Deck Restaining
When you know the weather is favourable, you can finally get to your deck-restaining project. Follow all the steps in an orderly fashion for a beautiful long-lasting finish of your deck.
Old discoloured decks are ingrained with dirt, mildew and stains from exposure to the elements – even new wood needs to be cleaned. Oxygen bleach wood cleaners are the best choice and safe for your plants and yourself.
Stain strippers are used for more stubborn stains. Follow the instructions for use, as stain strippers are more caustic. Sanding by hand for really hard-to-remove stains is advisable.
Wood brighteners are easy to apply and well worth the additional time and effort -opening the wood for greater absorbency, and restoring a new look. After the spray application, rinse the deck very well to remove all cleaning chemicals from the wood. Your clean, dry deck is now ready for a good quality stain.
Water-based stains are more durable and longer-lasting than oil-based stains. They clean well with soap and water. Drying more quickly than solvents, they are environment friendly -less susceptible to mould and mildew.
Read the instructions carefully: how many coats to apply; the wait time between coats; wait time after cleaning and length of time to allow the wood to weather. Natural stains show the grain, allow the wood to breathe and clean easily. Too many layers will peel and create a mess.
Apply with either a pump-up garden sprayer or a roller. Keep a paintbrush handy to fill in while still wet for deeper penetration of the wood. Slow and steady are the sage words of advice here.