Staining Cedar Deck

covitamarie

A friend of mine is staining his cedar deck before it gets too cold in Michigan to do it. Last year he had planned on staining, so he did some sanding to open the pores and then ended up not staining. He ran out of time. His question now is, how long are the pores of the cedar open? And does he need to sand again this year before staining?

Any advice would help, thanks!

C

Ron6519

After a year of unprotected use, I would think he would have to clean and sand it. Dirt, grease and who knows what has been ground into the surface. Areas with grease spots will not take the stain the same way as the rest of the deck.

__________________
Ron
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B. Franklin 1759

covitamarie

Thanks a lot, Ron! I figured so much.

I appreciate the prompt response.

C

dpach

He could try a cedar deck cleaner and then a brightener. The cleaner would get rid of grease/dirt, while the brightener would get rid of the graying that was caused by the tannins in the wood. It usually brings the nice natural color of the cedar back.

Check out SuperDeck. They have cleaners and brighteners. There are also many other manufacturers that have these as well.

Most of them spray on with a weed type sprayer, let it sit (keeping it wet) for about 15 minutes, then hose off. Do small sections at a time. After first doing the cleaner, followed by the brightener, let it sit 4-5 days or until the wood is down to no more than 15% moisture, and stain.