Staining and Sealing a Deck

Carol Becker
by Carol Becker
2 Materials
$30
4 Days
Easy
The deck at my home had not been stained or sealed and it needed to get cleaned up significantly. It started out with a lot of mildew and mold on the deck, as well as a lot of other stains.
First, I pressure washed to whole deck to get off the dirt and grime. Next, I used a mold and mildew deck cleaner and scrubbed it vigorously with a thick bristled broom to get the whole thing nice and clean.
I chose the Thompson’s Water Seal in Mahogany transparent. After allowing my freshly cleaned deck to dry for about a week, I put up painters tape around all my edges. Then, I applied the all-in-one stain and seal to the perimeter and edges with a small brush and small roller.
After this was applied to my edges, I determined my exit strategy and started painting the deck so that I would end up at my exit when I finished. I did a light coat because if you apply it too heavily, it gets a thick, waxy buildup. If that happens, it’s okay, and can be fixed using a degreaser to remove the extra.
The color takes some time to dry, and is less red as it settles. Here is the deck after 24 hours.
I am really happy with how it turned out. I’pl Give it another 24 hours before I walk on it. Then, I’ll remove the painters tape and it will be complete!
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  • Faye Faye on Jun 09, 2018

    Threat job will be doing that later this month combining two decks hope it looks as good as your job

  • Kaye Smith Kaye Smith on Jun 10, 2018

    It came really good!! I've been wanting to do mine but, financially... this is way cheaper and easier. Thank u

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