Best Solid Deck Stain--Please Help!

Sherwin Williams bought MAB a few years back. MAB made the only solid color stain I would ever use on a horizontal deck surface and even then I would use it reluctantly, or try to talk you, the client out of it.

I think you will be disappointed with a solid stain deck finish as it will not hold up well and especially in your temp extremes. Think about a semi-transparent if you have a lot of color difference or better yet a transparent stain if you can get away with the colorants in it to blend the look of your deck together.

I do not know the California brand stains but certainly Cabot and Sikkens have loyal followings, good products and protection, and decent warranties if that is an issue. I grew up with Olympic stains as the top tier people lusted to be able to put on their exterior wood projects. It is total box store crap now.

What did the person you hired to paint/stain your deck suggest using? You might ask around to see what others have used on decent decks around you.

SDS,

Thanks for your feedback. They just said that oil-based would be the way to go. I looked at Cabot and Sikkens this afternoon...was hoping for a resounding best pick.

Generally speaking, I prefer oil based stain products because I think the penetrants part of the chemistry absorb into the wood better. I am not sure this is really true anymore.

With a solid stain though, you want the pigment on the surface so waterborne, high acrylic content with UV might be a better choice?

Sikkens, Cabott and SW are all good stains. I've used all of them over the years and still do. I really can't say ones better than the other, as I've seen all three of them last about the same lenght of time. I would use oil base too. Even though you washed the deck last year you will still need to wash it again before staining and if your using an oil base I woul strip the deck with a deck stripper, clean, brighten and start fresh.

More importantly....

1) How high off the ground is your deck, and is it skirted-in??
2) How old is the deck, and what type of wood?
3) Has the floor ever been sanded?
4) What side of house?

I'm in Fargo, ND....and you think YOUR weather is extreme?!?! LOL!:whistling2:

Sorry....you've probably purchased your stain by now...!

Faron

I would pick Sikkens without a second thought. Their acrylic solid has been an excellent product for us.