Do you have a beautiful wood deck in Langley, BC? If you do, then you know the work involved in keeping it up. Decks are wonderful in the summer for hanging out and eating dinner on. But when the stain starts to fade, they begin to lose their appeal. The Painters in Langley at Blue Chip Painting, have a 5-step deck staining process to maintain your deck’s its appeal that draws you out on those warm summer evenings.
Five Steps to Deck Staining Used by Professional Painters in Langley
The goal of deck staining is to drive the stain as deep into the wood as possible. This will give you the richest and longest lasting job. How to do this:
- Cleaning
Probably the most important step. In the wet weather of the West coast, mold, mildew, and algae can build up on your deck. As these are allowed to remain, painters in Langley insist that they break down the stain prematurely. Once they have made it through the stain, they will then start to attack the wood itself. For this reason, it is very important to do a thorough cleaning first. Remove all these contaminants before moving to the second step.
If stain is applied overtop of dirt, mold, mildew, algae, etc…, the new stain job won’t last long. The stain will get trapped in or blocked by these things from penetrating deep into the wood.
- Stripping the old stain
Removing the stain that is currently on your deck will greatly improve the final appearance, it will also allow for a deeper penetration of the new stain into the wood. When you apply stain overtop of old stain, the new stain will sit on top of the old, which is why Langley painters prefer to remove the existing first.
This step does add a lot of labour and materials to the deck staining project, however. It is generally more laborious to remove the old stain than it is to apply the new. However, the end result will be stunning, and the new job will last longer.
To do this step, you will need to purchase stain stripper from your local paint Store. One can be purchased at any paint store or hardware store.
Apply it to the deck with a very stiff bristle brush, as per the directions on the bottle, and then rinse it off. Preferably with a pressure washer. If you have access to one, painters in Langley recommend using it.
- Revive The Wood
The stain stripper used to remove the old stain can change the PH of the wood which can negatively impact the stain. Applying a wood reviver will restore the PH level and brighten the wood at the same time. This may seem like a superfluous step to the deck staining process, but as you start to apply the reviver, you will see just how much of an impact it makes and why the best painters in Langley use it.
- Sanding
Whether you stripped the old stain or not, thorough sanding of the deck is very important. Running sandpaper over the surface opens the pores in the wood. When this is done, painters in Langley say that the stain can then penetrate deeper. How deep stain soaks into the wood is a key metric in how long before you must do it again.
Pro Tip: Professional painters in Langley use a random orbital sander for this. They can be purchased at any hardware store for approximately $125. A great investment that will cut the labour down by a factor of at least 10.
Another benefit of sanding is that it will take the top couple millimeters of the wood off which have usually grayed and are dead wood.
- Staining
The last step in the deck staining process is to apply the stain itself. The key here is to fill the pores of the wood. The age of the wood and how much you were able to open the pores will dictate how many coats need to be applied. The instructions on many cans of stain will say that they can be applied in one coat, but experience has taught painters in Langley that a second one is often desirable.
If after you have applied the first coat, the finish of the deck is very flat or matte, then a second coat would be a good idea. If you did your job right in steps 1-4, then the first coat of stain will penetrate deep into the wood which will make the job last longer, but it will also require a second coat. Everything has a trade-off, but your deck will last longer this way, and you will lengthen the time before staining it again.
In Conclusion:
The key metric to a long-lasting stain job on your deck in Langley, BC, is depth of penetration into the wood. There is a lot of work required to achieve this, but the result is worth it.
The type of stain and the tools that are used can have an impact on this as well. We will go into more depth on this in another article.
For a keen eye to examine your deck, try the deck stainers at Blue Chip Painting. We are some of the most experienced painters in Langley and would be delighted to help with your deck staining project.
-Jeremy