TomInKY

I am renovating an 18 year old deck that had the railings and deck surfaces done in a solid stain many years ago. The deck boards are most likely going to be replaced, so I will be starting with fresh wood there and will most likely go with a semi-transparent oil-based stain. However, I would like to avoid replacing all of the railings and balusters, and therefore would like to go with a solid stain in an almond color to match the siding on the house. I like white also, but the house has no white trim, so white railings would be like wearing white socks with a navy blue suit. Can anyone recommend a solid stain that would work well in this application? The existing solid stain is actually in very good shape - all of the vertical surfaces held up quite well on this deck - no peeling or checking. I was hoping to go over it with a light sanding or scuffing (after thorough cleaning, of course) and then either applying the solid stain over it, or using some type of primer. I have seen a "Problem Solver" primer made by (I think) Sherwin Williams mentioned in some other threads - would this be a good solution? I tried some chemical stripper (Lowes) on some solid stain on a scrap baluster, and it pretty much laughed at it. Stripping to bare wood will be difficult at best. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Hey Adrian, Naw, you didn't scare me off. The weather turned bad around here so I switched to a few inside projects while I waited for things to improve outside. Right now, I am leaning towards replacing the deck boards, going with a semi-transparent oil based stain on those in a medium brown, and then going with an almond color on the railings and balusters. I may go deck color on the top rails because I like the way it looks. As far as stripping the balusters, I am leaning away from that. At a buck a piece, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to go through the trouble of stripping each baluster. I do think the existing solid stain on them is in good enough condition to clean them and scuff them with a red scuff pad, and go over them, but I may run into an issue with brand compatibility. It's tempting to try them and see how they hold up - worst case is that I would have to unscrew the rails and replace them, but I'm still thinking it through. Shouldn't the solid stain sufficiently "hide" the darker color underneath with a couple of coats? I thought that was the whole idea of a solid stain. What kind of hardener were you referring to for the split in the post? It wouldn't bother me if it was slightly visible - almost anything would look better than a big split! I thought about using some Marine grade 3M 5200 in the crack. That is the strongest bonding compound that I know of. If you join anything with that stuff, don't plan on ever separating it. Thanks for the help!

Hi Adrian, Thanks for your reply! That's part of the problem - neither me or my wife are crazy about the color. I've seen worse, but it's kind of "blah". I could live with it, but she's pushing to switch to something more attractive, especially considering how far I've gone with it already. I guess I'm earning my "beer drinking with my buddies" brownie points early for this "Honey-Do" project. I posted a picture that shows one of the railings with the solid color on it. Wish I could do something about that split in the post short of replacing it, but that is a different issue. I would assume that it would take two coats of a lighter color solid beige stain to cover the light tan on the balusters. Let me know what you think. I might be better off to just buy all new balusters after you factor in the labor of stripping them, if that is what has to be done.

Beth, do I need to move this to the homeowner's forum? I just realized that I posted it in the other forum.

Yes, so I guess if I mess it up all I am out is my time and the cost of the stain. (And extra points for the aggravation!)

Hello All, First post on here, so I will be upfront. I do the majority of my home maintenance and small - medium projects myself. Nothing against hiring it out, and if time is tight sometimes I will hire work out to get it done more quickly; if I did this for a living I would starve because I am much too slow and methodical. I'm in the middle of adding on to an existing PT pine deck, and I am at a decision point and need some professional advice. The deck was built with the house, circa 1992. We bought the house in 2002, and at that point the deck was already covered in some type of solid stain. I did a recoat of the horizontal surfaces in 2005 with Behr solid stain (yes, I now know to "run from the Behr", according to much of what is written). Surprisingly, this stuff held up pretty well over the years. Unfortunately, when I did the recoat I pressure washed it and got too aggressive with the water pressure and eroded (corduroyed) some of the deck boards - wish I had known better back then - now I do. Two years ago, I built a very nice porch over a portion of the deck that attaches to the house. This current project started when I decided to expand the deck and tie the porch posts into the deck railings. Along with that, I added on to the deck and built a pergola over part of it - all PT pine. My original plan was to re-use as much of the original wood that was in good shape, and then simply restain the whole thing in the same solid color as before. That's before my better half got involved. ;) She suggested a color change, since she never really liked the original color. We would both prefer a semi-opaque stain on the deck boards, but this would require removal of ALL of the existing solid stain. With the severe erosion of many of the boards, I doubt if that is possible. I have included a few pictures of the product, and I am looking for some recommendations. Since some of the original railings and ballusters will be retained, my thought is to go two-tone with a solid stain on the railings. I am probably going to have to replace most of the existing deck boards, but I will entertain other suggestions. Thought about flipping them, but that rarely works out very well. What would be a good semi-transparent or semi-opaque stain that can be maintained every couple of years without a major renovation? Looking for a medium brown or chocolate brown, but a color that approximates the finish of the tongue-in-groove pine ceiling in the porch would also look nice. Here are some shots: Picture showing porch over deck, along with existing and new boards... Picture showing deck boards with existing solid stain: Picture showing "corduroyed" deck boards - will probably have to flip or replace... New portion of deck with pergola... Sorry for the long post, but wanted to provide some background. FWIW, the deck is shaded for most of the day, and obviously the part under the porch will see very little weathering, just foot traffic. I was really hoping to avoid replacing all of the decking because of the expense and the PITA factor, but that is looking like a foregone conclusion unless there is some type of solid stain that would look OK on them. I very much appreciate any advice that can be offered. Thanks!

I took a quick look at your website, Charlie - nice design, BTW! It looks like you prefer to use the Armstrong-Clark and WoodTux oil-based stains on your decks. Any noticeable difference in how they hold up? The WT is considerably more expensive than the A-C. I did notice the WT claims that you can apply their oil based stains even over decks with high moisture content. This is stated in their literature: "Wood Tux can be applied to wood even at very high moisture levels. This means you can stain even if there is rain in the forecast for that day. As long as there is no standing water on the deck, Wood Tux will deliver a beautiful, rich high quality finish. Once applied it will take a light to moderate rain in as little as 15 minutes. You can apply to a visibly damp deck!" This runs contrary to almost everything that I have read about staining decks. Has anyone put their claims to the test?

Thanks for the reply, Charlie. Yes, as much as I hate to think about it, I will probably have to replace the remaining deck boards. I was really hoping to avoid that, but it will at least allow me to get away from the solid stain for the deck boards. Do you have any suggestions on a good semi-transparent stain that will give me a rich medium brown finish and still allow some of the wood grain to show through? I would like something that will hold up for a couple of years and be easy to maintain - i.e., something that won't flake or peel up, and won't require me to completely strip down to bare wood in two years when I want to add a "freshening" coat. I really had no choice on the direction of the boards for the addition since it was spanning a basement walkway, and I would have had to make it step up and put an extra set of joists in to go the other way. And yes, I am definitely going two-tone. Any suggestions on a good solid stain for the railings? I was planning to probably go with an almond to match the siding on the house. I like white, but there is not any white trim on the house, and it might stand out too much. Not sure if I completely understand what you are saying about the stairs. I guess I will have to remove the stain from the risers and the treads, or possibly go with the railing color on the risers. Kind of worried that that might show shoe scuffs easily.