# New Deck, New to Decks



## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

Prep:
At the very least you want to pressure wash it after applying a cleaner like Wolman Deckbrite or a mixture of 1 gal water, 1 qt bleach, 1 cup tsp.
Let it dry for a few days.

Products:
It depends on the look and longevity you want. I like and sell a lot of Sikkens, one of the best stains on the market.

Sikkens SRD - Oil based one coat stain. SRD stands for Siding, Rails, Deck. You can use this product everywhere on the project. Comes in multiple colors. The product stains and seals all at once, like most traditional one part stains.

Sikkens DEK Finish - Oil based two coat system. This will give a satin sheen and a furniture like finish. It will last longer and look very nice but it's expensive and color selection is limited. I don't really recommend it in your situation anyway. You don't have much ground clearance to allow proper ventilation for the product and it would be difficult to coat all sides of the boards as recommended by the manufacturer.

Sikkens Solid DEK - An acrylic 2 coat solid stain. Will last the longest. Soap and water cleanup. You won't see the wood through the product. It completely blocks out the color of the wood, though you'll still see the grain. 

SRD is probably what you want. All these products seal as they stain.

More info at:
http://www.nam.sikkens.com


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## Ruger141 (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks Pop, good info. Any other people want to chime in:thumbsup:

Do I need to sand? If so is that the first step or is the cleaner the first step?


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

In my opinion sanding should come first so you are washing the dust away when you pressure wash. Sikkens recommend both pressure washing with the bleach solution and sanding with 80 grit. 99% of people aren't going to do this and I don't blame them. Most people just pressure wash. So long as you use the right chemicals to kill the mold/mildew spores and get the solution all cleaned off then you'll be fine. I've never had anyone claim a stain failure that was related to not sanding.


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## Ruger141 (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks again Pop. Looks like I have a store less than a block away where they carry Cabot, so I was gonna give them a try.:yes:


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

Cabot is fine as well. Sikkens and Cabot one coat products should be on par quality wise.


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## Ruger141 (Apr 9, 2010)

Cool, I"m gonna pickup a sander and go the extra mile and sand it as well (recommended on side of can). I'll post some pics of the finished project in a week hopefully.


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## drewpy (Aug 30, 2010)

Nope. Nope. Nope. First of all, if you pressure wash that deck, you'll trash it. All you have to do is apply a wood cleaner with a bug sprayer and then rinse. You don't need to blast that thing with 2500 psi. Secondly, when you clean/rinse it, you'll raise the grain of the wood, so sanding it first is a complete waste of time. When you're finished cleaning and sanding you'll have to use a stain with a high spf rating as it looks like it gets a lot of sun. Also, you should use water-based products as much as possible. Oil-based product's main weakness is that they're not good for exterior use. They are mold food and they also dry up and crack. Water-based products stay flexible, resist sun damage and are mold-proof. Cabot's specializes in such products. I used one of their exterior solid stains on a picnic table two years ago with no primer onto unfinished wood, and it still looks new after several parties and a beagle that likes to use it as a perch. Good luck.


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## Matthewt1970 (Sep 16, 2008)

drewpy said:


> Nope. Nope. Nope. First of all, if you pressure wash that deck, you'll trash it. All you have to do is apply a wood cleaner with a bug sprayer and then rinse. You don't need to blast that thing with 2500 psi. Secondly, when you clean/rinse it, you'll raise the grain of the wood, so sanding it first is a complete waste of time. When you're finished cleaning and sanding you'll have to use a stain with a high spf rating as it looks like it gets a lot of sun. Also, you should use water-based products as much as possible. *Oil-based product's main weakness is that they're not good for exterior use.* They are mold food and they also dry up and crack. Water-based products stay flexible, resist sun damage and are mold-proof. Cabot's specializes in such products. I used one of their exterior solid stains on a picnic table two years ago with no primer onto unfinished wood, and it still looks new after several parties and a beagle that likes to use it as a perch. Good luck.


You had me till you recommended water based products on a deck, especially on a walking surface. I am glad your picnic table still looks good, but latex/water based products will fail you miserably on horizontal walking surfaces. I cannot tell you how much mold I have removed/cleaned off of water based stains. 

To rely on a products flexibilty means it is on the surface relying on adhesion. Oil will penetrate and protect.


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## Ruger141 (Apr 9, 2010)

Well I have already powerwashed it, sanded it, applied cleaner and powerwashed it again. It is has now dried for the recommended time so i am staining as soon as I eat some breakfast here

Here are before and after sanding pics


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

drewpy said:


> Nope. Nope. Nope. First of all, if you pressure wash that deck, you'll trash it. All you have to do is apply a wood cleaner with a bug sprayer and then rinse. You don't need to blast that thing with 2500 psi. Secondly, when you clean/rinse it, you'll raise the grain of the wood, so sanding it first is a complete waste of time. When you're finished cleaning and sanding you'll have to use a stain with a high spf rating as it looks like it gets a lot of sun. Also, you should use water-based products as much as possible. Oil-based product's main weakness is that they're not good for exterior use. They are mold food and they also dry up and crack. Water-based products stay flexible, resist sun damage and are mold-proof. Cabot's specializes in such products. I used one of their exterior solid stains on a picnic table two years ago with no primer onto unfinished wood, and it still looks new after several parties and a beagle that likes to use it as a perch. Good luck.


We power wash all of our decks before staining them, we use wolmans deck brite and turn the psi down to about 800 or so, a power washer can be used as long as the operator is aware of what he's doing and lowers the pressure. Our stains of choice are cabot and sikkens. I prefer to use oil base or alkyd stains on decks.


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## drewpy (Aug 30, 2010)

Matthewt1970 said:


> You had me till you recommended water based products on a deck, especially on a walking surface. I am glad your picnic table still looks good, but latex/water based products will fail you miserably on horizontal walking surfaces. I cannot tell you how much mold I have removed/cleaned off of water based stains.
> 
> To rely on a products flexibilty means it is on the surface relying on adhesion. Oil will penetrate and protect.



Yeah, I know it sounds weird, and believe me, I've used latex stain on a lot more than just my picnic bench. I've done several decks as well. They've all turned out flawlessly. I will also say that cabot's solid stain is the only one I've ever used, so I can't speak to any of the others. It has never ever ever failed in any way on any of the walking surfaces. In fact many of the new industrial floor epoxies are low voc latex. The reason the cabot's is so effective is because it's fortified with teflon. Regarding the mold issue, it's the alkyds in the oil-base that the mold feeds on.


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## Woodstockguy (Aug 27, 2010)

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your stained porch. I just finished building a similar front entrance to our house with pressure treated pine (same post caps as yours, btw). Just finished mine last month, so I'm still waiting for it to dry out a bit before staining. Been looking on this site for what stain/sealer to use. I live in Woodstock, NY (Catskill area) and we endure some heavy winters, so I'm thinking an oil base stain should work best. So far from what I've read, Ready Seal, Sikkens and Cabots seem to be the stains of choice. 

Good luck with your project.


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## Matthewt1970 (Sep 16, 2008)

Well, you "May" get a good result with Latex stain, BUT, you are taking your chances. The Internet is full of horror stories of failed Latex deck stain. My girlfriend's deck is just such a story.

http://www.diychatroom.com/f4/why-you-dont-use-latex-deck-stain-73415/

You just don't see problems like that with oil stains.


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## FrankL (Jun 9, 2010)

Do not use high pressure (water) as mentioned 800 psi or less. 2000 or even 1600 psi can split the wood. 

Frank Lardino


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## Ruger141 (Apr 9, 2010)

Well I used my 3000 psi powerwasher:whistling2: with the widest tip I have and kept it well away from the wood and it worked perfectly. Just be careful and you wont have a problem.

Here is a pic right after staining











and one from this morning after it has dried for 4 days and has lightened up a hair











By the way if you are interested in the debacle I had building the porch, that thread can be found here: http://www.diychatroom.com/f19/rim-band-joist-repair-w-pics-68688/


Thanks for all the help guys:thumbup:


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## FrankL (Jun 9, 2010)

Nice job. 

Frank Lardino


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Looks nice
What did you end up using for stain ?


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## Ruger141 (Apr 9, 2010)

Thankyou, I used Cabot Problem Solver Wood Cleaner, then Cabot Honey Teak Australian Timber Oil for the railing and Cabot Pacific Redwood for the planking. They were both clear/translucent shades.


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## Woodstockguy (Aug 27, 2010)

Very nice job!


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Nice! Just add the code required grip-able handrail, fig.32A,B: http://www.lancova.com/deckinfo.pdf

And maybe a thick stick-down outdoor mat at the top of the stairs to bring the steps within 3/8" of each other. Fig. 27

Looks like it's repelling water well! Good job.

Gary


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## Woodstockguy (Aug 27, 2010)

Ruger,

I'm going to use the same Cabot products for my front entrance. Can you tell me, did you use 1 or 2 coats of the Australian Timber Honey Teak stain? 

Thanks, and nice job on your deck.



Woodstockguy


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## Deckmaster (Jul 15, 2009)

First off, you do not want to stain or paint a pressure-treated wood deck until it has time to dry out from the treating process. At minimum, wait at least until at least late Spring.

If you just bought the wood wait at least 60 days (don’t let it lie about loose or it will warp). Pour a bit of water on the surface of the boards. If the water beads, it’s not dry enough. If the water soaks in, it’s ready. It’s not only water that wants to escape from the cells of the pressure treated lumber, but natural pitch wants to come out as well, once the surface heats up in the sun and starts to dry out. Once it does it will peel any finish you’ve applied.


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