I have a large cedar deck that we stained with the wrong stain (Penofin); it turned black. Late last fall we stripped the stain off and sanded the deck. We were in the process of brightening the deck when winter started early and we weren't able to stain the deck.
The deck obviously turned gray in the meantime. We decided to not use a cleaner but instead sand the gray off; which we have done. Is this an acceptable method?
I need your thoughts on how to remove the gray from in between the deck boards.
I want to make sure we do this correctly so we don't have to go through all this work again.
After sanding the deck, do we need to use a cleaner? I have your recommended cleaner if needed.
We will be using a brightener just before staining. I have your recommended brightener.
Anything else we need to do or need to think about?
Thanks for your help.
Jim
Thank you. I guess cleaning the deck will help get the sawdust out of the wood pores as well. Normally when cleaning a deck, you use a stiff brush or a power washer. I do not want to use a power washer as I will have to sand all over again. So, what is it that I should do when using the deck cleaner? Put it on and then rinse with a hose? Do I need to use a stiff brush?
Also, I am planning on using TWP 1500 series stain. What are your thoughts on applying a second coat? Right away? After a couple of weeks? Or next Spring?
Thanks.
You can use a pressure washer as the rinsing tool as long as you are 8-12 inches away from the wood with the tip. Raising the grain some is good as well as it allows the stain to soak in deeper. This is much easier than using a brush and rinsing.
Just one coat of the TWP since you sanded. You can do a light coat next year if needed.
The deck has been sanded, cleaned, and brightened. When the sanding was done, the deck boards looked very nice with great cedar wood color. When applying the brightener, you could see the wood lighten up and have that great cedar color again. However, when the wood dries, it doesn't have that same cedar color. It seems dull. See attached images.
Does this look fine to you? Anything else I need to do before staining? Am I ready for staining?
