Anyone stained and sealed a new deck?

[Indianamom2]

We need to stain our 2 month old deck (a semi-transparent color, something that looks really natural but won't turn grey) and water seal it. We are probably going to attempt this ourselves (it's about 12 x 24, with railing all around and two sets of steps/handrails).

I've done some reading about the actual process, but I'm wondering if anyone has any recs on brands of stain/sealer, methods of applying it and any other helpful tips.

Thanks,

[ciw]

Good luck. I've done this and it was not my favorite project (and I've stripped and stained lots of things)! After you pick a stain, be sure to check out the rules for applying it in terms of humidity. I'd planned to do my deck in the summer but had to wait until the fall when the humidity was lower. If it's too humid, the stain will stay tacky and not dry properly. Pick a span of time when no rain is planned for several days (even if you're using a fast-drying stain, rain within 72 hours will affect it) -- learned this the hard way. :32:
And be sure to leave plenty of time for the railing. This is the part that took FOREVER.

[fattytuna]

have you tried reading through the gardenweb? i read some posts when researching washer/dryer and wall paint. lots of experts there that can recommend brands and technique.

[brittone2]

We are renting while our other house out of state sells, and the landlord sealed/stained the fantastic deck here before we moved in. Using 2 mops (found the evidence in the garage LOL) and it splashed all over the siding. So I don't recommend that method :wink2: He had the house listed for sale or rent at the same time and has been trying to sell it for a good while....but every "repair" he does will make this house tougher to sell IMO.

So yeah, no mops :)

eta: DH used Cabot at our previous house.

[naam]

My DH swears by Readyseal. (http://www.readyseal.com/) It is supposed to penetrate into the wood and protect it better from the elements.

[Indianamom2]

Thanks all, for the suggestions.

And Brittone, I hear you about the mop. The deck we had torn down was stained (almost painted) with a color that was probably a deep red at one time, but had faded to a purpley color by the time we bought the house. I'm certain it was a do-it-yourself job because there is purple over a lot of the siding closest to the deck. No mops happening here, but thanks for the heads up!

[maylips]

Would recommend spraying, using a weed-type sprayer, over rolling. DH rolled ours last summer and the stain went on thick, almost like paint, and is now peeling. And my 10 month old thinks peeling stain is YUMMY.