Thompson’s WaterSeal sent me stain to use for this project. All opinions are my own.
The deck is stained and wow, does it feel (and look!) good.
A brief deck recap: Most of our decking and railing was split and starting to rot. The previous homeowner had never retouched the stain. So last summer, we ripped it apart and, using the existing foundation, rebuilt it.
After investing so much time, energy and money into rebuilding our deck, finding a stain that would protect it was very important.
We chose Acorn Brown by Thompson’s WaterSeal in a semi-transparent formula. In all, we used one and a quarter containers of the stain. One could have been enough for our small deck, but the boards absolutely sucked up the stain. For other supplies, we had several cheap polyester brushes, a couple of containers to hold the stain and tons of rags.
As I mentioned in this post, we would stain a bit, let it set, and wipe off excess. That worked perfectly for the balusters!
The decking didn’t need wiping. I just brushed it on evenly, working with a wet edge and taking care not to splatter.
So why Thompson’s WaterSeal? It prevents water damage, is UV and mildew resistant and has a good color life. A single coat of the semi-transparent lasts four years on decks and six on fences (which is good to know since that’s a on our to-do list).
The application is easy too. It only takes one coat and dries in two hours (though we found it dried much faster in 80 degree weather!). And since it’s a no-stir formula, we avoided messy paint sticks and needing to stir a can every ten minutes. (Ignore the butterfly bushes, they’re going to be planted around the side of the house)
Part of me wishes I’d gone with a transparent stain instead of semi-transparent. We had our fair share of drips and overlapping layers, particularly on the balusters and railing. A transparent stain would probably hide those mistakes better. But, I’m looking at our staining job through a critical lens. I see all the mistakes because I was there when they happened. So are they that obvious? No, not really.
Check out the waterproofing. These are our adirondacks (stained with a stain + sealant in one).
And just past that, you can see the beaded water on the decking. Yeah, I’m thinking we may have to re-stain those chairs!
So if you’re staining something that lives outdoors, or just looking to waterproof a surface, I wholeheartedly recommend Thompson’s WaterSeal. It’s easy to use, has a good reputation and, best of all, works!
In case anyone is wondering: Table and chairs are from Target, Adirondacks are from Hayneedle, pillows are Threshold from Target, small table is Room Essentials by Target, plants, pots and stands are from Lowe’s, lantern is IKEA, umbrella was a gift.
Here’s the deck saga: Deconstruction, rebuilding, railing, balusters, done with building, starting to stain
