Best deck paint or stain for a sun drenched porch floor?

[greybeard]

My front porch has a roof, but once the sun gets past straight up, the planking gets a solid blast of Texas sun from about 1pm till dark. When a T-storm blows in, it gets wet. I'm tired of the Johnsons water seal and Olympic deck treatment everytime I turn around.

It's all pressure treated 5/4x6s, except the steps which are PT 2x8s. (not the composite stuff--real wood)
I was down at my brother's lace last weekend on Bolivar Peninsula and he has the same problem except his gets full sun from dawn till about 1pm. He had his deck painted in early spring, with some kind of Sherwin Williams paint or stain--brown colored and it has held up well--no fading or any mildew, but he wasn't there when the contractor did it, so he doesn't know what they used.

Any suggestions from personal experience on which product to use on mine?

 

[M5farm]

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalo ... estore-10x

Just one of the brands available. I saw it on diy channel a while back and it looks impressive. Im trying to get my parents to do it to theirs instead of replacing it.

 

[Deepsouth]

Greybeard, I just treated mine with Cabot Australian Timber oil. I've used it before and while it's not perfect it's the best I've ever used.

 

[greybeard]

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/restore/deck-and-concrete-restore-10x

Just one of the brands available. I saw it on diy channel a while back and it looks impressive. Im trying to get my parents to do it to theirs instead of replacing it.

The Olympic treatment I last used was also a wood and concrete product. Lasted only about 8 months, and began to visually fade within 2-3 weeks. I was not impressed.

Greybeard, I just treated mine with Cabot Australian Timber oil. I've used it before and while it's not perfect it's the best I've ever used.

How long before you had to do it again?
On a 1-10 viscosity scale (with 1 being water and 10 being cold molasses) how thick is it when you apply it?

 

[CottageFarm]

Truth is GB, there is no product out there that you're likely to be happy with. They will all need periodic reapplication.
Thompson's and similar products are an oil and wax product that will wear quickly in traffic areas. Same goes for stain products. The up side to these is that they're quick and easy to reapply.

Paint will hold up much longer, though will start to fade after a 1-3 years, depending on color, quality and exposure. The biggest down side to paint is that it's more labor intensive to touch up worn areas and have it blend well. It will also start to flake eventually. With PT wood you need to wait a couple of years for it to dry enough that you're not getting hydrostatic pressure that will cause bond failures. Prep is very important (and labor intensive) to remove all wax or oil that would prevent a good bond to the wood.

For a paint type product, I too am interested in the Rustoleum Restore, but so far haven't had the opportunity to work with it nor judge it's long term performance. I do see it as a very viable option when wood is to the point of replacing like M5 was describing.

 

[dun]

I use olympic solid stain and put it on with pump up garden sprayer.

 

[greybeard]

Truth is GB, there is no product out there that you're likely to be happy with. They will all need periodic reapplication.
Thompson's and similar products are an oil and wax product that will wear quickly in traffic areas. Same goes for stain products. The up side to these is that they're quick and easy to reapply.

Paint will hold up much longer, though will start to fade after a 1-3 years, depending on color, quality and exposure. The biggest down side to paint is that it's more labor intensive to touch up worn areas and have it blend well. It will also start to flake eventually. With PT wood you need to wait a couple of years for it to dry enough that you're not getting hydrostatic pressure that will cause bond failures. Prep is very important (and labor intensive) to remove all wax or oil that would prevent a good bond to the wood.

For a paint type product, I too am interested in the Rustoleum Restore, but so far haven't had the opportunity to work with it nor judge it's long term performance. I do see it as a very viable option when wood is to the point of replacing like M5 was describing.

Traffic isn't much of a problem--just 2 of us here, we get very few visitors, and we usually use the back steps--the relentless sun is a problem tho. Deck on the front is 8' deep by 35' wide--steps are 12' wide. Everything I put on the deck or the steps fades very quickly, even on the far left and right side where there is no traffic from the steps. Steps are the same way--we almost always use just the far right side, against a handrail and where the little 3' wide walkway ends coming from the drive, but the fading is equally all the way across the full 12' width.

I'm about ready to cement over the whole danged thing, except the supports would never handle the weight.

 

[Deepsouth]

Here's the timber oil on cypress.



Here it is on treated pine after a rain.


It's pretty thin GB. On your scale I would say a 3. It goes on easy.

This is the first time I've put it on these post but I put it on this deck about 5 years ago. Only the actual top needed redoing. The sides were still in very good shape and holding color. I just washed it off and stained right over the old stain. I also have a small landscape fence made of treated pine. It was also done about 5 years ago. It needed restaining but it was not totally sun bleached. I just went right over it with a fresh coat. It did take it a lot darker than the deck did for some reason though.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Greybeard, I just treated mine with Cabot Australian Timber oil. I've used it before and while it's not perfect it's the best I've ever used.

Yours looks great! I think that I will have to try it on mine also.

 

[tom4018]

One deck we have has had some but Porter's deck stain and held up well. I do redo it every 2-3 years. It is about 12 years old. Another deck I used the Cabot Australian Timber oil on it, seemed that 1 year later it was not holding up as good but it does get more sun. Went to get more of it and no one locally had it, put a coat of Olympic on it.

 

[greybeard]

Here's the timber oil on cypress.



Here it is on treated pine after a rain.


It's pretty thin GB. On your scale I would say a 3. It goes on easy.

This is the first time I've put it on these post but I put it on this deck about 5 years ago. Only the actual top needed redoing. The sides were still in very good shape and holding color. I just washed it off and stained right over the old stain. I also have a small landscape fence made of treated pine. It was also done about 5 years ago. It needed restaining but it was not totally sun bleached. I just went right over it with a fresh coat. It did take it a lot darker than the deck did for some reason though.

I see they have different types..
Did you use the oil base or the water base version? (seems like a water based "oil" would be a contradiction in terms)
I LIKE this review. Don't have a clue what it said, (even tho I read it twice) but I sure did like it. :nod: ;-) (note the only real appropriate use of flipflops---on the saw operator)
http://www.contractortalk.com/f8/austra ... il-117782/

Looks like ya can use the menu on the right and read reviews of any wood deck stain product here:
http://www.deckstainhelp.com/cabot-wood ... in-review/
The Sherwin Williams Deckscape product my brother put on a few months ago also got very poor marks.
http://www.deckstainhelp.com/category/d ... n-reviews/

So many products to chose from-----

 

[Limomike]

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/restore/deck-and-concrete-restore-10x

Just one of the brands available. I saw it on diy channel a while back and it looks impressive. Im trying to get my parents to do it to theirs instead of replacing it.

This is good stuff. A friend of mine used it on his deck, and it really did good.

 

[Son of Butch]

He had his deck painted in early spring, with some kind of Sherwin Williams paint or stain--brown colored and it has held up well--no fading or any mildew, but he wasn't there when the contractor did it, so he doesn't know what they used.

Any suggestions from personal experience on which product to use on mine?

Consumer Reports rated Behr Weatherproofing Wood Stain a best buy. It's about $30 gallon at Home Depot.
I've used it, it's pretty good, but it does peel if applied too thick.

Sherwin Williams Duration at $70 gallon is rated the Best Exterior Paint
It's spendy, but it is suppose to save money in the long run because it covers well in one coat and received top marks
in long term durability trials done by independent testers. My guess is...this is what your brother's contractor used.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Grey beard which deck stain did you end up choosing??
Getting ready to do mine and want to know what you decided on.