got time for a full science experiment just to stain a deck lmao
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