Wood

Deck/Stained/To Be Stained

a. Surface Preparation:

• remove all loose or poorly adhering stain by scraping, or by careful power washing using plain water; wear eye protection and work gloves; NOTE: woods that tend to be very soft, such as old and weathered cedar and redwood, can easily be damaged by the high pressure jet of power washing
• treat any mildew with a 3:1 water:household bleach mixture, leaving it on for 20 minutes and adding more as it dries; wear eye and skin protection; rinse thoroughly;
• refresh surface of exposed, weathered wood by sanding or by careful power washing with plain water or by application of commercial deck treatment, following manufacturer’s directions; wear eye and skin protection, and a dust mask if sanding

b. Priming:

• priming not normally done when applying lightly pigmented or semi-transparent stain

with solid color stains, apply primer if recommended by manufacturer
use quality exterior primer recommended for deck surfaces: latex primer for latex stain; oil-based primer for latex or oil-based stain do not leave a primer unstained

c. Staining:

• use top quality exterior latex stain over latex or oil-based stain or use oil-based stain but only over oil-based stain
• use only stains specifically recommended for use on deck surfaces