Need to stain my deck AGAIN!?
Question:I and my wife are staining our decks and my wife took it upon herself to surprise me and finish the floor of the deck. UUGGHH!!! Can I put a second coat on it to even it out? I am afraid if I go over her bad spots it will just make it look worse. Or do I HAVE to power wash it again? She did this yesterday. What am I to do? Some spots are darker than others cause she put to much stain on the brush.
Answers:
Decks are so high maintenance aren't they?! We just had our cedar decks professionally cleaned, restained & sealed for $900!! They look much better, but we've got lots of light & dark spots, too. Some areas absorbed more stain and then others barely any (like the knots on the deck floor.) The company did an awesome job prepping the decks by using a chemical stain remover, power washer & waiting till the moisture content in the wood was below 13%. They were just as thorough applying the stain, too. Bottom line - it happens whether prof. or amatures do the work. Perhaps you're using a dark colored stain? If not, you could consider lightly sanding & using a darker 2nd coat. Our pro told us another coat (Wohlman's transparent cedar) wouldn't absorb & based on how well they applied it, I believe them.
My recommendation? Thank your wife, bring out the deck furniture, invite your best friends over & celebrate! You'll be restaining it again in 1-2 years anyways. (Kudos for not mentioning this to your wife, but for posting it here.) Want to let her know how much you appreciate what she did? Brag to your friends about how she surprised you, and show off her handiwork whenever you can. She'll respect & honor you, AND your friends will be ENVIOUS of you both. Believe me, no one really cares about the way your deck looks - except you & maybe a potential buyer. It's the truth cuz I've been there! Have a great weekend enjoying your deck!
It's the floor of a deck! Who else is going to notice? Is this the most important thing in your life?
What you need to do: Give your wife a break, or learn to hire professional deck-stainers if you are such a perfectionist.
A marriage is like a brick wall. The bricks are the unchangeable things that two people bring to a relationship, the mortar is the adjustments that they make to live with each other. You can have too much mortar, or too little.From this, it sounds like you don't have any.
There are plenty of deck washes, they will strip the old finish somewhat and should do the trick for you, Good luck Les the painter
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