If you came here searching for the very best semi transparent deck stain money can buy, then you need to read this report right now…
Here’s the inside scoop…
The best semi transparent deck stain in America is R.A.D if you want water based and Ready Seal if you want Oil based…
Now if you’re in Australia, the best semi transparent stain is H2Oil if you want water based or Eqiusol if you want oil based deck stain…
As you can see, finding the right one for you will depend on whether you want to use water based or oil based and also where in the world you live…
I can’t just list out one and say “It’s the Best” when you possibly wouldn’t be able to get your grubby little hands on it, now could I?
That would be irresponsible of me, wouldn’t it?
So with that in mind, I’m going to list out some of the best semi transparent deck stains that I use and recommend, then I’ll go into more detail on each one…
Sound fair?
Excellent…
Here’s the list…
The best semi transparent water based stain in The USA…
Restore-A-Deck Semi Transparent Wood Stain…
The best semi transparent water based deck stain in Australia…
The best oil based semi transparent deck stain in America…
Ready Seal Semi Transparent Deck Stain…
The Best Oil based semi transparent deck stain in Australia…
So there you have it…
Choose one and get to work staining your deck…
Go on…
Get!!
What’s that?
You wanna know a little more about each one??
You want some help deciding which is the best semi transparent deck stain for you???
Boy oh boy!!
You’re not asking for much are you?
Ok, ok…
You caught me in a very generous mood today, so…
What the heck…
Let’s do it….
The best semi transparent water based deck stain in The USA…
Looky here, this is the R.A.D deck stain I’m talking about…
Now, one of the reasons like recommend this deck stain is because of one small thing….
It’s small but it’s pretty important…
You see, when you stain a deck, you need to let your deck dry out completely before you apply any stain, right?
If you apply stain and your deck is damp, it could mean the end of the world…
Well, it’s probably not that bad but your deck stain will peel and flake off…
That’s pretty horrendous don’t you think?
Well, how can you tell if your deck is dry enough to stain?
There’s a whole technique but you don’t want to go through all that hassle do you?
You don’t want to fork out hundreds of dollars just to buy all of the fancy moisture reading tools that you’ll never use again, do you??
You have to take a reading and then measure the moisture in your decking and…
BLAH!!
No, I didn’t think so…
Well, with R.A.D semi transparent deck stains, you don’t need any of that…
You see, R.A.D can be applied to a damp deck…
Do you know how important this is??
With their complete system of cleaning, brightening and staining, it can all be completed in one day…
No waiting 2 days for your deck to dry out…
This makes it so much easier to stain your deck when the weather is a little wetter as well…
You don’t have to wait until Mid Spring…
You can do it today…
Anyway, that’s enough to get my vote…
Maybe you should go check them out…
You can get 1 gallon for $45.99
And they can ship it out to you anywhere in the USA for free…
The only problem with R.A.D is that you can pretty much only get it if you’re in the USA…
So for my neighbours in Australia, this option is no good for you…
You’ll need something a little closer to home…
This next one’s for you…
The best water based option in Australia…
Alrighty, buckle up because I’m about to show you the very best semi transparent deck stain available in Australia…
No, you can’t get this one in your major hardware stores like Bunnings or Mitre 10…
I like to think of them as my little secret weapon…
Not many people know about them, but they would have to have one of the best semi transparent deck stains in Australia…
If you want water based that is…
Let me introduce you to H2Oil…
What I really love about the H2Oil range is that you can get it in 11 Different colours…
Now, the great thing with this colour range is that you can contact the company and they’ll send you out some free samples…
The rep will even make some colour recommendations based on the type of timber you have…
That’s the difference with these smaller companies…
The people who sell usually love the product…
They go above and beyond to make sure you get what you want…
Well that’s been my experience when dealing with the fine peoples at Aqualis…
Aqualis are the guys and gals who make the H2Oil stain…
Anyway…
I’ve found that when it comes to choosing colours, and testing them before I apply a stain, most of my clients prefer the colour of the H2Oils compared to other major players in the industry…
And I’ve never had anyone complain about the finished colour of their deck…
How could you complain about this?
The deck above has 3 coats of H2Oil…
And you can see how the semi transparent oil allows the timber grain to shine through…
I personally love semi transparent deck stains…
Anyway, you can head over to the website and get yourself 4 litres for $134.89…
But don’t forget you have the option to get some samples sent out first so you can trial the colours before you commit to anything…
Don’t be shy, give’em a call…
You’ll be glad you did…
Now, how about if you’re looking for the best oil based semi transparent deck stain?
Well these next two are for you…
The best oil based option in America…
Now this next stain is a real game changer…
Introducing America’s own “Goof Proof” deck stain…
Sounds real hyphy doesn’t it?
Well, let me show you my recommendation for the best oil based semi transparent deck stain and then I’ll explain all the hype…
This is Ready Seal Deck Stain…
Now, Ready Seal is made for, well…
How do I say this without offending anyone??
I’ma just come right out and say it…
It’s made for the Goofs!
So if you’re Goofy and maybe a little useless with the deck brush, then this is the stain for you…
You see, this semi transparent deck stain is oil based…
And oil based deck stains dry slower than water based…
A looooot slower…
But this is a great thing…
The fact that Ready Seal dries slowly means that it’s so much easier to get an even coat of stain without all of the unsightly lap marks…
Lap marks are simply where you stop staining on a board, and while you’re getting more stain on your brush, the stain starts to dry, then you continue to stain the rest of the board…
Do you see the point above where I stopped staining?
If you leave that for too long, it will dry and you will forever be able to see this “Stop Line” even once you’ve finished staining…
Even after 2 or 3 coats…
But with Ready Seal, the time it takes you to stop, get some more stain on your brush and then start staining again, the stain will not be dry…
So you continue staining just like you never stopped…
Which means, no lap marks…
Do you understand what this means??
Your deck will look like it was stained by a pro!
Anyway, you can get a gallon from their supplier page on their website…
Or you can head over to Amazon because they sell out there too…
Which is pretty cool because it means that you can get it in more countries other than just The USA…
You can also get it in Canada, the UK and even Australia…
Speaking of Australia, this next stain is for you…
The best oil based semi transparent in Australia…
This semi transparent deck stain is one of my new favs…
I discovered it by accident…
It kinda landed on my front door…
But that’s a story for another day…
Anyway, here’s a fantastic semi transparent deck stain by Equisol…
This is their E-360 decking stain…
All you need to do is select the colour that you like and then mix in one of their colour tones and you have one of the best semi transparent deck stains available…
Now what I love about the Equisol semi transparent stain is that it is similar to Ready Seal where it dries slower than water based so it’s easier to apply…
But the real benefit to this stain is that it dries almost as quickly as a water based deck stain…
You see, most oils based stains will take 24 to 48 hours to dry properly…
So you need at least 2 days between coats…
And you really need at least 2 days of no rain because rain will destroy your deck faster than Speedy Gonzales running from Sylvester…
Staining your deck and then having it rain a few hours later is one of the worst experiences you could ever go through…
All that sanding you did…
You’ll have to do it again!
All the effort you put into that first coat…
Ruined!!
Now you can see all of these blotchy rain marks all over your freshly coated deck…
Oh the HORROR!!
Now listen to this…
Equisol is an oil based deck stain that dries quickly, but not so quick that you get lap marks…
So water based deck stains will be touch dry in 1 hour and ready for a second coat in 3…
Equisol will be dry in about 4 to 6 hours…
Do you understand what this means??
You can get the benefit of slow drying so you don’t get the lap marks, but you will also get the benefit of fast drying so if it rains a few hours after you stain your deck, it’ll be dry…
No more waiting for 2 days for your stain to dry…
You could get 2 coats done in one day…
And no risk of blotchy rain marks!!
Trust me, if you’re in humid Queensland that storms when it’s 40 degrees…
Or if you live in Melbourne where it’s sunny one moment then torrential rain the next…
This is a game changer…
So yeah, it’s good stuff…
Go get some from their website starting at $55 per litre
You won’t be sorry…
So there you have it…
4 of the best that money can buy…
With the 4 stains that I’ve outlined for you above, you should be able to choose one to suit your situation and then get to staining your deck…
Just don’t forget this one critical factor…
Always apply your deck stain using the Brush on, Brush off Technique…
It’s the only way to apply deck stains so you never get those ugly lap marks…
And with this technique, you only ever apply as much stain as you need so you don’t ever suffer from the dreaded sticky deck syndrome
Touch it 2 hours after you stainied it and it won’t be sticky…
It’s such a simple technique that I can show anyone how to do…
But it’s such an important technique to get a deck that looks like it was done by a deck pro…
But don’t forget the other critical factor when it comes to a deck stain that lasts for years…
Annual deck maintenance…
Deck maintenance is the secret sauce to having a deck that doesn’t peel or fade…
And guess what I recommend you use when you do your deck maintenance?
The Brush on, Brush off Technique…
Anyway, that’s about all I have time for today…
I’ll see you next time…
Peace,
Jason…
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