Not "fine" finishing, but.....

Bill Arnold

1974
Staff member
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8,622
Location
Thomasville, GA
We've started building a deck beside an existing concrete patio. I used PT 4x4 and 2x8 for the pier and beam foundation. Composite deck boards (Veranda) are going down for the flooring and will also top the rails. To save a ton of money, I opted out of composite for the main part of the rails, choosing PT 4x4, 2x4 and 2x2 instead. I plan to use a stain on the PT wood for the rails to match the deck boards.

Now my question: What brand of stain do you folks recommend? Cabot has a good reputation but I don't have personal experience with it or any other product made for staining PT lumber.

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
It might be difficult to match the boards because of the green color of the PT. You would probably get better results with a solid or semi solid stain vs. a clear one. That's the problem I had anyway.
I've always used Cabot with good results.
 
I would not recommend the water based stain/sealers. We used it at our last house and it made the new deck look like it was 20 years old as it seemed to layer and appear as if it had more than one color of stain on it. Even had areas come off later leaving bare wood after a couple of years. Which ever brand you go with at least go with an oil based product, will look nicer and last longer.
 
It might be difficult to match the boards because of the green color of the PT. You would probably get better results with a solid or semi solid stain vs. a clear one. That's the problem I had anyway.
I've always used Cabot with good results.
Thanks for your comment, Bob. I'm using YellaWood PT for the rail system, so I don't expect as much of a matching problem as with the green wood. Also, I'll probably take the rails a couple of shades darker for contrast. I agree with you about using a solid stain.
 
I use Cabot timber oil on outside projects. It works real good with PT lumber, just make sure you give it atleast a week to dry before you apply the stain.
 
Cabot is a quality product. However, my advice is to focus less on the brand and rather make sure you pick a product with a lot of pigment (in other words, a solid color). Transparent (or even "semi-") stains are a maintenance nightmare and unless you enjoy repeating this project every year or so, you'll end up being dissatisfied. I relay this from plenty of personal experience (30 years professional painting side business).
 
Thanks for your input, everyone. I'll definitely go with a solid color stain. I plan to apply stain to all of the parts before assembling them on the deck, then brush on a final coat after assembly.

Yes, I'll have photos when I'm finished! :thumb:
 
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