Deck Paint for Longevity Not Appearance

[TromboneAl]

In the twenty years we've owned our house, I've stained the redwood deck a few times. I've always used something that lets the grain show through (a stain).

Now, I'm not as concerned with the appearance. I just want to paint it a dark brown with something that will make it last as long as possible.

Suggestions?

 

[braumeister]

I use this:
BEHR® DECKplus™ Solid Color Waterproofing Wood Stain

You can get it mixed in just about any color and I think it does an amazingly good job. Last time DW chose a green color and it looks terrific. I've always been very happy with Behr paint products.

 

[davebarnes]

Stain !

No!
No paint! Paint will peel.
Look at Cabot's oil-based opaque stains. Expensive and worth it.
Power wash (gently). Use detergent first pass.
Sand.
Stain. Brush on 2 coats.

This is a 24-year-old redwood deck in Colorado (very intense sun).
I would brush the stain on until it puddled.

 

[COcheesehead]

Talk to a paint store. I know over the years I have bought paint specifically made for stairs and walkways. I think any paint will need to be reapplied at some point. You'll also need to power wash it for good adhesion.

 

[Cobra9777]

I agree with dave. Paint on a deck will eventually peel and look horrible. I use a Sherwin Williams oil-based semi-transparent deck stain. It's very expensive but worth it, IMHO. I reapply about every 2-3 years after power-washing and sanding. I use the same product and color on some outdoor planters and tables that I made from redwood. We also use the same product on our raised-bed garden which is made from pressure-treated pine.

 

[NW-Bound]

In the twenty years we've owned our house, I've stained the redwood deck a few times. I've always used something that lets the grain show through (a stain).

Now, I'm not as concerned with the appearance. I just want to paint it a dark brown with something that will make it last as long as possible.

"As long as possible", meaning about 2 years?

No!
No paint! Paint will peel...

You don't have to tell me.

I agree with dave. Paint on a deck will eventually peel and look horrible...

T-Al said he won't care about appearance. Then, it would work for him, because an eyesore will be what he gets eventually, in 2 or 3 years.


See my own experience with deck paint on this thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/deck-replacement-87832.html.

 

[RetireBy90]

You can always look to replace with a Trex or like product. I have 2 neighbors / friends that take good care of deck, one swears by and uses paint but has to clean and repaint every 2 years. Other uses Olympic deck cleaner then Olympic stain and has to repeat every 2 years. I’ve always used stain, and since my buddy that paints still has to repaint I’ve never tried paint.

Just one more set of experiences. Deck cost about $800 to have it stained after I washed. Seems like a lot to me

 

[NW-Bound]

Once the paint peels, there's no repainting it. The deck looks like junk.

Scraping off the peeling paint takes more work than replacing the whole deck.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Following, since I'm also sick of cleaning and staining every couple of years, and it's hard to find 3 rain free days in a row.

 

[pb4uski]

I've used Olympic deck wash and stains. Fairly happy. But no matter what you use you will likely have to re-apply every other year on horizontal surfaces.

 

[Chuckanut]

I have used various stains for years on my deck. Every other year a new stain job, with a cleaning and patching year in between. The only problem I have had is that the original wood was not treated. As a result many of the boards rotted from the bottom up. Every new replacement board is treated, and stained on all six sides. But, as they say, the damage is done.

 

[JoeWras]

Worked on a project where we were asked to put some sort of DeckOver/DeckCorrect/Etc paint on the deck. Extra thick slurry kind of thing.

2 years later, it looks horrific.

Stick with stain, maybe with heavy tint. Avoid any temptation to put any kind of film-based product (i.e. paint) on the deck.

 

[RobbieB]

I painted my deck with oil based (not latex) 1 year after treating with boiled linseed oil. The boards rotted 20 years after but the paint didn't peel.

Power washed off the rotted wood before the linseed oil, rolled on the oil and painted the next year after power washing again.

Old deck was just doug fir, not redwood like the new one.

 

[pb4uski]

Worked on a project where we were asked to put some sort of DeckOver/DeckCorrect/Etc paint on the deck. Extra thick slurry kind of thing.

2 years later, it looks horrific.

Stick with stain, maybe with heavy tint. Avoid any temptation to put any kind of film-based product (i.e. paint) on the deck.

Yup. A friend did the same thing on his dock... he is anal about preparation and did a great job... but it still peeled off after a season. Horrible product.

 

[TromboneAl]

Okay, got it. And I think I'll pay to have someone do it.

 

[target2019]

I had a redwood deck, was here before I moved in. I had to replace the redwood as it retained lots of moisture and became a rotting mass of insect housing. It was painted sometime before I moved in, too, which made things worse. FYI, horizontal redwood decking should be of a certain grade in order to maximize its life. If the stain does not specify redwood application, you may have more problems.

 

[RAE]

I've used the BEHR deck stain that Braumeister recommended in the past, and it is good. It's not cheap, though, and this past March I needed to get a lot of stain to re-do all the decks and steps on a house in Florida (and I was working with a limited budget). All of the wood was in pretty rough shape (still solid, but heavily cracked and bleached from years of sun exposure), as it hadn't been stained for years. So, I went down to the local Sherwin Williams paint store and asked to look at any "mis-tint" stains they had available. As it turns out, they had a lot.........and since I was not picky about color, I was able to get a couple of 5-gallon buckets of good quality Sherwin-Williams deck stain (in a dark brown color) for a small fraction of the price of what it would cost new. Time will tell as to how it holds up, but I'm satisfied with the way it filled in the cracks in the old wood, and how it looks.

 

[6miths]

Very happy to have replaced decks with synthetic material. Just finished power washing the home one today. 15 years old. Looks pretty good.

 

[street]

No!
No paint! Paint will peel.
Look at Cabot's oil-based opaque stains. Expensive and worth it.
Power wash (gently). Use detergent first pass.
Sand.
Stain. Brush on 2 coats.

This is a 24-year-old redwood deck in Colorado (very intense sun).
I would brush the stain on until it puddled.

^ this

 

[Lsbcal]

I use this:
BEHR® DECKplus™ Solid Color Waterproofing Wood Stain

You can get it mixed in just about any color and I think it does an amazingly good job. Last time DW chose a green color and it looks terrific. I've always been very happy with Behr paint products.

We had Behr paint applied about 3 years ago. Still looks decent. See Consumer Reports for the latest. They had recommended Behr paint for decks.

But we had 2 coats applied. There is some peeling on a few new short board runs that were put in as repairs.

 

[target2019]

Keep in mind that the bucket of whatever you apply may have different hold characteristics for a given wood species.

 

[DrRoy]

I went for Trex and happily never painted again.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Check out DeckStainHelp.com

Some of the advice here could be inaccurate. Including mine.

I have a Brazilian hardwood deck, very different than redwood. I spent 6 months researching deck types before replacing the deck. It takes work to maintain-clean every six months, brightening before staining every 18-24 months. Maintenance is more frequent than most.

Pressure washing can damage decks-very easily. I read you should use the yellow tip and hold the pressure washer 6 feet away. I used a pressure washer last month very carefully, but still slightly damaged the deck a bit when I got too close. We use a paint roller with an adjustable handle to apply stain, then blot up the extra after 30 minutes or so. Very fast. Brushed around the edges and by the stairs and rails first. It takes about 4 hours. Our deck also has closed sides so it takes longer.

This is our deck, after staining. It’s darker than when new. But in good shape.

 

[donheff]

I have used Deck Over but that is because I haven't maintained my little deck well and will need to replace it soon. I will probably go for Trex or other composite when I do and will not DIY it. The cautions about peeling are accurate, particularly if you are an incompetent DIYer like me.

 

[LRDave]

Not trying hijack OP's thread, but we are going to replace our PT pine decking with thermally-modified hardwood (ash) decking. If you are OK with the way the product naturally grays (we are), this product wears beautifully and requires no staining for 25 years.

https://www.americanadecking.com/products/americana-decking