Restoring and maintaining your deck from year to year is important to retain the value of your investment and the beauty of your landscape. There are many deck products on the shelves at the home improvement store. If you are just building a deck or if you are restoring a deck you will need to educate yourself on the various products.

Deck Stripper

You will need a stripping agent if you want to remove stain, sealant or clear coats. Some decks will need to be stripped and others just cleaned. You will use the wood brightener after this step.

Deck Cleaners

These products are used to prepare wood decks before staining and are applied with a sprayer and left to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before power washing or scrubbing your deck. It is recommended to use this procedure even for new wood decks as the wood sometimes has a film from the factory that prevents the stain from being properly absorbed.

Wood Brighteners

When restoring and re-staining a deck, brighteners are used after the deck cleaner to restore the natural color of the wood and remove stains. Products are available in different forms for different methods of applications (mop, sprayer, power washer.)

Stains

There are water based stains and oil based stains that come in clear or natural, Semi-transparent and Solid Body or Opaque colors.

Water based stains clean up with soap and water and oil based stains are generally cleaned up with mineral spirits.

You will have to re-stain your deck every two to four years if using oil base stain. Water based stain requires re-stain every seven to eight years. Additionally, water based stains dry quicker.

Additives to Stains

There are components added to stain to enhance the UV protection and to protect your deck from mildew. Check the label for these properties. If you live in a damp climate or particularly sunny climate you will want to take these properties into consideration.

Look for a penetrating stain and not a stain that is just a surface coat. The opaque or solid body stains are not quite as penetrating as the lighter stains. However, the opaque stains come in a much wider variety of colors.

Environmental Considerations

There is a VOC designation on oil based stain that stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. These VOC designations must comply with environmental standards that differ from state to state in the USA so if you are ordering online be sure it has a rating that is compliant with your state. The manufacturer will know the states compliance standards - just ask.

There are now oil base stains on the market that have zero VOC’s

Special Purpose Stains

For pressure treated wood you will want a stain specifically labeled for pressure treated wood.

There are specialty oil stains for hardwoods like Teak and Mahogany and a Marine grade stain for boats and docks.

Sealants, Wood Protector and Water Repellant

These products are clear coats applied to the top of the deck and are generally not penetrating products but rather surface applications. They come in a variety of gloss to matte finishes.

Slip Resistant Additive

Krylon makes a product called Shark Grip for mixing in with paints and stains that will provide a slip resistant surface to your wood deck. The benefit of Shark Grip is that the particles are rounded rather than sharp like some sand products. The round shape is more comfortable on bare feet.

There are dozens of manufacturers and various formulas for stains and sealants and other exterior wood related products. Be sure to read all the labels and warnings and ask lots of questions if you are uncertain about a product. Most products have a toll free number or website listed on the can. Make sure to test all products on a small area of the deck before proceeding with the whole structure.