What Is The Best Stain For A New Cedar Deck?

Hi,

Red Bark and Almond are both great colors on cedar. Both will last a lot longer than clear unless you use The Clear 00 System.  That is a multi coat system that then gets maintained with a clear coat as needed.

If the deck is not built yet, then the best thing to do is to coat all 6 sides of the board before installation.  I would apply one coat of stain on all six sides and really soak the board ends since that is the first source of splitting.

For a cedar deck we usually:

1. Lime Clean

2. Sand 35-50 grit

3. Rainforest Sealer or Mountain XT (diluted 1 quart per gallon with Pure Citrus or Corn Solvent)

That will provide strong protection and nourish the wood fiber cell with dense resin. When maintenance eventually needs to be done we just wash with Earth Clean and apply a diluted coat of the same stain.  This bolsters the wood significantly and builds upon the strength of the first coat instead of stripping it all off and starting over.

The Clear 00 System is the same prep but the first coat if Rainforest and that is top coated with two coats of Mountain XT Clear 00.  That stops the greying and illuminates the wood grain fantastically.  It look gorgeous on cedar.  I would try sample pints of whichever method you feel drawn to.  This way you can be sure you love it.

Best wishes,

Tom