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cracklinoatbran

New cedar deck stain questions

cracklinoatbran
9 years ago

Between life, work, weather and inexperience, my new 20' x 16' cedar deck has taken me a year to build. The horizontal boards were installed last November.

We would like the deck stain to look like similar to this except with white vertical rails too. It doesn't have to be quite as orange but we like that overall look. We hate grayed decks and solid stains for the deck boards .

Here is the current color of most of the deck. The step and rail were built in the last 2 months, showing the oxidation.

*Sanding*

1) Horizontal surface- after cleaning the deck with the recommended agents, should I sand or power wash the cedar deck to reclaim some color? Or is that unnecessary, problematic and or overkill?

2) If no to sanding/power washing overall, is it ok to use 80 grit Sand paper to fix a few trouble spots? A few 20' boards stuck out of the wood stack and grayed unevenly by August (like a wicked sock tan). I saw some warnings about sandpaper closing the pores of the wood.

*Stain choice*

1) What stain would you recommend for the deck boards? I was leaning towards Armstrong Clark Wood Stain.

2) We want a solid white stain for all vertical boards ( treated posts, cedar risers, balusters & rail boards). We'd prefer to avoid the flaking and sanding of paint and some stains. If we apply enough coats can we achieve a vivid, strong white?

Here is an early sketch of the design (except it won't be this dark and the top rail is continuous) :

*Temperature*

Naturally rain is a concern for staining, but does it matter if it is 85-95 degrees when staining vs 70?