Deck Staining & Sealing Problem

Acer1

I have a cedar deck and fence that I want to stain/seal. Initially, i sealed my deck with a clear finish about 2 months ago. The wood was brand new so i lightly sanded it down to expose the grain and shop vac’d it to remove dust. I applied 2 generous coats with a brush. After 2 months of direct southern exposure this summer and some flash rain storms, part of the deck is already discoloring greyish and looks as if the clear finish is non-existent, while other areas of the deck seem ok. Initially, I thought the clear finish would be best as there wouldn't be any fading of stains but after doing research today I found that this product is film-forming and provides little to no UV protection. I also found a site palmettohomeanddeck.com/index.php?page=5 that talks about all the types of oil based stains. From my interpretation, Linseed oil based or more commonly referred to as Alkyd based is not recommended as it is film forming, life expectancy or 1 year or less, contains sugars that mildew feed off of and is used in cheaper staining products. Other types of stains, Acrylic, Latex and Clear all seemed to have major draw backs. The one they obviously think is superior is Paraffinic Oil based products (Not Paraffin Wax). At the bottom of the webpage they recommend using a penetrating oil finish with Mildewcides and UV Blockers and go on to recommend 2 products, Wood Tux and Ready Seal.

Now my questions are:
1. What type of oil based product would you recommend?
2. Can Alkyd based stainers be non-film forming? I ask this because I have found numerous manufacturers claiming to have non-film forming, Alkyd based stainers, but this is in contradiction to the statements made on the Palmetto Home website.
3. What type of product should I use for my deck railings and for my cedar fence?
4. I know someone who stained their deck (not sure with what) and some time later the product started to bubble. What type of product causes this, assuming direct southern exposure, and how can I avoid it?

I would appreciate answers from anyone with factual information and I thank you for taking the time to read my predicament.

Double-A

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