I read many of the posts regarding staining/protecting decks. There seems to be many various and conflicting opinions. Since there seems to be many experts here, I thought I would try my luck in getting some expertise on a somewhat related item. In my case, I just need to stain and protect some new clear KD cedar wood that will surround an outside bathtub (not hot tub.) This amounts to only about 16 sq ft. For now, I have settled on Superdeck transparent stain (brown)....partially because they sell 3 oz samples for only $2. Yes, I know that seems absurd considering that the small amount of clear cedar I got cost me about $200. I expect the cedar to be covered most of the time, so it should not weather too badly
My relatively simple question: Is it better to sand the wood lightly (220 grit) before application of stain? I would like to stain it as dark as possible and I have heard that using 2 coats is NOT a good idea, so I want as much mileage out of the stain as possible.
In terms of refinishing in a year or so, can I just re-sand and reapply the stain again?
