Plainfield Solid Color Deck Staining

This deck was a mixture of old decking and new decking. The customer recently purchased the home and made renovating the old deck part of their to-do list. There was a lot of old deck wood that needed replacing, but much of the old deck was still sound, so they only replaced what was necessary. This process of replacing old wood with new wood is fairly common but the homeowner also wanted to make sure they protected the deck with a quality stain to make sure it lasts the family for many years to come.

Originally, the homeowner wanted to go with a transparent mahogany wood stain. We discussed the pros and cons of going with a transparent stain on a deck with mixed old and new wood. You will notice in the portfolio pictures a picture of the results when applying a transparent stain on old wood and new wood after prepping the decking for stain. It’s ultimately the decision of the homeowner which direction they would like to go, but when you use a transparent wood stain on old and new wood, it will look different. The new wood grains are much tighter and accept the stain differently than old wood which is very dry, porous and really soaks up the stain making it look much darker than the new wood even though the stain is from the same can.

Note, we did not replace the old decking and rails, the homeowner did that part of the project themselves. Before we began staining the deck, we properly cleaned the decking with a light wood cleaner and brightener, followed by a light pressure wash. This process cleaned the old stain off and removed any mill glaze on the new decking.

It’s very important to clean and prep the wood to allow the stain to bond well and provide a long-lasting stain. A normal pressure wash will not be sufficient, you will need to apply deck stripper before the pressure washing.

This deck staining project turned out great and the customer was happy they decided to go with the solid color stain over the transparent stain.

On this project, we applied Sikkens “213 Butternut” solid color stain.

Often times, when staining a deck with a solid color, it can seem like we’re painting the deck and in essence, we are, but it’s a wood stain and not your normal exterior paint. If the scope of work requires deck painting than we would need to apply a primer prior to the painting process, but since the homeowner decided to go with a solid stain, there is no priming required.

If you are looking for a quality deck staining company in Indianapolis, consider Legacy Painting.

We take pride in our work and will ensure your deck stain is applied properly to give your deck a longer life.