WHY NATURAL DECK STAIN IS STILL THE BEST
Natural Deck Stains are derived from sustainable materials like flax, cashew, pine etc. Deck stains get some of the worst abuse from weather, especially the horizontal areas, like the floor and handrail. Using a natural deck stain not only helps the earth and those on it but it also provides a more durable solution in most cases. They are made with natural ingredients selected for durability, health and sustainability. Oils have long been preferred by professionals for exterior wood protection. There are many reasons for this but one of the biggest is the fact that properly selected natural materials are simply more compatible with the natural state of wood.
Once a tree is cut down it is the natural course of things for that tree to grow fungi that helps it decay into soil. This nutrient rich soil then becomes the food source for more trees in a healthy forest. While this is the natural course of life, the earth has also provided some natural defenses against rot. Utilizing the powerful resistance of pine resin, cashew resin and the oil produced from the flax seed, wood can be protected in a manner that is sustainable and provided by the natural course of things.
Time Tested: Over the past 40-50 years, throughout the industrial revolution, exterior wood has been subjected to every possible material chemists can think of. Lead, mercury, epoxy, oils, paints, acrylics, polyurethanes, oil modified urethanes, aliphatic urethanes... some of these things are naturally derived like lead and mercury but of course we discovered these are extremely toxic. Other things seemed super tough only to discover that they ended up being super tough to get rid of once they peeled and turned into a big mess. So, we have learned much. And when all things are considered there are really only a few ways to stain a deck and protect wood outside without having big problems later. That does not mean that everyone has learned that lesson. In fact, in can be freakishly hard to find accurate information about staining a deck. So this page will boil down all the years of experience in staining decks down to simple language. Please, keep in mind that we are including in our suggestions all of the methods attempted and excluding all the failures.
A good example of a deck stain failure is Epoxy... Big Failure! Has been tried for decades. It comes in and out of fads. Epoxy looks like a great option at first, so thick and strong and hard. It seems like the best possible choice. Then wood does what wood does. It grows and shrinks and absorbs moisture and releases extractives and begs to breath. But epoxy denies the wood what it craves. Soon the epoxy fails. Then what? Enormous labor expense to fix. Even if it worked good for 2-3 years, the cost to fix that epoxy coated wood is tremendous. Sanding. Scraping. Sanding some more. Finding out none of that worked. Then trying different highly toxic chemical strippers and still barely making progress. It's a nightmare. Boat builders learned this a long time ago.
Keep it simple. Keep the natural course of life in mind when coating wood. It's going to need maintenance. Making that maintenance as simple as possible and infrequent as possible are the primary goals. A natural deck stain can do that better than pretty much anything else. Now, there are exceptions and professional advice cannot be replaced by general knowledge of decks stains. The best place to get professional advice for deck stains on a project by project basis is the Ask Earthpaint tool.
Ask Earthpaint - is a great place to get specific advice on each project. Every deck staining project is different. There are Ten primary factors that ought to be considered before a job site specific recommendation is made. These are:
Natural Deck Stains are derived from sustainable materials like flax, cashew, pine etc. Deck stains get some of the worst abuse from weather, especially the horizontal areas, like the floor and handrail. Using a natural deck stain not only helps the earth and those on it but it also provides a more durable solution in most cases. They are made with natural ingredients selected for durability, health and sustainability. Oils have long been preferred by professionals for exterior wood protection. There are many reasons for this but one of the biggest is the fact that properly selected natural materials are simply more compatible with the natural state of wood.
Once a tree is cut down it is the natural course of things for that tree to grow fungi that helps it decay into soil. This nutrient rich soil then becomes the food source for more trees in a healthy forest. While this is the natural course of life, the earth has also provided some natural defenses against rot. Utilizing the powerful resistance of pine resin, cashew resin and the oil produced from the flax seed, wood can be protected in a manner that is sustainable and provided by the natural course of things.
Time Tested: Over the past 40-50 years, throughout the industrial revolution, exterior wood has been subjected to every possible material chemists can think of. Lead, mercury, epoxy, oils, paints, acrylics, polyurethanes, oil modified urethanes, aliphatic urethanes... some of these things are naturally derived like lead and mercury but of course we discovered these are extremely toxic. Other things seemed super tough only to discover that they ended up being super tough to get rid of once they peeled and turned into a big mess. So, we have learned much. And when all things are considered there are really only a few ways to stain a deck and protect wood outside without having big problems later. That does not mean that everyone has learned that lesson. In fact, in can be freakishly hard to find accurate information about staining a deck. So this page will boil down all the years of experience in staining decks down to simple language. Please, keep in mind that we are including in our suggestions all of the methods attempted and excluding all the failures.
A good example of a deck stain failure is Epoxy... Big Failure! Has been tried for decades. It comes in and out of fads. Epoxy looks like a great option at first, so thick and strong and hard. It seems like the best possible choice. Then wood does what wood does. It grows and shrinks and absorbs moisture and releases extractives and begs to breath. But epoxy denies the wood what it craves. Soon the epoxy fails. Then what? Enormous labor expense to fix. Even if it worked good for 2-3 years, the cost to fix that epoxy coated wood is tremendous. Sanding. Scraping. Sanding some more. Finding out none of that worked. Then trying different highly toxic chemical strippers and still barely making progress. It's a nightmare. Boat builders learned this a long time ago.
Keep it simple. Keep the natural course of life in mind when coating wood. It's going to need maintenance. Making that maintenance as simple as possible and infrequent as possible are the primary goals. A natural deck stain can do that better than pretty much anything else. Now, there are exceptions and professional advice cannot be replaced by general knowledge of decks stains. The best place to get professional advice for deck stains on a project by project basis is the Ask Earthpaint tool.
Ask Earthpaint - is a great place to get specific advice on each project. Every deck staining project is different. There are Ten primary factors that ought to be considered before a job site specific recommendation is made. These are:
- Wood Type.
- UV / IR Exposure. (how hot? How many hours of sun per day?)
- Climate / Setting. (Where is it? What direction does it face?)
- Traffic Level.
- Color Desired.
- Budget.
- Maintenance Ability.
- Chemical Sensitivity.
- Odor Sensitivity.
- DIY or Professional?
- FOUR BASIC NATURAL DECK STAIN OPTIONS
- ONE COAT DECK STAIN SYSTEM (aka "The wet and forget method!")
- Lime Clean
- Sand 35-50 grit
- Rainforest or Mountain XT
- Lime Clean
- Sand 35-50 grit
- Rainforest Sealer (Tinted as desired)
- Mountain XT Tint Base (Tinted as desired)
- Lime Clean
- Sand 35-50 grit
- Wood Assure 1
- Wood Assure 2
- Lime Clean
- Sand 35-50 grit
- Rainforest Sealer Clear 00
- Mountain XT Clear 00 x 2 coats
TWO COAT SEMI SOLID (All Wood Types)
CLEAR 00 SYSTEM (Gorgeous Wood Grain Illumination! Mostly for Weathered Wood)
These are general suggestions and not job site specific.
COLOR SELECTION: Deep Tones that are more opaque tend to last longest but must be carefully selected based on the wood type. Medium Tones are a great balance. Light Tones show lots of wood grain and can be cooler since they tend to reflect more IR radiation. Clear deck stain is gorgeous, especially on higher quality woods, but usually requires some professional advice.
- DILUTE: Dilute 1qt per Gallon for Unweathered Wood and New Wood. Weathered deck wood that is dry and porous does not need to be diluted. It is common to dilute for Hardwoods, Redwood and Cedar when they have not been fully weathered. This improves performance. Redwood usually benefits from a little extra Pure Citrus Solvent added to the deck stain since it's a magically dense wood and Pure Citrus Solvent is good for wood.
MAINTENANCE: Wash with Earth Clean in Spring and Fall.
- TESTING: Always test in advance on a sample board. Do the prep, the stain and whatever else you plan on doing. Sometimes it pays to make a sample board and see how it weathers over the course of a year or two.