Staining Cedar Deck Rail and Posts

Ridiculous post for a fishing site…..something that keeps me from fishing, grrr!

Deck built new in 2006, put some CWF transparent stain on it then, and it’s in terrible shape now. The problem is that the posts held the stain somewhat, but the rails are almost completely grey. To make matters worse, it’s over some Trex decking that will take up any oil-based stain you spill and make spots.

I’m looking for any/all advice folks can give, esp. on stain products that will last the longest time possible!

Joel

Me too!!!! I fell for all these “Guarantees” that mean NOTHING! I have pressure sprayed all old stain off and reapplied Thompson the first time, and another recommended by Menards the second time. All failed. But the pressure sprayer does take it off.

Since it is alerady stained… i would use a semi solid by Cabot. Make sure it is their deck stain line. Powerwash the railing ang pickets, let dry 48 hrs. find some sheeps wool, generally good paint stores carry it and i belive homedepot does too. either go with the block (looks like a hand sanding block) or the loose refill, it is actually the leather and woll. The woll really holds the product well and spreads it evenly.
Use doctors gloves

Cabot, little spendy, but worth it.

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Me too!!!! I fell for all these “Guarantees” that mean NOTHING! I have pressure sprayed all old stain off and reapplied Thompson the first time, and another recommended by Menards the second time. All failed. But the pressure sprayer does take it off.

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Tuck, that Menard’s stuff is what I got duped by too. Never again.

Also, I’ve got black aluminum spindles which were a major pain to stain around and under, as you’re forced to wipe each and every spindle you touch with the brush. Should I take the top rails off and do those on a sawhorse, then clear out the spindles to do the bottom rail as well?

Any reason to go with an even higher $$ stain like a Sikkens or Sherwin Williams?

Joel

I’ve used Sikkens (SRD) on my ceder deck at the cabin. I think it cost close to 40.00 per gallon. It seems to hold up well on the vertical surfaces (spindles and posts). Anything horizontal in the sun doesn’t hold up very well. I resanded the entire decking and restained 2 summers ago and it is ready to be restained again. The tops of my railings, benches and decking suck. My lower deck that is shaded, has held up real well.

well… there is not easy way to do the job correctly, i wasent aware of the Alum spindles, but YES if you can take the railing apart it will achieve 2 things for you.
1. a better quality finish as you are not straining or trying to be too carefull, you will get better coverage.
2. time will most likely be saves because you do not have to work around, tape off, clean etc, the pickets, just touch up the fastener holes if they get chiped upon reinstall.
one trick we do when using metal pickets is to drill the top rail deepenough to raise the picket up out of the bottom hole and remove it to ease re-stain or the occasional kid mistake
as far as sickens im not sure if they make a horizontal surface. Cabot has treated our sompany well. remember 2 years is probly the max a person should go between stainings, it sucks but upkeep pays off.

Show me any stain, that will last through 3 summers/winters in Minnesota and I will show you every other stain maker going out of business, faster than you can say Duck Back… that’s the best/least evil that I have found, 3 seasons tops….

big G

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Show me any stain, that will last through 3 summers/winters in Minnesota and I will show you every other stain maker going out of business, faster than you can say Duck Back… that’s the best/least evil that I have found, 3 seasons tops….

big G

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Spot on statement!

Here is something about the characteristics of cedar that most people don’t know or aren’t told. Don’t let cedar age much before treating. The outer most fibers will decay as quickly as 60 days in the summer. When doing repairs on homes or decks with cedar, you will see fibers attached to the stain/paints that are checking off. If it is gray as stated, you will need to sand it down to get to quality material for the stain to penetrate/bond with. As stated, figure a re-coat every two years in order for it to last. Since you have the trex decking already in place, you may want to explore going composite with balusters and rail.

Randy:

Any idea/estimate on what the composite “slip-over” posts cost along with a top/bottom rail kit? Some brands/varieties better than others?

Joel

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Show me any stain, that will last through 3 summers/winters in Minnesota and I will show you every other stain maker going out of business, faster than you can say Duck Back… that’s the best/least evil that I have found, 3 seasons tops….

big G

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Exactly what I have found. I 5 year guarantee is worthless as you get a pro rated deal on THEIR product again!
The only other option I see is going with the polymer planks for the decking portion. My neighbor has done that, and said he should have years ago. But it is $$$.

Big G has it right, my experience exactly. I’m told at Menards the tree huggers have gotten oil based stains off the market. Will not be able to buy any in a few years. I have never tried any water based ones. Consumer Reports likes Sikens.

Can’t wait for the ~330′ of cedar fencing to be stained every two years. BOTH SIDES

I’d peel everything but the superstructure and do the composite. You won’t regret it.

Sikkens only lasts 2 years max on the horizontal surfaces. Expensive and doesn’t last any longer than cheap stuff. I made the mistake of using cedar 12 years ago on that house.

Next go round I went composite, spent the $ and never looked back…still looks like new and haven’t touched it

I would defenitly consider either composite rails or even the plastic ones. Out of the 10 or so decks I have put up over the last couple years, all but one was compisite flooring and plastic rail kits. The one that wasnt has already called back saying they want to redo it and put compiste on. That is only after 4 years. If you hate sanding and staining as much as I do, you will be much better off in the long run with some type of man made railing. Just think, every 2 years you will have to restain it. At $20 to $40 bucks a gallon it can add up in a hurry. Add on top of it the time you have to take off of fishing to do it.

Well worth it in my opinion

Sikkens has performed well for me. I think I had purchased it on sale at Hirschfields for $25-26 bucks a gallon. Easy to apply also. My deck is completely treated material. The only place it looks a little weathered is on the decking. Mine gets baked in the sun light also.

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Randy:

Any idea/estimate on what the composite “slip-over” posts cost along with a top/bottom rail kit? Some brands/varieties better than others?

Joel

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I like the Accent alluminum balusters with the upper & lower screw in plugs. they run about $20 to $50 / box

For rough estimating on Trex post sleves & cap, I figure $70/post depending on style and I figure $24./ft for railing system with can vary by design. Plus labor if your not doing it yourself. If you get bid for labor & materials, I would expect a mark up on materials

If your looking for something different, there are some awesome concrete companies that make some cool crete sleves, balusters, and brick/stone post sleves. Gets a bit costly, I just did a home with a deck that averaged about $300/post and about $150/ft of rail. But thats how you get to 1.5 million dollars on a home

BALUSTERS

being a painter and having done alot of decks, if you do them right, and I mean right, stay away from the menards brand stuff and go to a paintstore and get it, then you will find that 2 complete seasons is all that you are going to get out of a deck stain. you can pressure wash the deck railings, let it dry, then put down some cardboard under the railing that you are working on, get a good paint brush and then work it in. if you have any other questions, feel free to contact me. all of the brands that where mentioned are good, but is also all in the application, if you want, I can come down and give you a bid on doing it for ya. shoot me a pm.

shane

Randy, Eric, all; I’d like to thank you for the detailed responses. I’m seriously looking into the composite thing. I was also recommended trex composite 2X4’s as top/bottom rails in order to both use my existing aluminum spindles (they sell screw-on holders) and to keep the project cost lower. I’m leaning that way for the rails, and trex for post coverings.

If I do it that way now, I won’t have to deal with it later.

Joel

Here might be something to think about. A good pressure washing to bring back the new surface makes it look good. Sometimes you have to take a palm sander and some 40 grit sandpaper and go over the surface to get rid of the small splinters that sometimes happen when pressure washing. Heres what I do. I make my own stain out of a couple ingrediants but the most important thing in any oil based stain treatment or semi transparent stain is Boiled linseed oil. Linseed oil is the one things that treats the woods the best. A gallon of linseed oil is about $25 here. I use diffrent mixes but a mix of atleast %40 linseed oil to mineral spirits is a good mix. The mineral spirits is used to thin the linseed oil down so it soaks in for a treatment and the remainder sets on the surface and dries to protect the wood. If you look at any oil based treatment linseed oil is in them all, the rest are thinners and solid based products for hyde and base. If it were my deck Id use a mix of %40 percent linseed oil, toner or another coloring agent and mineral spirits. Linseed oil is what actually protects the wood. Semi transparents won’t build up and peel eigther. If you mix your own like above it won’t peel and does last longer then any store bought treatment available and gallon for gallon is cheaper and better, even Sherwinn-Williams which I used alot of thier paints.