How to Maintain Your Exterior Wood Deck

Important Info

All of the deck stains or sealers that we sell are penetrating transparent tinted coatings. They are not film forming finishes like a solid stain (opaque), paint, or shellac. When the deck/wood is prepped properly and the penetrating deck stains are applied properly they will last for years to come. The tint (color) acts as a UV-Ray absorbent, which prolongs the sun from discoloring the wood. Depending on your conditions you can expect all of the deck stains or sealers we sell to last 18-36 months on the horizontals and twice as long on the verticals.

The reason the majority of products fail are:

A product is applied too thick, over a previous coating, or a solid color stain/paint was used resulting in a film forming coating. A film forming coating is a product that does not penetrate into the wood completely. A product that does not penetrate can result in premature peeling and or flaking. All of our stains penetrate into the wood.
The deck/wood is not properly prepped for application of coating resulting in the stains not penetrating into the wood.
New wood is not dry and/or prepped for application of stain. You cannot stain a brand new deck/wood without applying cleaners to open the pores.
Unless absolutely necessary (removal of solid stain and/or paint), never power sand a deck. This will close the pores of the wood and your new stain may not penetrate properly. If you must, try not to use a grit finer than 60 grit. You can lightly sand by hand or with de-felting pads on low speed orbital sanders to remove splinters and/or raised grain of wood.

Power Washing

We suggest that only experienced professionals use a power washer when cleaning your deck/wood. That being said, it will obviously make your cleaning of the deck/wood a lot quicker if you do use a power washer. If you use a power washer please follow these guidelines:

Always use a cleaner and or stripper. The cleaners do 90% of the work.
Use the power washer as a high pressure rinse off. Never as the only tool to remove or clean the wood.
Wash with a motion similar to sweeping of broom (pendulum motion). Wash with the grain of the wood. Exaggerate your sweeping motion, never stop and reverse your direction without sweeping up. Not doing this will result in a "stop" mark on your deck.
Always use extreme caution when using a power washer. Improper use could result in severe damage to wood. If you do not feel qualified, contact a professional in your area. OPW services the Metro Detroit Area. For a list of qualified professionals across the country please go to:

New or Gray looking Decks/Wood

If your deck/wood is new or does not have a previous coating follow these steps:

Clean wood with a wood cleaner similar to PowerSolve Wood Cleaner or the Defy Wood Cleaner. This will open the pores and remove any graying and or dirt. Use a power washer or hand scrub to clean the deck.
Follow cleaning of the wood with a wood brightener. A wood brightener is essential to the process and is the easiest step. A wood brightener neutralizes the cleaner and lightens/brightens the wood. For all types of wood we suggest the PowerSolve Wood Brightener or the Defy Wood Brightener.
Apply deck stain or sealer of choice. We have been in the deck/wood restoration business for 15 years and the stains we sell are by far the best that we have seen in the industry. We recommend applying the finish using a stain pad or a stain pad/sprayer method. The use of a stain pad allows the person applying the finish the ability to "push" the sealer/stain into the wood. If you are going to use a sprayer make sure that you back wipe any puddles so that the sealer/stain is applied evenly. *Make sure that you follow all manufacturers application directions.

Previously Coated Deck/Wood

If your deck/wood has a transparent deck stain or sealer follow these steps. Transparent means that you can still see the natural grain of the wood. If you cannot see the natural grain of the wood then you probably have a solid color (opaque) stain or paint. See below for further info for solid stains/paints.

Clean wood with a Deck stripper. A deck stripper will "soften" the previous deck stain or sealer. Use a power washer or hand scrub to rinse the "softened" coating. Depending on the thickness of the previous coating it may be necessary to strip more than once. Typically most deck stains or sealers will be removed with one strip. We suggest either PowerSolve Deck Stripper or Defy Stain Stripper.
Follow stripping of the wood with a wood brightener. A wood brightener is essential to the process and is the easiest step. A wood brightener neutralizes the stripper and lightens/brightens the wood. For all types of wood we suggest the PowerSolve Wood Brightener or the Defy Wood Brightener.
Apply deck stain or sealer of choice. We have been in the deck/wood restoration business for 15 years and the deck stains we sell are by far the best that we have seen in the industry. We recommend applying the finish using a stain pad or a stain pad/sprayer method. The use of a stain pad allows the person applying the finish the ability to "push" the sealer/stain into the wood. If you are going to use a sprayer make sure that you back wipe any puddles so that the sealer/stain is applied evenly. *Make sure that you follow all manufacturers application directions.

Solid Color Stains / Paints

For the majority of cases solid stains/paints cannot be completely stripped. If you want to completely remove the coating you will need to either power sand the deck or strip the deck an unknown amount of times. You cannot apply any of our coatings over a solid stained or painted deck.