Solid body deck staining - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Mike Finley · 05-30-2007, 07:39 PM

For a deck and railings - solid body stain instead of paint right?

Never used it before so the question I have is if the deck had previously been painted with who knows what years ago and was a mess. It has been power washed and even sanded down now, but there are still some residue of the old paint in the wood pores and a couple here and there spots with some streaks of the old paint, will the solid body stain cover right over these areas? Will it bond and color correctly or do you have to have an absolutely perfect surface?

PressurePros · 05-30-2007, 08:31 PM

Mike, prime it first. I like Cabot's Problem Solver alkyd. You can topcoat with a latex solid.

Mike Finley · 05-30-2007, 08:49 PM

Like I said, I know nothing about this stuff.

Priming it, I didn't even know it was an option.

To get clear on this, a solid body stain looks like a painted surface after you apply it, but it is absorbed into the wood instead of being a film coat like regular paint?

In priming it first I assume there is a special primer made to function with a solid body stain? You're not saying to use a regular primer first are you?

**slickshift** · 05-30-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Finley

For a deck and railings - solid body stain instead of paint right?

Right

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Finley

...if the deck had previously been painted with who knows what years ago and was a mess.

It has been power washed and even sanded down now, but there are still some residue of the old paint in the wood pores and a couple here and there spots with some streaks of the old paint...

will the solid body stain cover right over these areas? Will it bond and color correctly or do you have to have an absolutely perfect surface?

Sikkens Rubol DEK (alkyd) Solid Stain is my go-to stain for this type of project

It will cover right over these areas
It will bond correctly, it does not need a perfect surface
No priming is needed (in fact it interferes with the adhesion)-well, high bleed situations, cedar, knots...but that's it

It is perfect for this situation

**slickshift** · 05-30-2007, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Finley

...a solid body stain looks like a painted surface after you apply it, but it is absorbed into the wood instead of being a film coat like regular paint?

Pretty accurate

gideond · 05-30-2007, 09:52 PM

It really isn't that accurate to say it doesn't form a film. It does indeed form a film, but the first coat will penetrate deeper into the wood than a paint would. Your second coat gives you most of the film build and a better appearance. We've sold Sikkens for years and yes Rubbol is a beast of a product. Very seldom have I ever seen it fail and that was due to improper prep work. I put Rubbol DEK on a set of old steps that we stripped most, but not all, of the old paint off of. These steps are also build INTO the ground on a bank and have water pool on them constantly. 2 years later and they still look brand new with no peeling at all. Rubbol is good stuff.