PT deck recommendations
 

Anyone have a favorite stain or sealer for a pressure treated deck? I have a small, covered deck that gets a lot of sun. I would like to brighten it up a bit as well as protect it to make it last.

You can use a deck wash and then a brightener to return the wood to almost new looking. But the stain should have details as to how they prefer the wood to be prepped before application. Some washes and brighteners don't mix well with the stain penetration.

I used Penofin Marine/Hardwood for years on my deck. It had better penetration into the hardwoods. Not sure if this can be acquired anymore.

I have looked at both the Proluxe SRD and ReadySeal. I haven't used either as of yet... but I am told the ReadySeal is more forgiving on application requirements.

deckstainhelp.com is where I usually check the reviews.
The Penofin was more because the cambara could come prefinished with that; so I just went with it.

I found that the Cabot Stain Pad Applicator was a big labor savings. Just save the applicator and replace the pad.

Arborcoat products by Benjamin Moore

Arborcoat stain, made by Ben Moore Paint, is a very good product and costs about $50/gal. On pressure treated lumber no primer is needed. Sometimes two coats do it a lot better for a deck that's in tough shape and the first coat is like a primer/1st coat.

Is good to initially spray the deck with a mildew/mold killer like JoMax mold killer, one day before staining to eliminate the old mold.

The reject shelf at Heath's Hardware in Center Harbor usually has a color rejected gallon of Arborcoat for the bargain price of just five dollars which can be a super steal-of-a-deal. .... ;) .... that came from some picky-wicky waterfront house in super-duper-rich Moultonborough! .... :laugh:

PT decks need yearly care. I don't think there is a thing that lasts. That's why I love the Azek

The best stain I found was Sikkens , but it was bought out by PPG and they changed the formula. If I was doing my deck I'd use the Proluxe Cetrol SRD semi transparent.

PPG didn't change the formula. Sikkens had changed it prior to the sale to meet US import requirements for the 50 States.
Sikkens sold the US rights to PPG along with name for five years (five years are already gone).

Never mix products that aren't supported by whatever you choose... the stain manufacturer will not honor the warranty. Remember for wood... seal the ends.

If you already have a product on that is not the one you will be applying, you will need to strip the deck. If it is new, you may want to use the deck wash as the boards may have sat in the yard for some time. After that a brightner... it deactivates the wash/stripper, removes mill glaze, and shouldn't interfere with stain penetration for oil or bonding for latex. The other option to do this is sanding with a rough grit - this actually works better, but people hate the effort.

PT needs to be laid tight, as it gaps when it dries. The gap is the hint that enough drying has occurred for the board to accept the stain - oil need space to enter the board and latex needs a dry enough surface to bond. If you feel unsure on that - inexpensive moisture meter is worth the cost.

Have used Sikkens - now ProLuxe Cetol SRD Semi-Transparent Natural Cedar (as noted by swnoel in this string) for six years. I precede application with a deck wash and medium grit sanding with a rotary sander that doesn't take too much time/effort. This give me a nice finish with a solid two years between coats (filtered sun/shade). I have a love-hate relationship with the pines towering over our house since they drop sap all summer long. The finish seems to provide a good barrier to that and the sap comes off easily with a bit of denatured alcohol. You just need to keep up with it.

I do look forward however to replacing the deck, and dock, with Trex some years down the road. We replaced our CT redwood deck with Trex in November and already love it. The thought of never having to prep/stain it in the future is awesome. Of course, it's a little sad knowing that as much as we love it, we'll be looking at it more than using it since we're mostly at the lake in the warmer months.