Armstrong Clark

[bigchaz 157]

**Edit (July 2010)**

For those of you stumbling upon this post through Google Search, I wanted to report an update that Apex DeckSavers (providing deck cleaning, deck restoration, and deck staining services in the Apex, Cary, Raleigh, Chapel Hill North Carolina) has been using Armstrong Clark stain for over two years now with amazing results. Coverage is great, oil penetrates deep on the older woods, and the color tone is fantastic. No color shift from the decks I've been tracking either. Scotts been carrying it at the www.thesealerstore.com so all you East Coast folks can get it from there. We primarily restore Pressure Treated Pine and use the Armstrong Clark Semi-Transparent stains for most applications.

Anyone with questions is welcome to email me at charlie(at)apexdecksavers(dot)com

The thread below is several years old and has some great information on the stain before it became well known around the country. Thanks to all that contributed to the thread and the exposure this post has generated for Armstrong Clark.

*****

I'm looking for anyone who has used Armstrong Clark stains or has experimented with them for some time now.

Theres some info in the 2008 sealer poll but I'm looking for people who has used it on a job to give their impressions

What kind of coverage did you get?

Where to purchase it?

Whats the viscosity of the oil?

And finally does anyone have photos of the stain on a deck? Pressure treated pine would be nice. Cedar and Rustic colors in particular

Thanks

Edited July 22, 2010 by bigchaz
Update on post

[bigchaz 157]

Alright well just finished a nice 2k dollar job with Armstrong clark cedar semi-trans stain.

Stain went on very nice. With woodtux I would have been right around 10 gallons for this deck. I was a bit nervous with the AC because I only had 2 pails total. I ended up using under 7 gallons!! So great coverage and IMO this deck was on the dry side for most of my decks. I imagine I would have used close to a pail for newer wood.

Sprays very easily. I use airless and of course you still get a cloud, but I could put it on heavy and have my guy backbrush. Didn't have a problem with over application doing one heavy coat. No problems at all with lap marks either. Penetrated quick enough where you didn't have tons of stain running down the spindles. Im not the best sprayer so I get drips underneath rail caps but with a guy backbrushing there's no problems at all. Since the stain soaks in pretty quick I did end up misting some rails later on that looked a bit light. But on most decks one heavy spraying would have been just right. Put two coats wet on wet on the floor with the pad. I tested it when it dried by putting another light coat on a few boards but the difference was unnoticeable. This tells me that my application probably gave it just the right amount of oil

I didn't realize until reading the can that the wood was supposed to have 24 hours to dry. It rained the night before so most of the surface was still damp. Rails were dry to the touch so I went ahead and stained them all. Wasnt a problem at all that they weren't completely dry. The surface was damp in the morning when we got there but by 11 when we finished all the rails the floor was good to go.

I shook the pail up like I do for woodtux but when I opened it, the stain still needed some mixing. This makes the pour spout kinda pointless, but for my first time using an open stain pail, I didn't have any problems. A few stirs and the color evened up in the pail and I started spraying

My favorite part was the consistent color of the stain. Didn't have to worry about a huge color shift when the stain dried overnight. Wood was dry to the touch in about 30 minutes on most areas. Floor was in full sun by the time we padded it so it dried in less than 10. Did two coats with a pad on the floor (wood was 9 yrs old). Staircase appears to have been newer, but with just one coat on that the wood looked incredible. I might even consider using AC for newer wood as well as the older stuff. Used cedar semi trans which will probably be the only color I offer. Its a perfect shade of brown...not too dark not too light. And what you see when putting it on the wood is what you get when it dries. Might lighten up a bit when it soaks in but other than that the color is constant. Cedar semi gave the wood the color I like so Ill probably just stock that. I don't much care for red tones and I don't like dark dark stains on wood either. Cedar was just perfect

Ill keep using woodtux on most of my newer jobs, but armstrong is definitly a new addition to the inventory to use on older wood or decks that just don't look their best. Much cheaper to use AC too than to try and moisturize old wood with 40/gallon woodtux and quicker than two stepping with timberoil. The AC stain really brought back the beauty in some of the boards that I normally wouldn't have super high hopes for. Some wood was replaced probably 2 years prior, but the stain blended everything in

I didn't know how bad the oil would be, so we were super cautious about combustion with the tarps we were using. Judging from the heat of the rags if I had to guess Id say that fire is more of a risk with AC compared to WT. But we hosed down the tarps and I lay them out to dry when I get home so no problems. Just be smart and degrease stuff, you'll be fine. Used the empty metal pail to put old rags and plastic in. Perfect for the trash on a jobsite.

My nose may be used to WT but the smell on AC was certainly a bit of a change for me. Stuff lingers for a while in the truck but we'll see how it smells tomorrow morning. Did a lot of leaning over the rail since the deck was high, so with my shirt smelling like it did I just put it in the burn pile.

Edited July 22, 2010 by bigchaz
Spelling

[bigchaz 157]

Didnt have the best sun when we finished but heres some shots that show you the color. Facing the house was all shaded so you cant see the color as well

Deck surface was about 26*14 with one corner angled off. Staircase had about a dozen treads with a small platform on the bottom (about 4*4). Stairs led to a brick patio underneath

[bigchaz 157]

tried to do a sequence...before...cleaned...stained

Stained pic has bad sun so its not nice enough for the website

Sorry for all the pics... I had to beat greg and all his railroad ties haha

[Scott Paul 164]

Looks very nice!

[gt2003 18]

Oh yeah Charlie, wait until I actually start my project, lol, pictures galore!!!

The deck looks great. Take care, Greg

(by the way, it's a landscape timber, hehehe. I did stain some leftover deck boards and they look the same though)

Edited July 10, 2008 by gt2003

[RPetry 564]

Charlie,

Very fine review and comments. Nice pictures. Nice job. A-C goes on and looks real good on PT SYP.

[Jarrod 22]

Thanx for the review Charlie. Nice job.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yup...that is a sweet color. Can't wait to try that one out!

[YVPW 20]

Looks Great Charlie! I'm sure the homeowners are pleased.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Very nice Charlie! :)

Beth

[Scott Paul 164]

We are now fully stocked with all of the Armstrong Deck Stains

[bigchaz 157]

awesome!

By the way I went back today since homeowner was worried about a huge thunderstorm we had about 3 hours after staining and the wood looked perfect. The color was exactly the same as when it was applied. Rain made no differance and it reinforces my positive reaction to the next to no color shift with the stain

[James 625]

I had A totally diferenetf reqest wehn gnidio a ecdk .. I tincksh fo ussyp rpipingsd....

[Scott Paul 164]

I had A totally diferenetf reqest wehn gnidio a ecdk .. I tincksh fo ussyp rpipingsd....

huh??

[Bryan C 14]

Nice job Charlie. Very nice color...

[gt2003 18]

If anyone would like samples, I've got 3-4 ounces each of the semi-tranparents: rustic brown, sierra redwood and cedar. I got sent double samples and don't want them to go to waste. So, if you want them, PM me your contact info. if it's not in your signature and I'll be glad to send them to you. Thanks, Greg

****UPDATE**** Celeste spoke up first. I will get them in the mail to her today.

Edited July 16, 2008 by gt2003

[Bryan C 14]

Hey Bryan -

Call Steve James at the Stain Shop - 810-735-8600 - www.thestainshop.com

He just left my shop this morning from dropping off 90 gallons to me in a last minute need. Great guy to do business with. I'm still more less in the trials side of things but the product has been pretty impressive and I think you'll like it.

Colors that compare to Wood Tux WHG and BS? I have only used those two colors to this point. I want to get away from the orange look that comes across with the Honey Gold sometimes....

[bigchaz 157]

Colors that compare to Wood Tux WHG and BS? I have only used those two colors to this point. I want to get away from the orange look that comes across with the Honey Gold sometimes....

Bryan im in that same boat with you. Honey gold has gotten less popular for me so realistically I could probably sell everyone on the AC semi-trans cedartone. To me thats pretty close to brown sugar. Im gonna test out the transparent cedar and see if thats lighter or closer to honey gold

[John Orr 206]

I got my box of samples today. I've never used WoodTux or Ready Seal, but the samples sure do look like my old Oly Max Toner. Nice color, without a film. The samples are on cedar (rare around here) so I will be making-up some pressure treated samples ASAP. The box included samples of the transparents and semitransparents as well as a small can of each.

If it looks as good as the samples, I may have found a new stain.

[RPetry 564]

John,

The A-C sample fan is composed of redwood, not cedar. At least the one they sent me.

[John Orr 206]

John,

The A-C sample fan is composed of redwood, not cedar. At least the one they sent me.

As its been 30 years or so since I have seen redwood up-close (not counting Muir Woods), but it looked like cedar to me. The only cedar I ever see is an occaisional fence.

[bigchaz 157]

Pretty sure they are all redwood. Mine were

[RPetry 564]

As its been 30 years or so since I have seen redwood up-close (not counting Muir Woods), but it looked like cedar to me. The only cedar I ever see is an occaisional fence.

John,

I hear you. We will be starting on our 2nd redwood job early next month, and this is after 7 or so yrs. in the business. Not a lot of redwood here in the mid Atlantic or the Northeast!

We do see a lot of cedar decks/balustrades here in NJ. Close to 1/3rd of our work. Very similar to redwood but less natural extractives.

[Greg R 82]

We'll weve used the AC on about a dozen and a half jobs so far and I have to say I'm loving the stain and so are the customers. The semi transparants are the way to go IMO... we tried the toners this week and while they look good I think the semi trans with the additional pigment is far more versatile and consistant. Rustic Brown is an awesome color on newer decks ... a little dark for the 30 year old projects though. Cedar Semi seems to be the most popular however.

I was a little concerned over the cost but the coverage seems to average the cost out to be in line with the other products on the market.

We're finishing up decks and a fence at a beach house on Lake Michigan currently. We're using the Natural Toner on some Palupe decking they have down and they wanted it put on their pressure treated fence and decking as well. I'll try and post pics when its done....

[bigchaz 157]

Greg could you snap some close ups of the cedar and rustic semi trans on the different decks youve done when you get a chance? Im curious how it finishes out on older vs newer pine or other woods that you may have done