mckenzy

Hi, Greg from over at gardenweb suggested I visit here and ask a few ?'s. Thanks Greg! I have a small cedar deck with a landing and 2 staircases w/railings, built in Sept. The builder didn't offer any info on sealing, so I went to local big box and got some Olympic WaterGuard Waterproofing Clear Sealant for wood. My buddy sanded the wood really smooth and applied one coat. Then the torrential Pac NW rains started and rained like stink for 8 months! Now the thing looks like crap-ola. Gray, dirty, dull and w/black streaks because the builder used the wrong screws and they bled. My new carpenter can replace the screws but can I get the black stains out? And, do that before or after new screws are in? From what I've read, we shouldn't have sanded the cedar (pores closed so didn't accept the sealant very well). Who knew? What product should I use now? RAD sounded good but company's having problems. I don't want to use a power washer, what about PowerSolve Injectable Stripper/Cleaner and Brightening Agent? Attaches to garden hose. Or, what about EFC-38 and Citralic Brightener? We can use a scrub brush and elbow grease with lots of hose rinsing. I want to a cedar tone semi transparent stain/sealer and considering the massive rain we get here, what's the best product so we don't have to go thru this again so soon? My dog uses this area too so want to be sure nasty chemicals aren't mucking up the place. I really appreciate the guidance and will buy online since the big box stores seem to have lower grade products. Thanks for all your advice!

on this page, it's the red and gold square can, and it's clear, with no stain. We put on just one coat: Olympic Stain - Clears It's not peeling and I do think if I use that PowerSolve stripper attached to my house and scrub with a brush, it just might come off. Then the Brightener. If we need to sand a bit, we can do that. Just want to be sure it accepts the stain and we might do 2 coats. I like the Armstrong Clark cedar stain too, so thanks for that. Gotta get my camera out of the box... one of these days. I should do before-and-after shots!