Choosing the Right Stain Product
It should be understood that there is no perfect coating. There is a stain, sealer or coating that is ideal for every situation. However, many things can go wrong when staining such as peeling, blistering, blotchiness, bleeding and improper adhesion. I should also mention that the color tone you selected may not look the same on your project as the sample you picked. So how does a person choose the right product?
I would have to see the project at hand before recommending anything. However, I personally favor oil penetrating semi-transparent stains. Not all oil based stains are created equal. Some are film forming. They will seal the wood and promise a 5 to 10 year guarantee. These are the hardest to deal with, and usually fail the quickest. In most cases, as the wood expands and contracts, the film coating will crack and peel. This makes it difficult to maintain as the old coating will need to be stripped before staining again.
A penetrating oil soaks into the wood and protects the wood from cupping, cracking and splitting. This type of stain will dry out over time, however the maintenance is much easier to deal with. You just need to wash your deck every couple of years, let the wood dry and re-apply the stain again.
FILM FORMING SURFACE STAIN
3 common reasons why this stain failed.
* Improper preparation was done
* Inferior quality stain was used
* Too much stain was applied
This deck needs to be stripped and sanded before re-staining.
PENETRATING OIL STAIN
This deck is overdue for a staining, however it will only require a quick cleaning and brightening for stain to be re-applied.
