We have a two-year old wooden deck, made with pressure treated lumber.
We have cleaned it several times with Olympic cleaner, followed by Olympic waterproofing, but it keeps turning black.
Is there a clear waterproof stain which could be used after the cleaning step - no color, just clear? Any comments or recommendations?
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You say black , black is usualy mold, is your deck in shade, pour some regular bleach on it . If it cleans itself its mold. Just use a garden sprayer and spray with bleach whenever. I have to do this to my concrete and deck 2-3 times a year. Only solution is trimming trees. But semi transparent stains help alot, they have mildewicide and keep it mostly from growing till they wear off. Clear coats dont do so well
Olympic makes a clear one. Consumer Reports rates it as the best clear stain. I just used some on my cedar deck. It did turn it a darker color but that may be because I hadn't done anything to it for a few years and may have soaked up a lot. But it does look good.
First, if it is clear, it's not a stain. If you do find a clear sealer that works for more than a year, let me know. I have used Thompsons, Behr, Olympic, and Cabot clear sealers, and none of them last a year. My pool deck is 12 years old and I wound up having to sand it every 2 or 3 years. In the spring of last year, I gave up on clear sealers and used Cabot's opaque stain and it still looks as good as when I put it down. Cabot's opaque stains (not their clear sealer) are listed as excellent by Consumers Reports.
The only thing I'd add to Bill's reply is to be cautious about using opaque stains on horizontal (walking) surface. It's essentially soft paint and will show traffic wear VERY quickly. Semi-trans is recommended for horizontal surfaces.
I used cabot solid stain on my deck and I'm sorry I did. Has to be removed before re-staining and that is pretty much impossible. Better off with the semi stuff more often than the solid stuff that is impossible to recoat.
Must be your technique. I have used Thompsons, whatever KMart sells, and some off-brand from Mr. 2nds on my dock. I do it every two years as a matter of principle, but it still beads at that time.
I used Cabot, too. They sell a product to remove whatever is left of the stain X years later when you need/want to refinish the deck again. Worked fine for me...just follow the directions. bob
Amazed you are pleased with Thompson's. My experience has been that it's the most heavily advertised deck treatment out there...and the worst one, too. Last time I looked, Consumer Reports rated it dead last. bob
Thompsons isnt dead last at Consumers Reports its Dead...., They have dropped it from their tests due to poor performance
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