Hello Earthpaint,
We have 3 very large decks, with stairs. The wood is pressure treated pine, probably weathered for about 1-3 years. The ceiling for the decks are pine bead-board plywood.
I would like to stain the deck a color that is light brown and would like for it to remain that color and not turn weathered grey. I am a little confused on the best products to use for this.
I want to buy some samples pints, but wanted to reach out to you again for clarification.
Thank you so much for your time.
Hi,
I’d probably Lime Clean the decks and then lean towards the Mountain XT in Light Cedar, brush and roll, 1 penetrating coat.
The Mountain Clear 00 System can be read about here https://shop-earthpaint.net/collections/deck-stain-for-exotic-hardwoods-and-cedar
Other stain systems here https://shop-earthpaint.net/collections/
The natural deck stain page has some good info as well.
I’d take a look at these and give sample pints to the contractor (s) for estimates and comparison. This way everyone is clear ahead of time what to expect.
The wood seems to have a water based stain similarly to light cedar but I can’t tell for sure. That’s a red flag for me that I would assess and head off any future issues off at the pass.
The lime in the Lime Clean lets the tree resins saturate the wood cell, as long as the old stain and extractives are fully removed. Then the wood can be washed with EarthClean 10-20% once a year or so to keep clean and if needed the floors or stairs could be brushed out with a nice thin maintenance coat since they get a lot of action.
The decks can be maintained indefinitely in this manner, quite simply. I’d just be sure to read those pages and the labels to get the basics down first.
Best of luck with your project!
Earthpaint Technical Support
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