The 6 Best Deck Stain Reviews and Ratings 4.8/5 (201)

What solid stain is recommended? These all look to be semi-transparent.

I have a piece of cedar on my deck top railing that I want to be sanded down to 4000 grit and stained and sealed starting at 180 grit. Any suggestions on the stain and sealer I should use?

Pretty stoked about finding/reading this website. Find it extremely informative. I live outside Chicago, new pressure treated pine(menards thick deck), handrails, steps, balusters replaced on existing 15 year old framework constructed by me, no structural issues, March of this year. From reading answers to other posts it sounds like the prudent approach is deck cleaner/brighter, power wash, and seal. One coat evenly applied by competent contractor(they do the washing/brightening also). Would like to use an oil base, so TWP, Armstrong Clarke? Restore a deck cleaner and brightener? Prolly missing something somewhere I like the concept of 1 day prep and finish but unsure if contractors understand this. It’s also October, weather could be a factor, can I (should I)let it sit till spring? The boards are not beading now. I got about 15 years out of the old deck, even with sporadic sealing due to health issues. Of course I’m 60 now so next time around will probably be someone else’s responsibility!! Hate to let it sit with water soaking in all winter. Comments yay or nay, considerations I missed, etc? Thank you in advance! RScott

How can I remove the ink stamp from new pressure treated lumber? Nothing seems to help except sanding, which leaves obvious sanding marks. Over time, about a couple of weeks, the sand marks are no longer visible. I’m trying to prep the wood prior to staining. I want to use semi-transparent stain, but these ugly ink stains will show through. Should I use a semi-solid instead?

Hi, Im planning on putting wood shingles on roof gables, and trying to figure out what product would protect best against wear and tear, moisture, uv, and mildew/mold. Would you recommend using these deck stains on wood shingles? If so, what would be the pros and cons of using oil based vs water based on the shingles and which product would you recommend using. Thank you in advance!

I live in New England and have a mahogany deck that has just been pressure washed. In the past, I have used Australian Timber Oil and it needs to be reapplied every two or three years. It has helped a great deal when removing snow from my deck. What would you recommend for a sunny deck treatment, to be done in a couple of weeks?

Is Cabot a good deck stain

further to the lengthy email I just posted below, would I have better luck with your top quality water based stain the next time? I have read that some oils, especially linseed oils, do promote mould. And also, one of these decks is ground level, vented, and then steps up to the other pool deck which is about 3 ft off the ground, also ventilated though..

Hi. Jack from Ontario, Canada. After researching stains to death on your website I had Armstrong Clark “natural” transparent stain shipped up to me. I know 2 friends that have used this brand a couple of years ago and it has performed perfectly. BUT NOT MINE!!! I had a dark colour Messmers Brand stain on my decks around my above ground swimming pool for for last 2 years and it was just fine. Did not peel or flake, and it wore down in areas to the point it needed another coat this year. However we wanted a lighter more natural colour so we stripped it all off. I am not a total newcomer to this process, done it the last time, so it was done exactly as it should and as recommended as far as I am concerned. Rented an industrial deck sander and sanded completely to BARE wood, then used a deck stripper to get the brown stain out of all the edges of the boards, rinsed well, and then used a deck cleaner/brightener to neutralize the deck stain as well. I waited 3 full days of hot weather after the last rain to make sure the wood was thoroughly dry. Then we applied the Armstrong-Clark stain exactly as recommended. It looked great. Did NOT overapply the stain either. I am a senior so this was a ton of work for me. I spent weeks working on this deck to make sure I would never have a future problem!! NOW, after only approx. 1 month, the wood started looking a little blotchy,(the stain was applied evenly at the time), and this week it started going mouldy. The wood has got black mould spots all over it and some boards are getting dark,( I believe it is mould “under” the stain).. I read Armstrongs trouble shooting guide and tried wiping a board with bleach . it took off some black spots on the surface. I have had this deck for at least 6 years so the wood is not new, the mill glaze is long gone off the wood also. I am so upset that I am sick after all the work I did, not to mention that by the time I got the stain delivered to Canada it ended costing close to $80.00 a gallon, but I did it because I wanted the best product that I could buy. I have barely got the job done and it is moulding already?? Now here are 2 particulars that could be a factor?– 1)- could the pools chlorine vapours cause a problem? 2)– we are beside a farm field with a “hay” crop. someone said to me that you can get a lot of dust from the field that if it landed on wet stain may cause mould spores? However if this was the case then why didn’t this happen 2 years ago when I did the exact same procedure as above and applied the last oil based stain?? HELP!!!!!!!!!! Am… Read more »

Currently having a 3-season porch built in NH, with doug fir posts and beam, doug fir beadboard ceiling, and pine shiplap walls. Contractors will stain all wood surfaces when the construction is finished. Project was started in June 2019 and should finish up in the next month. Which product(s) would you recommend? Thanks!

Hi. I live in Oklahoma and restained our 9 year old deck 3 years ago. I power washed and bleached it prior to applying TWP 100 series stain. The stain only looked good for 6-12 months before the wood started to look cracked and grow mildew. The wood looks very dry and brittle. We are needing to restain the deck again. What product do you suggest? The deck is large (approx 600 sqft). Should we power wash and clean the wood again prior to applying product? Also, how many sqft/gallon for application? Just a single coat of stain?

Thanks for your help.

Hi. I live in New England and have a pressure treated set of wooden exterior stairs that is the only entrance to a 2nd floor apartment. The stairs rise to a small landing then turn to continue up. As far as I know they have never been stained or sealed and are at least 10 years old. There is a roof that partially protects them. But snow and rain will fall on the upper level. There is a small amount of mildew but the stairs are in pretty solid condition.

I was told by a contractor doing work at the apartment that the stairs should be sealed to protect the wood. My main concerns with sealing and/or staining is using something that will be easy to maintain (if that is possible) and not making the stairs slippery. Although the beauty of the stairs is a secondary concern, the undersides of the stairs are very visible to the entrance to a store front. Is it ok to completely seal all sides of the stairs, or does some portion of the wood need to be kept free from sealing to breathe?

A few people recommended to me just power washing the stairs and using only a sealer. Do you think this is a good option? I don’t know much about sealers versus stains, etc. but after reading reviews on your site I have been thinking of using Restore a Deck or the oil based Armstrong Clark. Are water based sealers as durable as the oil based? I greatly appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you!

Is there a difference between Defy Extreme and Defy Extremem 40?

I have a full sun deck that has to be over 30 yrs. old since I’ve been here 27 yrs., located in a Philadelphia suburb. Well built by Amish and very solid there are no wobbles or creaks. I wanted to replace the boards but the guy who replaced my 6′ property fence said no need to. The wood is splintered but over the 27 years I have power washed, sanded and even stripped before using Wolman’s Cedar transparent stain/sealer. The last stain was not a good one so I’ve stripped it this year and getting ready to stain. Wolman’s is scarce and I’m not sure how good it is any longer. I haven’t seen it in any reviews. My question is do you recommend water or oil based for older wood that has deep veins or splinters. I’m in my 70’s now and have always maintained this deck myself. I’m looking for a stain/sealer that will last longer that 12-18 months (Wolman’s used to but no longer) Thanks for your help. This website is great.

TWP 100 vs 1500, which one do you recommend? I just installed my new deck about 2 months ago and the pressured treated wood is starting to dry up and I think it’s time to stain the deck but I don’t know which one to choose!

After removing the old deck I found out that one of the joist has rotted and I had to sister two joist together to support that one rotted joist. As far as I know, the 100 does not fight mold and mildew but the 1500 does right? I don’t recall seeing any mold or mildew when I removed the old decking but shouldn’t all deck stains come with mold fighting/prevention since it’s for exteriors and see the rain a lot?

Was reading through your comments about buying stains at the big box stores & how the formula is changed to keep the price lower. Does the same thing happen to the stains sold on Amazon?J

Doing about 3600 sq. ft. of fencing. Was looking at ReadySeal due to its ease of application and price, but your review has longevity issues. I’m looking for something that would last 3+ years.

how do yall feel about thebrand of stain “flood”?

Is BEHR Premium Semi-Transparent Weatherproofing Wood Stain any good? It seems to have descent/mixed review on the homedepot site.

We just sanded off all the peeling black stain (previous owners applied) on our south facing Colorado deck. It is made of redwood and looks gorgeous now with red and blonde tones. We are thinking about deck oil such as cabot Australian deck oil—a linseed oil product. What do you think? The deck is 800 square feet and i hope to not have to ever sand it again! Also, the railings are painted and peeling. I cannot sand all this . Any advice is appreciated. Just paint railings again?

I just had my 20 year old deck stained with Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Solid Deck Stain. I like the way it looks. However, any footprints will not hose off. If I scrub them off, is there anything I can put on that will allow me to hose off any footprints in the future. A friend suggested polyurethane, but after reading your comments, that does not seem like a good idea. Thanks.

I have treated pine rails that’s been installed since April, no water beads up when wet. I live in Georgia, hot and humid here. What would you suggest for my rails. I would like some color to rails, but if transparent will last much longer I would go that route. Thank you

Do any of the top 6 need sanding before re-applying?

What are your thoughts on Penofin? We have used Penofin on our house. It has turned essentially black. We just added an addition and are debating about what to use. Would like to somehow get rid of the black. Wondering if we should use a different product or if there is something we need to be doing differently with Penofin.

Our deck was stained with semi solid Arborcoat by Benjamin Moore about 2 years ago. It has not held up very well and needs to be redone. There is alot of mildew as well. We used a light gray color that I’d like to stay with. Can you recommend a better product and how it needs to be applied. We live in SC where it starts to cool off early October. Thank you!

I have an old deck with some fairly weathered wood. Ive read the solid and deck-over type stains are not ideal so looking far a semi-solid as a good combo of hiding some of the wheathering but still easier to maintain. Any recommendations for a semi-solid brand in a gray color?

Thank you

I have an older pressure-treated (PT) deck that I recently had to replace some boards on because they were in very bad shape. Of the remaining boards, almost all had some degree of splintering but since they were otherwise fine, I decided to sand them (60 & 80 grit). To avoid having a mixture of sanded and un-sanded boards when it comes time to stain, I just sanded them all. All of this work (replacing the damaged boards with new PT boards and sanding everything) was done at the end of June. Here is my plan moving forward, along with some questions:

· Wait 3 months (July, August, September – very sunny and hot here in northern Maryland, with an average amount of rain). This will put me into October, where the weather here should still be good enough for staining. If I have to wait longer, I’ll be into November (colder, more rain), which means I’ll probably have to wait until the spring to stain.

QUESTION #1: Is 3 months long enough to wait with new PT boards and newly-sanded old PT boards?

· The sanding removed very nearly ALL oxidation/graying, as well as all dirt, mildew, and residual stain from the past. There are a few boards where the oxidation/graying ran deeper than I could remove with the sander, but only very small regions near the ends of the boards. Given this, I’m thinking that in 3 months the boards will still have essentially no oxidation/grating and no mildew.

QUESTION #2: As long as there’s no significant oxidation/graying in the next 3 months, can I skip the cleaning/brightening steps and just apply the stain after thoroughly blowing off all surface dirt & debris? If I can’t skip both steps, can I just skip the brightening step by pressure-washing with water only, or maybe a mild cleaner that doesn’t change the pH of the wood?

QUESTION #3: Maybe a dumb question, but I’ll ask anyway: Other than for the obvious reason of removing dirt, mildew, etc, is cleaning necessary before staining? In my situation, where sanding has removed all oxidation/graying, dirt, mildew, etc, it seems like cleaning isn’t necessary as long as I wait long enough before staining.

QUESTION #4: If there is some light oxidation/graying, how will that affect the stain: will it just not look as nice in those areas, or will it prevent the stain from penetrating the way it should, possibly causing it to peel, blister, or lift?

QUESTION #5: For old PT boards that have been sanded, weathering doesn’t seem necessary. Do I have to wait before staining boards, or can I stain right away (after thoroughly removing dust, dirt, and debris)?

New deck, pressure treated pine. How long before applying exterior oil based semi transparent stain. Full sun on the south side, eastern exposure am sun , afternoon fully shaded.
Considering Ready Seal, reads as foolproof but short lifespan.
Lastly, brush, roller or pad for applying.
Thanks! Ed

We just replaced our old deck with a new cedar. Our contractor recommended to let it dry for three to five months then treat. What is the best product to apply to new cedar? We would like to keep it as natural color as possible.

I have just built a new 300 sq. Ft. PTE (pine) deck. I think I prefer water based to ease the mildew problem.

What do you recommend for new PTE and where can I find it near Philadelphia?

Thanks. Jim Davis

After 24 hours using the RAD on the new lumber to prep for stain, I noticed the staples bleed and staining the deck. The contractor, who used staples when I specifically requested wood screws, reports a semi-transparent stain will solve the problem. Is this possible?

I finished the Restore-A-Deck cleaner and brightener yesterday evening and pressure washed the brightener off after sunset on new wood weathered for a year. This morning there is a powdery residue in patches on the deck. I am going to pressure wash again
Before applying the Armstrong Clark deck stain. Did I do something wrong?

Getting ready to install new deck boards and railings here. We’re in Colorado at 8200 ft elevation and the deck is south facing- so it gets some pretty harsh sun. We’re using douglas fir and should be completed early August. We generally get quite a bit of snow here, too. SO—-1) thinking of using a solid stain for longevity and lower maintenance and 2) would it be better to try to get it done before a harsh winter (october?) or better to wait until spring? What do you recommend on both counts?
Thanks!
Tom

I have a 9 yo pressure treated wood deck. Stained 2 yrs ago using sikkens proluxe translucent matte wood finish in natural oak. Needs restrained so I’ve hired a contractor. Said he prefers flood over sikkens. Want to use a semi. Thoughts as to whether to take contractor’s recommendation? Deck is in full sun in W PA. Thank you.

My deck rail has 1-1/2″ pipe run horizontally about every 6″ between the cedar 4x4s . When cutting in the stain on the 4x4s around the painted metal pipes, will the end result be blotchy where I cut in?

Any rating on PPG ProLux Translucent deck stain (Oil based) ? Came recommended for freshly sanded older Cedar Deck.

I just had my boat dock wood replaced, in Alabama, lots of sun and water. The wood was replaced just under a year ago and some pieces are already bowing and pulling up. Not too thrilled with the workmanship. I am about to stain it. I’m assuming a water based stain. Any of the top ones good for this and how much prepping do I need to do? The wood was probably from a local lumber yard or Home Depot.
Thanks, Jack

Someone I know uses Minwax oil on their deck. How does it hold up for wear and is this recommended for decks?

Question about fence staining
1. Why need to stain within 2 weeks of wood preparation? What would happen if not finished in that time frame?
2. Can I just stain one side(outside) of the fence? I like the natural look, but was asked by the HOA to stain it. Also, I have a big fence, try to lower the cost.
Thank you.

Why should I not use Cabot? I have a brand new deck. My painter is recommending it. It is one month old and he recommends staining in one more month.

Hi there we just put in a redwood deck with rough sawn fir posts. My contractor said the redwood is ready to stain. But when I took a sample of the redwood to pick my stain it didn’t seem to penetrate the wood. I have a cedar home and when I put the stain on the cedar it just sucked up the stain. I my contractor about your site and what the discussions say about staining right away and he said that the redwood is not green…I just don’t want to do a lot of work for nothing. Please help!

What went wrong ? New PT pine deck sat 12 months. I used 60 second outdoor cleaner, power washer and deck brushes. Next day I used a SW deck cleaner/wash and hosed it down thoroughly. Wait 3 days with temps around 80 and sunny. The day I stained, using TWP 100, it was partly sunny in the morning and 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I was doing 5-6 16 foot boards at a time, stop, shake my stain and apply a light second coat. The next day the last 8 – 9 feet of decking was , is, darker and has more of sheen. These boards are also have more sun exposure than the ones that are what I would consider “normal looking “.

What “oil” is used in the vrious oil stains. What don’t you like about penofin and how does it compare wth TWP 100 and the other two mentioned herein?

I have a second floor redwood deck that receives a lot of direct sun light. What is the best stain to help protect against UV damage and drying while preserving the natural color of the wood? Thank you.

I have a 60 yr old deck with lotsa sun….can’t replace it so I want to stain
Which would work best

Have you tested the Rubio Monocoat Hybrid products for use with decks? I’m looking for a good option for ipe, cedar and pressure treated. I’ve used the indoor Rubio products with great results but I don’t see a lot written about the outdoor line.

Which stain prevents steps from becoming slick in winter?

My deck boards came with a ceder stain already on them. The deck is one year old. I’m trying to find the best sealer without compromising the color. Or do you recommend still using a stain and seal combo. What do you recommend?

We live in Vancouver Washington and have a 1000 sq ft. deck. Two years ago we put on BEHR’S WATERPROOFING STAIN AND SEALER. Now there are numerous places where it has pealed and shows bare wood. What product do you recommend? In the past we have used Cabot, etc. Nothing seems to work very well.

Thank you.

Im in the process of rebuilding the pergola here in Nprthern California. We live at sea level, north of Sacramento where it hardly snows, but does rain. Looking for a stain to use. Any recommendations? Possibly something local that can be purchased? Its a toss up between transparent and semi-transparent.