# Painting over Thompson’s waterseal stain



## cocomonkeynuts (Jan 12, 2018)

Txcottage said:


> Hi! I just stained my deck with *Thompson’s waterseal waterproofing* stain. I’ve decided it is too dark and would like to stain over it with something lighter in color. Apparently they don’t make this in a grey shade. It’s not a large area so I don’t mind painting over it. Is there any product I can use to stain over it as if it were just a second coat of stain? Thanks for any help!



LOL. Sure forget about re-staining that **** though. Flip your boards and use a penetrating stain product Sikkens, Flood, etc...


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

No, not really. Thompsons products are unique in that they contain a type of wax. That’s what gives them their trademark water beading effect. Once you apply Thompsons you can’t put anything else on top of it except more Thompsons. Nothing will stick to the stuff. A brief search on this site will produce multiple horror stories of people trying to do this and experiencing massive failures. I’ve seen it several times over the years myself also. 

It’s also very difficult to remove. Even chemical strippers and heavy sanding have a hard time removing all the wax residue. Coco is right, live with it or flip the boards. 


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

#1, Your started with the one stain that that almost always scores low according to Consumers Digest.
#2, Decking should never be painted! 
If you spend anytime on DIY website you'll see hundreds of people asking how to remove it.
Thompsons has silicone in it that will prevent anything from soaking in to get it to stick. 
Stains can in some cases be made darker, but not lighter.
Small area, consider replacing the boards with gray composite boards and never have to deal with it again.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

> Flip your boards and use a penetrating stain product Sikkens, Flood, etc


Flipping boards is a big pain in the butt. I would go with Joe's idea first or just leave it as is.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Jan 12, 2018)

Guap0_ said:


> Flipping boards is a big pain in the butt. I would go with Joe's idea first or just leave it as is.



Its a pain BUT its 1000x easier than trying to restain them or remove thompsons :vs_OMG:


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

That's why I would probably leave it alone.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

TWS is often short lived. I'd leave it alone for a year or two. By then you'll probably be able to clean the deck and apply a different stain.


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## klaatu (Mar 9, 2015)

Jmayspaint said:


> No, not really. Thompsons products are unique in that they contain a type of wax. That’s what gives them their trademark water beading effect. Once you apply Thompsons you can’t put anything else on top of it except more Thompsons. Nothing will stick to the stuff. A brief search on this site will produce multiple horror stories of people trying to do this and experiencing massive failures. I’ve seen it several times over the years myself also.
> 
> It’s also very difficult to remove. Even chemical strippers and heavy sanding have a hard time removing all the wax residue. Coco is right, live with it or flip the boards.
> 
> ...


That would be paraffin. And some silicone. And in 6 months it is GONE!


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## Txcottage (Jun 8, 2018)

Thanks you everyone! Super helpful! As much as I hate the color, I will live with it a while.
So what stain do you suggest I use if I want a more solid color? It is pressure treated wood. Someone asked my location- I live in the Tx hill country where the temp has already been up to 100 degree.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Olympic-MA...r-Stain-Actual-Net-Contents-570-fl-oz/3028746


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

klaatu said:


> That would be paraffin. And some silicone. And in 6 months it is GONE!




I thought is was paraffin, but wasn’t sure. Didn’t know about the silicone but that makes sense given how it acts. 

As much as we bash Thompsons, it’s really not that bad if your willing to wash and recoat it every year or so and never use anything else on top of it. The wax (and silicone apparently) do a good job of protecting the wood if you are willing to put up with the other flaws. 


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