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Many people ask what type of deck stain is best to protect wooden decks. With so many stains on the market today it can be very confusing. If you ask, most professional deck stain contractors will tell you that oil-based deck stains are the best choice. A semi-transparent oil-based deck stain will hold up for 2-3 years before beginning to fade. After it begins to fade a light wash and a light re-coat of the same product is all that is needed to make the deck look good again. Some stains on the market have ridiculous claims on the can label such as lasting 8 years or more. Any professional will tell you that this is just not true and to be quite honest I am not sure how they are able to claim such lies. It should be false advertising but when someone contacts the company to complain about their stain not holding up that long the company will say the deck was not prepped correctly or something of that nature so they are off the hook. These stains are silicone enhanced and are very heavily pigmented. They are more like paint, they do not hold up any better than any other stain and the bad part is once you use it you are stuck with it. It cannot be re-coated without causing yearly peeling and flaking issues but it is also almost impossible to get it entirely off the deck so a different product can be used. Water-based stains are just as bad. They may be more durable than a semi-transparent 2-3 year oil stain initially but once they do fade they can’t be re-coated and are tough to get rid off. As far as maintenance is concerned a 2-3 year oil stain is the best choice for wood. Just be aware of some of the stains on the market that make claims that seem to be too good to be true because they probably are.
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