Decked in by Conflicting Staining Advice? By Bart Murray, Murray Painting and Power Washing, paint@use.startmail.com
Before
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hen planning to refinish your deck, there are many choices to consider. Each has its pros and cons, so it’s important to be informed on all your options before you begin. The primary factors to consider in choosing a deck stain include foot traffic, sun exposure, shade conditions, water impact in the form of cracks and warps, mold and mildew patterns, weather seasonality and how well stains were applied initially when the deck was new. Sun exposure causes a deck to fade and lose color. Water can warp, shrink or deteriorate wood.
Deck before, which large dog had clawed up over time
After
The first restoration choice is to prepare the deck by sanding or stripping. Sandpaper finer than an 80-grit will block the pores of the wood and make it more slippery in winter. Sanding is more laborious but is also more environmentally friendly. Depending on the deck layout, some jobs allow the use of a stand-up sander while others require a handheld sander used while kneeling. A stripper is cheaper and faster in removing old stain but may not completely clean the pores of the wood and contains chemicals that may not be appropriate near a garden or play area. The second restoration choice is using an oil or water stain. An oil stain needs to be touched up every 1-2 years and can fade. Top brand names of oil-based stains are Messmer’s, Sikkens and Storm System. Messmer’s in particular contains transparent iron oxide pigments that offer a high level of protection from UV rays. One difference between oil stains and water stains is that oil conditions wood while water covers wood. They both have their uses, depending on conditions. Oil stains absorb better than water stains but this is most true only when the wood is pristine.
Same Deck after, with Messmer’s Oil stain applied
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Minnesota Communit y Living
Water-based stains may last longer, but they tend to peel and so need to be stripped down or sanded before redoing whereas oil stains can simply be gone over with a new coat. Benjamin Moore Arbor Coat is one water-based stain I have used to good effect.
There are four categories of stain: clear, semitransparent, semi-solid and solid. The benefit of solid stains is that it covers any imperfections. A solid stain sits on top of the wood like paint does, whether it is a water-based or oil-based solid. It does not penetrate the wood and requires two coats to offer proper protection for the deck. For more tired or mottled decks a semi-solid or solid stain is recommended. Semi-solid or solid stains do offer more UV protection. A transparent or clear stain allows the beauty of the wood to show through but has no UV sunlight protection. UV rays degrade wood over time, breaking down its fibers and causing the graying condition known as silverwood. A semi-transparent requires only one coat since that is all that will sink into the wood. A second coat will only sit on top and peel. No matter which stain you choose, I recommend having it applied with a brush (not a roller, pad or sprayer) so it can best be worked into the nooks and crannies of the wood. One example of a challenging deck job that I worked on recently was a huge 40 x 20 foot fir wood deck owned by a family on a budget. There were several challenges: • The current homeowner had never refinished the deck • The previous owners had used both an oil primer and oil stain as well as water-based stains over the previous 15 years • All told, there were 5-7 layers of oil, water and paint on the deck floor • The railing needed to be cleared of loose, peeling paint • The railing was made of cedar, which contains tannin oils. Zinser primer was used so the tannin color didn’t bleed through the top paint coat and create a blotchy look. • The deck stairs required intricate sanding based on their design • The homeowner has an organic garden nearby and so chose not to use a stripper containing chemicals