This post was updated on May 1, 2024
Best Behr Deck Stains in 2026: Reviewed by an Expert
We would love to hear from you if you have used the Behr Deck Stain on your wood or deck. Please post a rating in the Consumer Star Ratings below. Behr Deck Stain Stains consumer reviews below have shown issues with the application, drying unevenly, and peeling. We encourage you to read all the comment reviews below.
If you have any pictures of your experience with Behr Deck Stain, you can add them in the comment area with a detailed description.
Note: See here if you need to remove the Behr Premium Semi-Transparent Wood Stain.
Behr Stain Opacity Issues Recently: Behr essentially lies about the opacity of its stains. Their “semi-transparent” colors do not show wood grain properly and look more like semi-solid or even fully opaque colors. This makes the wood look more like solid paint and makes removing of the stain, when it peels, extremely difficult.
See the pics below that show these opacity issues.
BEHR’s Premium semi-transparent wood stain offers a 100% acrylic formula that penetrates into the wood to deliver complete protection from the elements on decks, fences, and siding. The silicone-fortified formula protects from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Behr’s Premium Semi-Transparent Wood Stain is available in 83 custom colors allowing the natural wood grain to show through.
Behr Wood Deck Stain Rating (1-10)
Appearance After Initial Stain Application: 2
– Behr’s Premium Deck Stain is a 100% acrylic stain which means it is a water-based product. We found that the stain does not penetrate into the wood as promised in its description. The product had the look of a semi-solid stain, not a semi-transparent stain. 80-90% of the wood grain was masked by the heavy pigment. A good way to describe the finished appearance is to compare Behr Deck Stain to a watered-down paint. The Cedar color we choose was much darker/redder than other brands.
Preventing UV Graying at 2 Year Mark: 7
– Behr Deck Stain performed well in the areas where the stain was still on the surface of the deck after the 2 years of testing.
Wear/Tear and Peeling: 3
– One of the worst stains that we have ever tested! The Behr Deck Stain had peeled on 80% of the decking surface. This stain seemed to offer little to no protection on the flooring after the 2 years. The railings did hold up much better.
Cost Per Square Foot: 5
– Behr Premium Deck Stain costs $39 per gallon. The manufacturer stated 250-350 square feet per gallon when actual coverage was less than 150 feet per gallon. We used 20 gallons for the 1200 square foot deck translating to a per square foot price of $.67 per foot.
Preventing Mold/Mildew/Algae: 8
– As expected with a water-based stain, Behr had no mold or mildew on top or growing in the stain. Small amounts of algae were present along the perimeter of the home.
Ease of Application: 1
– Nothing positive to say here. We tried applying for manufacturer directions with horrible results. Behr suggests applying with a pump sprayer and back brushing with a pad applicator. The problem is the stain does not apply evenly or at all with a sprayer. We switched to a pad applicator but still had horrendous results with ease of application. It was next to impossible to achieve an even finished appearance with the Behr Stain.
Color Shifting (darkening) after 2 Years: 7
– Behr Deck Stain retained close to 90% of its original color after 2 years. No noticeable darkening and the railings looked like they had not changed at all in appearance.
Difficulty of Reapplication: 4
– The Behr Deck Stain would be difficult to fix. Since the stain failed so badly we would suggest a professional cleaning with a stain stripper and possibly sanding of the entire surface.
Overall Score Behr Premium Wood Stain at 2 Year Period: 4.625
– Behr Premium Deck Stain gets our lowest score to date of all deck stains tested. The initial appearance, application, and peeling making Behr Decking Stain a poor choice for any exterior wood restoration project.
Buyer Beware!
Product Information:
Behr Deck Stain Home Depot
Where To Buy: Home Depot
Cost: $42.99 per Gallon, $214.99 per 5 Gallon Pail
Stain Type: Premium Semi-Transparent – Water Based
Available Colors: 83 mixed colors
Application Temperature: 40-90 F
Coats Required: 2 Coats
Coverage Per Gallon: 125-150 sq. ft in field tests
Application Tools: Sprayer, Pad, Brush, Roller
Dry Time: 24-48 Hours
Cleanup: Soap and Water
VOC Compliant: 250 Compliant in all States
More Info: Product Data
Manufacturer: Behr
Test Deck Stats:
Deck Wood Type: Pressure Treated Pine
Deck Square Footage: 1200 Square Feet
UV Exposure: Partial Sun
How Many Years Tested: 2 Years
Stain Color Used: Cedar
BEHR Semi-Transparent Deck Stain Photos
*All products tested and results are from our hands-on experience. We offer no guarantee of similar results. Take into consideration that results may differ widely due to different wood types, exposure to UV radiation, and natural weathering.
BEHR Semi-Transparent Deck Stain
Did my deck in May with Behr stain and waterproof looked good and the rain came after weeks of drying deck and so much rain has taken stain off looks bare in spots is this normal after this work to have to do another coat spent 600.00 already not happy client of this product
It’s a very poor product. Read the review and comments below.
I wish I checked your site 2 days ago. I used the transparent version of this with the colour “cedar naturaltone”. My cedar deck is 1 year old and was unfinished. Same as reviewed here. It looks kinda blotchy, the colour is very orange. It doesn’t seem to sink into the wood. It’s almost like a thin latex paint. I’m hopeful over time the colour will fade or I will get used to it, or the furniture will cover it up but right now…regret.
Sept. 21, 2022:
😫I had my deck prepped and stained by professionals using Behr Semi-transparent Premium Stain and in August, 2021. By the Spring of 2022, it was peeling in all areas: high traffic and no traffic. I purchased it at Home Depot and took the receipts and photos back to the store. I was told that I had to contact The Behr Customer Service which is only open until 1:00 p.m. MST for any chat or live chat assistance. I was totally unable to use my deck this year. Every time that I swept it, there were more areas peeling off. I have sent my receipts and complaints to the Behr email customer service.
We just applied the Behr semi transparent stain on a new cedar deck and it is horrible looking as described. It went on unevenly, is blotchy and dried so fast that brush marks couldn’t be removed after just a minute or two. We waited months for our deck to be ready for staining. Their recommended cleaner was crap too, Home Depot is blaming the weather (21c). It is sticky and they assure us it will go away but I don’t believe anything they say. After spending a fortune to a contractor to build our pride and joy, we are ashamed for anyone to see it. So wish we had read your reviews beforehand.
Sorry to hear. Not only is it a poor product overall, it is also extremely hard to remove as it goes on like a solid stain or paint.
We stupidly trusted the 10 year guarantee for the Behr Premium Deck Stain and were severely disappointed!! We painted a stairway and ramp for a customer in June of last year and when we went back to customer in April of this year 90% of the stain was completely gone!! We prepared the wood well before and were very careful to give a good coverage. The area actually looked worse then before we’d even started. It was heartbreaking because we’d put so much work into the project just to have a disappointed customer. She admitted it was not our application but a terrible product…still now we need to find a way to rectify it for her. Very upsetting.
This “semi-transparent stain” is not stain. It is thick paint. It does not penetrate and so dries on top instead of penetrating the cracks and pores in the wood. The following year, much of it will have peeled off. DO NOT BUY. Look for other actual stains!
We agree, It is junk and they lie about the transparency. See here for proper deck stains: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/the-5-best-deck-stain-reviews-and-ratings/
We used the semi-transparent stain early last summer on our deck. It went on like paint. The deck looked real nice until the muddy paw prints from our two dogs and muddy footprints would NOT come off. The deck is bare in places, it is peeling all over, and I do not recommend this product to anyone!
Worst product I ever used was Behr product on my deck It came with. 10 year warranty and didn’t last a year peeled and flaked Just finished sanding the whole deck again and not sure what to use for our harsh Canadian winters but nothing from Behr that’s for sure
Lets put it this way (BEHR)ly worth it. After two years of battling with their conflict resolution department. Can you imagine you have such a crappy product you need a conflict resolution department. And a very rude conflict resolution department at that. Why not just make a reputable product. First offer after stripping entire deck and restaining and then having same problem with peeling was a $400.00 offer. I spent 120 hours of intense labor so that comes to $3.33/hour. Thanks alot for standing by your crappy product.Well I wrote to Behr president directly and low and behold they sent an adjuster to look at problem like I asked them to do 3 years ago. So they finally sent me a check for $3500.00 if I hold them harmless along with Home Depot. Yes your harmless but your product still sucks. I have two choices now being replace all the decking boards or paint it which is not why I used stain in the first place. So my review is a minus 20. Can’t see how you rate a 2.2 out of 5 or even anything over a 0.0. If I could go lower than minus 20 like minus 100 I would. If you read this review I suggest you use some other product. Anything has to be better than this product and their customer service or should I say disservice. Run, Flee and get as far away from BEHRly worth it as you can. 😩😬
Behr Premiun Stain, these photos were taken 6 months after the stain was applied. Notice from the photos, the tremendous amount of mold. In the 25 years, I have owned my house, I have have never seen anything this bad. Behr claims that their stain is “mildew resistant”. This statement isn’t even close to being true!
Try a deck cleaner and a light pressure washing. That should remove most. Much of that is dirt, not all mildew.
It looks like who ever did the work is the problem. I use behr all the time and never had a problem
The applicator is not at fault for mildew that happens after the stain is applied. It is the stain and/or a product of the environment.
GREAT REVIEW! My deck looks exactly the same as yours after 2 years. Trying to figure out to get this crap off.
Sand it off.
I have used the Natural Cedar stain on almost ever piece of wood in my yard. I loved the finished look of this stain. A couple of years ago I decided to use it on my wooden 6’ tall privacy fence that was at least 15 years old (unsure of age, but that is how long I have lived here). The fence had never been stained, but was still structurally sound.
The fence looked amazing once I was done, but for some reason less than 2 years after staining it the fence just rapidly deteriorated. It is just completely warping everywhere and is falling apart and falling down.
Has anyone else ever experienced this?
My hope when staining it was to not only make it look nicer, but was to preserve it.
After 3 years of use stain completely worn away in light traffic areas under covered screened deck.
Bher stain – We had the same experience, deck and stairs are peeling off, just done last August. This product is just awful. Do not waste your money, time and hard work. Should be taken right off the market.
We used Behr Deckover last summer 2017, this spring its nothing but peeling everywhere on the deck..DONT use it
used deckover in 2016 on new wood which is not recommended.the wood needs to dry out for at least one year.it should have been told to me that the wood needed to dry for a year befor using this product. needless to say it peeled up horribly,called behr sent pictures,got the runaround, told them to keep my money and they will never get any more of it.
i just installed a redwood fence, and would like to stain it. I want to stain the side that faces the road etc, to keep it’s appearance, but letting it go gray on the side that faces my house is ok. is there any downside to doing just the one side? the side facing my house side will get general doses of California central valley sun, and the street side also.
The stain will run bleed through the edges and have drips on the unstained side so you will need to be careful of this. Otherwise, you should be fine.
I applied a coat of waterproof deck stain and then a coat of penetrating stain. the penetrating stain needs to b e removed so I can recoat the deck with the waterproof stain. what will be the best product and or process.
Sand it all off and start over.
There is a special place in hell for Behr & Home Depot. If you buy this stain, immediately throw it in the garbage. That’s,the best application. Pictures & scathing bad reviews in this article are true. Rebuilding a 30 year old oil stained deck with cedar & redwood, prepped according to instructions, the stain fails as this website says. A pox upon this water based stain & those who foist it off. I shall bring my unopened cans & this article to Home Depot & be done with this atrocity.
I used the stain and sealer semi transparent that can be tinted. I will not apply unless you use a roller or brush. I tried to use it in an airless sprayer and it is just to thick. I had to thin (they don’t recommend) about 40 percent in order to get it to spray and then it runs if the product is not right flat. I have 1000 sq feet of deck that I have treated for 20 years and with several products. This is the worst I have ever used. This is really just a paint not a stain. I do not recommend this product it is the worst on the market.
There’s a special place in hell reserved for the creator of this stain. Inherited sloppily done Behr stained porch which was soon stainless in heavily trafficked areas. Now tasked with restaining. Impossible to remove stain with even multiple applications of heavy duty stripper. . Finally realized I’m better off just using my Makita belt sander rather than first stripping and then still having to sand off stain that stripper couldn’t remove. If the porch had any other stain, stripping it would have been a one day job. Instead it’s taken over a week. A nightmare.
I would never use another Behr product After 1 yr deck has significant mildew and has resisted 3 mildew cleanings. Terrible experience.
Just wanted to thank you for the review on the Behr Deck Stain – you saved us time, money, and probably a good bit of what’s left of oursanity… My husband had already bought 5 gallons of the Behr (slick Behr salesperson in the Home Depot one day), and after I read these reviews, and the customer reviews on Consumer Reports, I said we would have to take it back. He tried to take it back to HD, but they said no refund, because it was a “custom” mix. I printed out your summary, some of the comments, and some of the comments from CR. We took it back in to HD, and had the store manager come over to read them, and he kept the copy. He said to give us a refund… I told him that the HD reputation was being diminished by selling such a bad product. We just used the Defy Stain Stripper and Brightener, and will stain with Armstrong early next week.
Our home owners association put the Behr semi solid stain on our community dock and we have seen the same poor performance you have. I was planning to use the Deck Over product by Behr, but seeing the performance of their stain I looked up reviews on the Deck Over and was shocked to see so many unhappy customers.
I have a wrap around porch that has a variety of conditions from full sun all day to covered and shaded. Some areas receive a lot of traffic others very little. We have even added a new edition. I thought the deck Over would be my best option to blend all the surfaces, but now I just don’t know what to do.
I have used the Behr deck cleaner on the worst areas and followed up with power washing. I still have to sand and replace a few boards.
The cost of putting composite down is out of the question. I want to keep the deck color light because it gets so hot in the summer. We get a little of everything as far as weather goes. The wood is old pressure treated 2×6 pine. What product do you recommend?
Deck Revive by Guld will work: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/gulf-synthetics-deck-revive-review-2015/
Stained our deck with behr premium stain 75% peeled up after one season very disappointed
Same here with my 1000 sq. ft. deck. What a mess…. Peeling up.
Stained our deck with behr premium stain pilled off after one season very disappointed
We used Behr deck stain on our 1300 sq.ft deck
Spring came and 90 % of stain has peeled off
Very unhappy with a well known product..we thought we were used the very best for our deck…turns out it was the very worse stain ever
Wished I would have read these comments before I stained with this product. Awful. Just terrible. I have used Olympic products for 17 years and decided to switch to this product. What a mistake. I will forgo the 2nd coat and likely strip and restain in a few weeks. What a waste of time. As others have written, buyer beware.
I would prefer to give this a -1 as my deck is ruined from this product. Half the stain washed off and the other half peeled at 2nd year mark. I am having to strip my deck and start over. Worst crap ever. The only stain left is in the knots and imperfections of the wood. That you can’t get off!
If there is somethibg worse out there. I’m yet to find it. Applies well, looks great for a couplenof weeks, begins to wear quickly no matter how good the prep. By end of season it is kiterally wearing in places. Within a year ots horrble. I’ve had better success with Wolman, Cabot, and Benji Moore.
what product really works? All the deck paints say it will last and it never does. they are all the same. any recommendations?
One of these will work: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/the-5-best-deck-stain-reviews-and-ratings/
Prepping correctly is key.
What would you suggest using instead to cover a deck. Ours looks like crap from sloppy application of a handiman.
Srip and or sand it off and start over. Try TWP or Arsmtrong Clark.
This product is absolute garbage. The application is tedious, and it begins to peel the following spring. Don’t waste your time considering it. Get an oil based product, which will penetrate the wood and don’t spend your time stripping it off your deck the following year. I’ll never use another Behr deck “stain” again.
Miss advertising, this product is worthless and a waste of money you have just lost a customer , I will never Recommend your stain , and will make sure my friends know this, I wasted a lot of time, now I have to redo my deck, I believe that Home Depot needs to take this product off there shelves
Same here. Barely lasted a season. Peeling off. What crap!
We used the same product last summer on our 1000 s/f pool deck. Followed all of the directions to the “T” and after one winter of rain and snow, it has been a complete failure! We spent hours and hours prepping the deck, and staining it as per instructions. Home Depot was of no help other than providing me a Behr brochure with a 1-800 number. When I contacted Behr last week (California), they simply suggested I use their product to strip the entire deck and re-apply the same stain. When I asked the rep what would be different a year from now, he could not answer. They have offered to pay for the cost of their Behr stain stripper and new stain. However, it is complicated by the fact that they want my original Home Depot receipt from last June (which I no longer have) I would not recommend this product to anyone.!! First picture is from last July, the next two pictures were taken last week. I live close to Vancouver BC where we mostly get months of rain during the winter, but this winter we had several weeks of snow. We used the semi-transparent for most of the horizontal surface, with solid stain on the perimeter boards. The solid fared better than the semi-transparent but there are several areas where the product has peeled off. The semi-transparent does not penetrate into the wood grain at all. Rather it simply “coated” the wood and the rain has caused it to peel off.
The vertical surfaces are in good shape. Either way, do not buy this product unless you plan on re-staining your deck every year. Not sure what product I am going to use, but I would appreciate any recommendations
Bruce
Abbotsford BC
Canada
Hi Bruce,
unfortunately, your first issue with fixing this is full removal as applying something else on top, will not fix the problem. Removal will require full sanding.
Ours looks exactly the same. What horrible stain. I just started pressure washing the old stuff off and it’s peeling right off. I will. Ever buy their garbage stain again.
just want to add my two cents. the worst stain ever! first show fall and its all peeling up. CRAP STAIN!!
DONT WANT THIER WARRANTY REPLACEMENT CRAP.
I don't understand the complaints here. Maybe it was the semi transparent version that doesn't hold up.
I stained my back deck 5 years ago with Behr solid color stain and it has held up great. I also stained my front porch (which is under a shed roof) and it looks almost new.
I did stain the porch again this month because we painted the wooden railing and dripped paint all over the floor. The solid stain covered the white dripping perfectly. I will probably redo the back deck next year..
By the way, we use the deck and porch all the time. including adult children and grandchildren on weekends. The only wear was this year , right in front of the door, and I spent 5 minutes touching it up
Maybe the problem is the semi transparent. type.
The solid colour stain failed on me the first year and is a disaster after 2 years – worse now that I have to remove it before I re-stain – It wont be with a Behr product.
Horrible results – lasted one year before incredible amount of peeling. Home Depot should be embarrassed to sell this garbage. I will now sand the entire deck before applying a different product. 10 years on decks – satisfaction guarantee – I don't think so…
I used deck over on my pool deck last year. It was not easy to apply and it took 10 gallons to put 2 coats on. When I opened the pool this year, 80-85 percent of all of it was peeling up! I am extremely disappointed in this product and would NOT recommend this to anyone. The whole deck has to be stripped. My deck is 8'wide around a 16×32' pool, so it's not a small deck.
After only 2 seasons my deck stain, Behr Premium Plus, peeled and wore right off the traffic area of the deck. Had to strip and restain this season and even though Behr did refund my purchase of stripper, cleaner and stain I don't care to do this again any time soon. If it happens again, no more using Behr stain!
I have used Behr 5330 Semitransparent "Redwood" on our back deck. The first time I used it, all we did was pressure wash the whole deck to drive off any loose peeling stain from the previous owner. The Behr applied very easily with a roller, and after 2 coats, it gave us a really nice, very uniform finish. In 5 years' time, we never had any trouble with mold, algae, darkening, etc.
BUT… adhesion was lousy on that first application. By the following year, there was severe peeling. The stuff would come off like you were pulling bandaids off of somebody, you could grab a hold of a little peeled/lifter spot and then pull a long strip/sheet of the stuff right off.
So second time around, I was much more diligent. I took a power sander to the entire deck, and really got off every darn bit of anything loose or questionable. A lot of it I sanded down to bare wood. It took the better part of a whole afternoon and lots and lots of sheets of 80 grit sandpaper. But in retrospect, heck, 5-6 hours to completely sand down a deck is not that bad. If you are expecting to just wash a deck, then slap on the stain, forget it. How could anything penetrate into the wood like that? You have to roughen it up and open up the surface.
Two coats after that sanding, and it held up tremendously better. It was perfect through two solid summers. This year, 3rd summer, we started getting some peeling in a few places. So I went at it with the sander again. It required much less work this time, as most of the deck has a firm coat on it that is not coming off. So I just sanded the problem spots bare, lightly ran the sander over the whole deck just to lightly roughen the surface, and then reapplied the stain. I have a strong suspicion that the problem areas are places that I just did not sand well enough the first time.
As before, it applied easy, and the finish is very good.
I am still on the fence about whether this stuff is crap like some people say, or whether it just really requires you getting it onto bare, clean wood to make it last. So far, I am seeing evidence that it can work really well if you take the time to seriously sand first.
Oh… and as to the tackiness issue – I am useing a semi-transparent, which is in reality pretty darn opaque (that's just how they make it, so if you don't want that, go with transparent). But anyway, I'd say with two full coats, it took about a week in warm weather for it to really get hard and completely tack-free.
But it was reasonably good enough to walk on after about 3 days. I wouldn't go sliding furniture across it for at least a week, though.
I used this product week ago ,2 coats it looked great came back several days later the color was good finish was dull now mind u the wood was old but bid the job at 2 coats and now have to apply another coat I'll stick with thompsons.
Terrible, horrible product. What a waste of time and money. I did all the proper prep and it peeled horribly after just one season. Behr warrantied it with more crap product. So disappointed. Thanks to this site I have ordered the Armstrong Stain and looking forward to a much better experience. Now that I have had to sand every inch of the other crap off! DONT EVER BUY THIS PRODUCT, EVER!!!!!!
A lot of you guys/Gail's probably aren't properly preping your deck prior to apply Deck stain. Preparation is the most important part of the entire process, all I use is Behr products and it never failed me nor have I had a customer complain after the job or years later. I have been doing decks for a while now and never had a bad review BEHR ROCKS!!?
We prepped our deck diligently according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Applied stain in 2 separate coats, with ample dry time between coats and also after final coat, again exactly according to Mfr. instructions. We stained our 1200 sq. ft deck last August, and it looked great at the time. Now in May of the very next year, it’s bubbling and peeling up in huge sections. Nearly $400 worth of stain and staining supplies later, many hours of labor later, and our deck is in worse shape than if we’d not stained it at all. Shame on you, Behr. Now we have to sand it all off and start over.
After only 6 mo. deck over stated peeling. cracks opened up. I made sure I cleaned deck well with brush. Was told NOT to use power washer as this would push dirt in. Went over entire deck taking out all nails that were up a little, replaced with deck screws. Next I used Behr deck wah and scubed deck then rinsed off entier deck twice . Waited three days until deck was dry (as was recommended by home depot ). Next i went through and hand brushed all the cracks. waiting agian a couple of days to dry. Went over cracks again that the wood soaked up product. After waiting a couple of days. I started hand brushing the entire deck after the sun was not directly on the deck. Then gave it a second coat using the same hand brush method. This of coause to a couple of weeks. It looked really good after I was done. Now i need to resand entier deck. Lots of man hours. Positive not Behr is replacing the stain and wash. Now if i can get them to help me sand.
The Home Depot sales people must be on the Behr payroll for recommending this so strongly. don't listen. This is the worst deck stain product in the world. Difficult application, poor penetration, tacky for weeks, gross flaking and peeling in less than a year. And I did the complete prep regimen as recommended before application. Anything else is better.
It has been only 1 year since application to our deck and it has peeled off of the deck flooring and top of railing. We have always used Behr paint and figured the deck stain would be just as good. Boy what a disappointment. Now we will have to power wash this stuff and do some sanding, and figure out what to use next. It won't be Behr.
Use a stain that soaks fully into the wood grain. They do not peel and will be easier to maintain every 2 years. Try Armstrong Clark.
Two years ago, I removed as much of the awful Behr stain as I could get off, and then used Armstrong Clark.I am EXTREMELY happy with it. This is the best stain I have ever used and the only stain I will ever use!
Will pile on ABSOLUTELY Do not use. Horrible peals up.. but here is the worst.. It wont come off cleanly. So its shoddy material that fails but sticks good enough in spots to be horrible to remove. .
HOURS and HOURS of repair.
Worst stain we have ever used…followed all prep..blotchy blotchy..1400 sq ft deck is a mess…
I have the same results your video looks like my deck. We followed the instructions to the T used the berh cleaner as well . My deck is all western red cedar and I just noticed that it looks like mould on the railing I installed . Did any one get reimbursed from berh for the product or labour?
Jim
Not me. They never offered ANY refunds or replacements
We used this prior to reading test result. It is truly a horrible product with some areas having darker color, some with wood- grain appearance and other areas solid. I stirred it frequently to insure even color and this didn't help. A good stripper to remove is about $60, and then light sanding as this stain is horrible, and then a good brightener is about $40. THIS IS ABDOLUTELY A BAD PRODUCT IN MY OPINION!
Jon Langbein Painting License # 13vh07127500.
June 17 · Edited ·
I stained a deck not 2 years ago using Behr semitrans stain. most of the deck was new cedar which was washed, dried for 10 days then sanded and blown free of dust. the stain was rolled then immediately backbrushed. the stain is now peeling off both the new and old sections. behr will only refund the stain price. it cost almost $2000. in labor to prep and stain this 3 tiered deck on a slope. no more behr for me. Behr won't even send a field rep out to diagnose the problem with their product.
A Behr rep in California stated that all problems are diagnosed from Cali and that their field reps are just salesmen that apparently just stock shelves. Thats a company that doesn't give a crap about its end user.
I recommended to my customer to seek legal advise.
update. Behr told me that since I did not use their cleaner that the warrantee is voided. I used chlorine bleach first followed by an oxalic acid wash then sanded with #80 paper. The oxalic acid is the same active ingredient in the behr cleaner. Behr is BS.
I stained with this product and it lasted 4 years before showing substantial wear, and the house is on the ocean in New England where it's been exposed to direct sun, salt, high humidity, hurricanes, and ice storms.
I prepped as follows: Power wash (low setting), apply deck cleaner, rinse with hose, dry for 48 hours.
I stain with a brush on the railings, and a pad on large surface areas.
DoesnN't look good and won't completely dry after2 wks
I use this product every day and never had a problem with it. Just did a job this summer I did 8 years ago using Behr Weather Proofing Natural 500 Transparent and Behr Weather Proofing Solid Redwood. The red was still red and not turning pink as most products do. The Natural 500 was still holding strong, little faded in the sunny spots on the deck but not bad after 8 years of dogs and people walking on it.
Ok people I've read most of your aggravation and the problem is poor prep. You must prepare the wood for stain by removing all dirt, grease, ink and most of all the mill finish. What's a mill finish? It's a sealer that's sprayed on the wood to control how the wood dries during the drying process, especially pressure treated wood. If you don't remove this finish stain WILL NOT STICK. The only way to remove this finish is to sand, sand and sand some more. They do make cleaners to remove this finish but the problem with the cleaners is if you miss a spot the stain will not stick their. Plus some of these cleaners changes the color of the wood so your better off just to sand.
Purchased 2 gallons. Put much effort into initial deck preparation. Stain application not particularly difficult. When I finished the job it looked ok but somewhat mottled. I was suspicious of the claim of 6 year guarantee. I've never seen any deck paint or stain that would last that long. 2 months after applying "stain" we began to see chips and flakes coming off surface. I was extremely disappointed that a manufacturer could make such false claims for a product. Home Depot was very professional by refunding my cost. However, my time and labor have been lost.
So I've got this stuff on my deck. The previous owner told me the stain was applied two years ago. I'm having the peeling issues around the whole perimeter. It would be a massive undertaking to sand it all off. Can anyone recommend a product to go over the top of this stuff that would still let me see a little wood grain without having to strip off the old stuff?
You cannot fix the issue by trying to cover it. It will still continue to peel. You will end up making it worse.
Worst stuff I've ever used & guess what – I'm using it every year because I can't bear the thought of sanding everything down to bare wood. Instead, we just keep staining the damn deck every year with this crap. The reviews are absolutely correct – peels easily and difficult to apply with obvious brush marks and uneven coverage. This stuff should be outlawed. I actually can't wait until my deck rots so that I can replace it!
Well, how big is your deck? Mine is about 15' x 30', and it only took about 5 hours with a handheld orbital sander to sand the whole thing, taking a lot of it down to bare wood. I was just out to sand off all the loose stuff and even so, a lot of it ended up as bare wood. If I was seriously trying to sand the whole thing bare, I would have used a belt sander or rented a floor sander. It's really not as bad as you think. Just get it in your head that it's a "job", that it might take you one or two days to really get it done, and you will need power sanders and lots of sanding sheets. If you are eager to get it done in a couple of hours and restain it, then you will fail because it's a much bigger job than that. But it won't take you weeks of work to do this unless you have an enormous deck.
The durability and results are enormously better when you gut it out and sand. Since doing that job, I have converted to a totally "sand everything" guy. Paint, trim, railings – heck with it. Sand the daylights out of it, and then reprime/repaint/stain (whatever you are trying to do). The finish lasts so much longer than just trying to scrape a little, recoat, and "get by".
I wish you the best of luck.
Just did not last like it should have. I was very disappointed. The can said it should last six years. Two years in and most of the stain had disappeared off of our deck. I would not recommend.
I applied Behr 1903 superdeck stain to my new redwood deck a year ago and it did not last even one year. What should I do?
Sand and strip it off before recoating with a better stain.