I'm too cheap to spend 2500 on a deck refinish, so I'm doing it myself with cabot deck correct... tips? Still needs 2nd coat, plus topcoat
Ken, Don't you have a thread about hiring 2 maids, and another buying multiple sex dolls? Seems like you should be able to have someone come out and do the deck. A pro who does it right will last longer than a half ass at home job, unless you really put effort into the job. Make sure you have cleaned it off well first before applying the coats of stain. We have a relatively small deck, roughly 400sqft, and it is low enough that we don't need railings which takes away one pain in the ass. I recruit 1 or 2 of my sons, plus the wife and we take 2 days to get it done right. Oh, yes, I piss away money on stuff too that I could use to hire a contractor, but I actually prefer doing this one myself and pretending I am a handyman.
Couple of things I learnt the hard way: 1. Use a primer. 2. There are special paints for decks that is walked on. So the railing and the deck could be/should be 2 different paints. 3. The special gooey paint that covers really well, (like pudding) also comes off in one nice thick layer.
It is good that you chose a dark color. Deck correct is good for sealing, crack filling, anti-fungal, and good preservation of the deck. But one of its downsides is considered to be that it still needs cleaning and some of the lighter colors do not clean up all that well so the deck can look spotty over time or if you have had a plant pot on top of it, etc. The darker colors hide a lot of sins. Also don't forget to stir that can adequately before putting on new coats. The oils, pigment, and other chemicals in there like to separate bigtime. Also no harm in holding off on your last layer for a month or so. Since you are sealing the deck the wood will dry out even more as you get into the summer which will open new cracks up. Then when the wood is as dry as it is going to get....boom...lay that last coat on it and let it drink it up.
Great tips, make sense...appreciate it.... thanks! Right re summer, new coat. Am planning on using bondo/gorilla wood fill for holes etc... thx re stirring, right re mix
Not to beat this to death but just to save you from surprises along the way but most wood-filler- but not all- is not stainable and some say they are but in reality do not stain for sh#t. So it ends out looking like a whore in church when you try to get it to blend. There are some wood fillers that come in colors and - if it were me I would just try to come as close in color match as I could rather than getting some filler that says it can be stained and then relying on it to take your stain. Some people try mixing the stain and the filler and it just weakens the filler. Just want you to be lookin' good. Talk to them over at the Chateau Home Depot and study up online for just twenty minutes or so. To be forewarned is to be fore-armed. It is easier with regard to that problem if you are painting rather than staining because you can just paint over the both the wood filler and the wood decking. But stain is meant to be drawn right into the pores/grain of the wood rather than just leave a surface like paint. Wood filler just does not act the same way with stain. The old timers use tricks. They press a layer of sawdust on to the woodfiller and let it harden into the woodfiller and it takes stain a little. No need to get persnickety though. The woodfiller needs to be sanded to if you are filling a large hole so you need to think ahead on that- because you usually end out sanding a little beyond the hole which ends out lightening the stained area next to it- the non-filled area. Might have to either be careful or touch that up a bit. If you are filling after final staining. Before is better. You want it to look good for the maids.
Hey thx, clever idea re sawdust, to absorb stain, that's smart. I'm using cabot deck correct which is a super thick paint, so hopefully it'll just cover. Concerned that filling holes/knots, the filler will drop out. Maybe I'll hammer small nail sideways in holes.? It'll be a pita to paint rails, paint mitt and small roller may help speed it up
For all the small holes and ratty areas where may you have a large split or a small knot hole you can use paintable adhesive caulking. Easy as can be. just use a screwdriver or something to pick out of rotted edges so that what is left is solide. squeeze a little caulking compond in there or along the crank. Smooth it with you finger and paint over it when it is dry. (don't do that if staining, the stain won't go into the caulking. You can do lots of touch up work with that. It's a beautiful thing. Large holes need a different plan of attack depending on what the layout of the deck is. Say, for example, if you had a higher deck and could walk or crawl under it, the best thing to do would be to put some "backing" on the board behind the hole. In other words, use the adhesive caulking compound to "glue" a small piece of wood slight larger than the hole underneath the hole. Then when that has set and hardened. Go back to deck and fill it the hole with wood filler which can't fall out due to the backing. Works well if you can get under the deck, not so well if you can;t. Sometimes the hole occurs in short piece of decking wood and you can pry the decking board up - flip it over and put backing under the hole- then re-nail the board down again and fill the hole. Works okay if you have a small board that is still strong and just dropped a know and left a big hole. Does not work so well if it is a longer board that has aged-out because the board is likely to fall apart even more if you pry up a long section. Anyway. for the large number of ratty little blemishes and very small knot holes, consider an adhesive caulking compound. About 3 bucks a small squeezable tube. Just apply it by squeezing directly from the tube. then use one nice clean swipe with your finger to smooth it and then let it set. It's a beautiful thing.