Ok need to seal the decks this year. Wondering what brands have worked well for fellow members. Please include any comments about the application if you like.
I did my pool deck two years ago with some stuff from Shermin Williams It was tinted and supposed to last five years. It is pealing from all of the flat surfaces. Now keep in mind that the deck was way overdue for treatment when it went down. And I should have applied a second coat. It also sees all the weather as it is out is the open.
I have a cover porch the needs attention also before it gets too far behind. I would like to have some sort of tin on it but I am thinking about using a clear this year then maybe next your laying down a tint.
I used Behr Silicon Enhanced (the "best" one) "Clear" (not really) deck stain from the Home Despot last year and it was very unforgiving.
First - it doesn't work out of a sprayer (too thick).
Second - by the time you get a brush and start brushing it on the poorly sprayed stuff has dried into a nice droplet pattern.
Third - you can't cover up thin spots with additional coats. If the first coat doesn't work out perfectly then you are screwed. The second coat may end up milky and in general look like you plasticized your deck.
It's already flaking off in places and I just sealed it at the end of last summer. I also have to now paint all the white railing bars since the over spray and drips from the stain are highly visible.
Basically, the whole thing is a mess. I'm so pissed off about it that I'm probably just going to let it sit for a year or two and hope that it all peels off next winter.
I do not recommend Behr Silicone Enhanced stains.
On my front deck I had used cheap Olympic Water Guard clear sealant and while it doesn't last long it is easy as crap to put on and very forgiving. I'm just sticking with Olympic and putting it on twice a year (Spring and Fall). I figure it's better to do it more frequently (and easily) anyways rather than spend a ton of time in the hope that you might have to do it less often. I kind of like the shiny appearance of the Olympic stuff but that shiny appearance only lasts about six months. I just did my front deck again and it took me about 30 minutes to powerwash the deck and two days later I sprayed it with stain in under 30 minutes.
Of course my back deck is bigger and higher but it took me about two days to stain it by brush with that Behr crap and I'm sure it would have taken me less than two hours to do it with some nice thin Olympic stuff.
These are just my results and opinions. Staining and painting are not my areas of expertise or enjoyment. I hate them.
