I work in pressure washing and use a product call Ready Seal Stain and Sealer. It is semi-transparent and is petroleum-based. I use it for several reasons.

1. It's not temperature regulated so I can apply it whenever the wood is dry (meaning 48 consecutive hours of dry time).

2. It's easy to apply when the surface has been prepped properly with a good cleaning (bleach and soap) and/or stripped depending on what product is currently on wood.

3. I can apply it with a rag, a brush, a roller, a flat pad, a pump up sprayer and I don't have to keep a wet-edge.

4. It won't streak or give me lap marks.

5. It's a penetrant so it dives into the pores of the wood so within 15 minutes or so, my customer's can put furniture back on the wood. It can also rain.

6. It provides some level of UV protection with the darker colors giving longer protection.

7. It comes in different colors so most of my customers can find something they like.

8. It can be used on IPE, pine, cedar and composites.

9. When it's time to refresh the deck (every 2-3 years), then I have to give it a light cleaning (soap and bleach), let it dry and re-stain.

I've used lots of other products and from my perspective (as a pressure washer), it's the easiest to work with and I like the color choices. Some products tend to give an orangey (?) tone. I like the browns and reds.

As a homeowner....I love it. My decks look so rich and my neighbors have complimented me on them. I haven't really maintained mine as well as I should...my current staining is about 3 years old and although it doesn't really need it, I want to restain just to refresh it and get some new UV protection on it.

My mother-in-law lives in Wisconsin...the upper part of Wisconsin. She has some acreage that the guys go hunting on...so she put a 5th wheel trailer and a "lean-to" and deck next to the trailer. We put Ready Seal on it and it's been 2 years of rough winters and it's holding it's color really well. I live in the heat of the south and again...mine is holding up well too.

My biggest suggestion....just be aware of whatever product you put on....is to think about how it will need to be maintained, cleaned or stripped off in the future. Homeowners don't always consider that fact and then are sticker-shocked when they see how much product I will need to strip a deck or how many hours it will take to complete that stripping just to prepare the deck for stain.

One last thing....if you are a handy homeowner and want to do-it-yourself, you can do it yourself. If you follow directions and take to someone knowledgeable...you can do it.

Best of luck to you!

Just wondering what color of Ready Seal Stain you used. If I use this product will I only need to clean my deck on which the Olympic Honeygold Stain/Sealant has just about disappeared in one year?