If you’re wondering if you can seal a deck after staining, then you’ll want to read this article before you do anything…

Here’s what you need to know…

Yes, you can definitely seal a deck after staining, in fact, if you use a deck stain that doesn’t offer protection from the rain, then it can be a really great idea…

The thing is, deck stain is really great at protecting your deck from the harsh UV that beams down from the sun…

But some deck stains aren’t so great at protecting your deck from rain and pooling water…

And wouldn’t cha know it…

Deck sealers are great at protecting your deck from the rain but not so great at protecting your deck from the UV…

Hmmm, so wouldn’t it be a great idea if you could stain your deck then seal it afterwards so you can get that full protection?

That’s why I say it can be a great idea to seal your deck after staining…

The only thing is, there’s a couple of rules you need to follow…

Make sure your deck stain and sealer are from the same company…

Looky here, deck stain companies all use different formulas and ingredients…

They sit there in their white lab coats and tinker with the deck stain recipe to try and make it better…

Better absorption…

Better protection…

Quicker drying times…

A richer colour…

So as you could imagine, from one company to the next, each deck stain has different ingredients…

But what they put in them isn’t important…

What is important is that you can’t take a deck sealer from company A and apply it to the deck stain of company B…

These stains and sealer were never made to work together…

So they won’t bond together properly and will cause all sorts of deck peeling and fading issues…

But a sealer and stain from the same company, now that is a match made in heaven…

These products were made by the same scientist, in the same lab while wearing the same white lab coat, and they were designed to work together…

So make sure that you never mix products from different companies…

Now before you run off and purchase your deck sealer, there’s something you need to know about your deck stain…

If you deck stain offers protection against the rain you don’t need to seal it?

Remember how I said that the deck stain companies are always tinkering with their deck stains?

Yeah well, some of these companies have deck stains that can also seal your deck and protect it from the rain as well as the sun…

Take a water based deck stain for example…

Most of these deck stains are film forming stains…

Have a look at this close up of a water based deck stain in action…

You can clearly see how it coats the surface and forms a film…

All that means is that they form a protective film on the surface of your deck…

So if you have one of these deck stains, there’s no need to seal it afterwards…

It would be redundant to seal it…

It would be a waste of money…

So before you do anything, check to see if your deck stain also seals your deck…

That’s the only 2 rules you need to follow when looking to seal your deck after staining it…

That’s it…

I’m outta here…

Oh wait, before I go…

I should probably show you a great clear sealer in case you need one…

And come to think of it, I should probably also show you some deck stains that seal and stain at the same time right?

Forgive me…

I almost slapped you on your tuchus and sent you on your merry way without anywhere to go…

And I usually never slap anyone, well never on the you-know-what…

Let me make it up to you…

Here’s a list of some great deck stains…

And here’s some of my top recommendations for clear sealers…

So if you wanna know which are the best on the market, head over there right now…

The thing is though…

I don’t ever use a clear sealer over a decking stain…

Remember what I said earlier?

You should always try to use a clear sealer from the same company that made your decking stain so it kinda limits your options now doesn’t it?

And it’s not necessary to apply a sealer over your deck stain…

I much prefer to choose a quality deck stain like Equisol, that will offer you protection from the rain and the UV rays…

Plus if you really want a clear sealer, you can simply buy their stain without the colour toner and you have yourself one quality sealer that you could apply straight on top of your stain…

But they’re not the only ones…

I also recommend Armstrong Clark…

Or perhaps H2Oil with their 11 colour options…

H2Oil also has a high quality clear sealer…

You can purchase their clear stain without the toner in it…

And you can also check out Defy…

They have a full colour range as well as semi transparent and solid stains…

Plus they also have a clear deck stain…

These are all great options that you won’t need to coat with a clear sealer…

But if you want to, they also have high quality clear sealers as well…

Just don’t feel like you have to seal your deck after staining it…

A high quality deck stain should give you all the protection you need without a sealer on top…

Now, the only thing you need to be careful about when it comes to staining and sealing your deck is that you need to make sure you apply the right amount of deck stain or your deck will not be protected properly…

And don’t you dare think you can just slap down thick layers of stain…

No, that’s the worst thing you can do…

You see, thick stain will just o peel off…

You need to lay down just the right amount…

And if you want to know exactly how to do it, you should check out my deck staining course where I show you my secret Brush on, Brush off Technique…

Just something to think about…

Well, that’s about all I have time for today…

We’ve had some fun but it’s time for me to skedaddle…

I’ll see you on the next one…

Peace,

Jason