Hi!
First and foremost thank you, thank you, thank you!!! After searching the internet and YouTube in vain for days, I stumbled across deckstainhelp.com and I am so very grateful. Finally a site with experts who ask the critical questions needed to provide sound advice. Keep up the good work! Now for the questions.
The deck was built in the late 80s - early 90s and the deck surface had very little coating and was grayed by UV exposure. The deck boards are probably CCA treated and are nailed not screwed. In 2016 I completely stripped the previous coating with a stripper product and then sanded followed by cleaning and a brightener. I used a Behr wood stain primer and applied two coats of the Behr solid color waterproofing wood stain. That product performed very poorly to say the least. In less than a year it started cracking and peeling. I will NEVER use anything but a penetrating stain ever again per your advice.
It's time to do this the right way. My goal is to use a product that will not crack, blister, and fail. I want to be able to just clean and reapply stain as needed. The attached photos show some typical deck boards after I spent this last weekend stripping and sanding with a walk-behind orbital sander. The stripper did not work very well and I gouged the boards somewhat with the pressure washer - sanding was unavoidable. I used 40 grit paper followed by 60 grit and will now sand smooth using 80 grit using belt and orbital hand sanders. After sanding, I plan to clean and brighten using the Restore-A-Deck products. Based on your reviews it appears that TWP 1500 semi-transparent would be the best choice. Can you please review the photos and confirm my restoration plan?
Many Thanks,
Tom
As long as you sanded or removed all of the solid stain you can then proceed with the prep and TWP 1500 Staining. The TWP is a great stain for cleaning and reapplying as needed.
Thanks for the speedy response! One last question, how much TWP 1500 will be needed for two coats for a 600 sq. ft. deck?
About 5-6 gallons.