Staining a new fence and an old deck

kkamprowski

Good Moring DIYers!

Hopefully this weekend we will be staining our fence and deck in preparation for our total back yard overhaul.

Our "new" fence is a year old and was power washed last weekend. Since then we have had good weather (in the 70-80's) but it looks like a few sprinkles today and maybe tomorrow. So I am betting its not a good time to stain anything, right?

What brand have you used that gave you the best results? I'm more interested in products for the fence as next year we are extending the current deck and will replace all the boards.

My husband is planning on using the power painter, is this a good option? We have a commercial grade Titan. We have about 2K ft of fence to work on and thought this would be the best application method. Your thoughts?

I think that about covers it, rain, best product, and application method.

Thank you!

joecaption

Unless your going for the spotted look wait until there's no rain in the forecast.
Cabots and Olympic get high ratings. Thompsons would be on the bottom of a long list of stains.
Spraying will work fine, just make sure to tarp off the ground.

kkamprowski

Thank you. We arent really worried about the stain on the grass, it is all coming up this coming week! Total Overhaul, we are finally going to have a playable back yard!

hyunelan2

I loved the results I have got from Cabot stain. Definitely don't use Thompsons (I learned that the hard way a few years back).

sdsester

Thompson products have wax so avoid them. I grew up with Olympic stains and they were my go to products. But, they have been box-storeized and I would not use them. Cabot is great for transparent and semi-transparent stains. I think Sherwin Williams solid color stains are better.

If you can find enough, and you are looking for a solid color stain, MABs acrylic product was magical. It came in tint bases so you could achieve any color. Last I looked it was available while supplies last and I don't know if SW has it or MAB stores still exist. I hope SW folds it into their line as it was great stuff.

CaptRandy

I do about 250 decks and various fences each year and use only Ready Seal. It will last 4+ yrs on vertical surfaces and is oil based so it penetrated into the wood unlike the others mentioned. You have to be sure wood is 14% or less moisture content before staining. You can apply with pump up sprayer as well. Do not coat if rain is imminent. Give 24-48hrs after rain to seal.

Nailbags

a good wood brightener by super deck works great. Cabots and Olympic about the high end of the low end on quality much like Thompsons but not tacky. Super Deck has duck back transparent stain and my OH My! One coat that is it and do it again in four years.
here is their link http://www.superdeck.com/
A Sherwin Williams store told me about it that say is is far better then what they sell in wood stains.