Deck Staining and Sealing in Fort Worth, TX

Many decks we see have a solid stain or deck paint peeling off in sheets, especially on horizontal boards in full sun. Those products build a film on top of the wood. On a deck, that film gets walked on, pounded by UV, and stressed as boards swell after rain and shrink in the heat. Water gets under the film through cracks, and the coating lifts. Once that starts, every recoat sits on a failing layer, so the peeling only gets worse.

Penetrating stains work differently. They soak into the top layer of the wood and leave little or no surface film, so there's nothing to peel. As they wear, they fade gradually and can be refreshed with a light clean and another coat. For most decks here, we recommend a penetrating oil or semi-transparent stain on walking surfaces, and keep solid colors for vertical parts like railings and skirting if you want them.

Old finishes and gray, weathered fibers have to come off before new stain can soak in. We start with a deck stripper for failing film coatings or a percarbonate cleaner for dirt, mildew and graying, applied with a pump sprayer and worked with stiff brushes. A low-pressure rinse follows, using a fan tip and keeping the wand moving. High pressure would raise furry fibers and gouge soft pine. A wood brightener with oxalic acid then restores the wood's natural color and neutralizes the stripper.

After at least two days of dry weather, we sand any raised grain or splinters with 60 to 80-grit on a floor sander or random orbital, paying extra attention to handrails, where hands slide every day. Popped nails are reset or replaced with deck screws, and any soft boards are flagged for replacement. Clean, dry, open wood is the foundation of a stain job that lasts. We also blow debris out of the gaps between boards so stain can reach the edges.

• Stripper for old film coatings, cleaner for gray wood
• Low-pressure rinse with a fan tip, no gouging
• Oxalic acid brightener to restore color
• Sanding of rails, stairs and rough board ends

Clear sealers protect against water but offer almost no UV protection, so the wood still grays in a summer. Transparent stains add a little pigment and some UV block, and need recoating roughly every year here. Semi-transparent stains carry more pigment, show some grain, and usually last two to three years on horizontal boards in Fort Worth sun. Solid stains look like paint and last longer on rails and fences, but on deck boards they behave like a film and can peel.

We use quality oil-based or hybrid penetrating stains from brands like Sherwin-Williams, Behr or Benjamin Moore, chosen for UV inhibitors and mildew resistance. Cedar, pine and pressure-treated pine all take stain a bit differently, so we test a board first. Darker tones block more UV but also run hotter underfoot in July, which matters if you go barefoot. We'll show you a couple of samples in the sun before we commit.

Stain goes on wood that's dry to the touch and has a moisture reading low enough for the product, usually under about 15 percent. We apply it with a pump sprayer or roller, then back-brush along the full length of each board so stain gets into end grain and gaps. We work two or three boards at a time from end to end, which prevents lap marks. Excess stain that doesn't soak in within 15 to 30 minutes is wiped off, since puddles turn sticky and attract dirt.

Ideal conditions are 50F to 90F, out of direct midday sun, with no rain forecast for at least 24 hours. Most penetrating stains are dry for light foot traffic in 4 to 12 hours and ready for furniture in about 24 to 48. In summer we stain early so the boards aren't too hot. Oily rags are spread flat or soaked in water before disposal, since oil-stained rags can self-heat.