If you want to know which is the best water based deck stain out of all the hundreds of options out there, then this is your answer…
In my humble yet accurate opinion, the best water based deck stain is, Intergrain Ultra Deck….
I’ve used it so many times and the results are amazing…
Check this out…
It really is one of the best…
Now wait a minute…
Come to think of it, I’ve also had great results with H2 Oil…
Hang on, hang on…
It could also quite possibly be Restore-A-Deck…
No wait, wait…
It’s Defy Extreme…
I know you want just one, but it’s just so hard to pick the best one for you…
I don’t know what you like or what type of decking you have…
How about I show you my top picks for the best water based deck stain, and then explain how to choose the best one for you?
Sound good?
Ok, here’s my top 3 picks for the best water based deck stain…
The Best Online in the USA…
The Best Online in Canada…
The Best in Australia…
Restore-A-Deck…
Now the reason I’ve listed Restore-A-Deck as one of the best water based deck stains is because it’s one of those trusted brands that you can easily get your hand on…
And that’s really important when selecting a deck stain…
The last thing you want is to choose a stain and then have it discontinued then next time you have to stain your deck…
You’ll have to sand it off and start again…
Restore-A-Deck is too big and trusted in the industry to just disappear…
Plus, if you do a search online and read what the US based deck companies use and recommend, most of the time, Restore-A-Deck is one of the brands they recommend…
One of the things that really impressed me is the ability to apply this deck stain to damp wood…
If you apply any other deck stain to damp wood, the results could be catastrophic…
Peeling, bubbling and all sorts of horrific outcomes…
So if you’re unsure if your deck is dry enough to stain, it doesn’t matter when you use Restore-A-Deck…
You can apply it knowing that your deck is damp and it will still soak into your deck and form a strong bond to the surface…
These are the reasons why I rate this water based deck stain at the top…
Now if you wanna get yourself a gallon or 2, it’ll cost you $45.99 per gallon…
And you can select from 5 different colours in the semi transparent stains and 6 colours in the solid colour range…
The great thing is, you can get a sample of all of the colours sent out so you can test and choose your favourite before you commit to any one colour…
You can get all semi-transparent stains samples sent to you for $18…
And you can order the 6 solid-stain colour samples for $10…
Defy Extreme…
Defy Extreme is one of the best water based deck stains available in Canada…
You can also get it in the US and Australia but we’re going to just focus on Canada for a moment…
You see, it can be difficult to get certain deck stain in Canada because, well, Canada really cares about the environment…
And the thing is, a lot of the deck stain brands on the market are not so good for the environment…
So the powers that be, created a thing called a VOC rating…
The VOC rating is just to see if the deck stain is environmentally safe…
And if the stain isn’t environmentally safe, then it’s really hard to transport it across Canada…
Defy Extreme is one of the environmentally safe deck stains…
And for that reason, that’s why I’ve listed it here as the best water based deck stain in Canada…
That’s great and all, but it’s not the only reason why Defy Extreme is in the list of the best water based deck stains…
Just like Restore-A-Deck, Defy is a trusted brand in the industry…
And if you follow my guide below on how to work out which is the best stain for you, being a stable brand that will still be around in 1, 2 or even 5 years time, is vitally important…
You may find other smaller brands that are environmentally safe and that can be transported across the country, but if they go out of business… which happens all the time… you’ll be sanding your deck back and starting all over again instead of applying a maintenance coat…
Call me crazy, but if I’m going through all of the hassle and expense and physical pain of restoring my deck, I don’t want to be doing it again in 12 months…
Hey, but that’s just me…
Using a deck stain like Defy isn’t ever going to be perfect, but it’s one of the best options…
Ok, if you’re considering Defy Extreme, here’s what you need to know…
You can get a gallon for only $55.55 or you can buy 5 gallons for 274.76…
And it comes in 6 different colours…
And the great thing is, you can get all the colour options sent out to you in a sample pack for $24.99 or you can get individual colours for $4.99 each…
It’s essential that you test the colours before you commit to one colour…
Just know that this is a semi transparent deck stain…
Which means you will still see the timber grain through the deck stain…
If you want a solid stan that will block out the timber completely, Defy also has a solid stain range as well…
Which one you choose comes down to your own preference…
Intergrain Ultra Deck Stain…
Intergrain Ultra Deck is one the better known deck stain brands in Australia…
This is also the deck stain that I use to quote all of my restoration jobs…
The main reason I consider Intergrain to be the best water based deck stain is because I know I can get it at any Bunnings hardware store, anytime I need it…
Plus it’s a high quality deck stain…
I’ll be honest and say that there are other deck stains that are just as good, but they are much harder to get your hands on…
For instance…
I love H2Oil…
I’ve used it and had really great results…
But, you can only get it in select hardware stores around the country…
So if you run out of stain, you will most likely have to order it online and wait a couple of days for them to send it out to you…
With Intergrain, you can be down at Bunnings within 15 minutes and grab yourself another tin of stain…
And when the different deck stain brands are at a similar quality, the thing that gets Intergrain over the line is the ability to always get a litre or 2 within 10 minutes…
I also find that Intergrain is the perfect combination of quality and affordability…
You can grab a 4 litre can of deck stain for $161.00 which is cheaper than alot of other high end quality deck stains but more expensive than the cheaper end…
And I do suggest staying away from the cheaper end when it comes to buying deck stain…
Now one of the problems you might run into with Intergrain is the colour…
So make sure you pick up a couple of their sample pots before you commit to any colour…
They have 16 colours to choose from which is awesome…
That’s enough to get a colour that you love but not too many that you feel overwhelmed and can’t make a decision…
If you decide to go with Intergrain Deck stain, you won’t be sorry, but…
These may not be the best water based deck stains for you…
What you really need to know is that there are a bunch of really great deck stains available…
So you shouldn’t be focused on getting one specific brand…
Most of them are pretty good…
If they have good reviews and are from a trusted brand you could get any one of the better brands and have a really great looking deck that lasts for years…
My point is, the best water based deck stain for you doesn’t need to be from the 3 I’ve listed above…
Honestly, when you start to look at the higher end of deck stains on the market, they’re all really good…
So you shouldn’t be looking for the best water based deck stain but instead look for the best deck stain for you…
If the 3 stains I’ve listed above are almost impossible for you to get, then they aren’t right for you…
Or if the colours look terrible on your deck, then you need to look at another brand of stain…
The deck stain you use needs to tick a couple of boxes for it to be the best…
And being recommended by a “Deck Guru” isn’t on the list…
You never know why people recommend certain products…
So if you want to know a full proof method to find the best water based deck stain, this next section is for you…
It’s actually pretty easy…
The 3 things that determine which is the best water based deck stain for you…
Ok, so the first thing you need to look at when determining which is the best water based deck stain for you, is…
1. Can you easily get more of the deck stain?
This is really important…
The one thing you need to know about staining your deck, is that no matter how well it’s done…
No matter who stains your deck, it will not last forever…
It may not even last 8 months…
It really depends on the exposure to the weather, and…
If you have one of those really gigantic dogs that looks like a horse…
You know the ones…
They have paws the size of your head…
Yeah well, if you have something like this galloping all over your deck every day, then no matter which deck stain you use, it’s gonna be coming off…
That’s why it’s really important when deciding which water based deck stain you want to use, that you take into consideration how easy it is to get some more…
Because, at around the 8 month mark, you’ll start to notice some fading in certain areas…
But don’t freak out about this…
This is totally normal…
All you need to do is, clean your deck properly and give it another coat of deck stain…
But you want to make sure that it’s the exact same deck stain that you previously used…
If you change it to another brand, there’s no guarantee that the two stains will bond together and you could end up with a peeling mess…
So if someone tells you that “This” certain brand is the best water based deck stain, but it’s from another country and it has to be shipped over to you, it could become an issue if the laws change and they can no longer get the stain to you…
Believe me, it happens…
That’s why I usually recommend selecting a deck stain that you can get delivered to you locally but you can also pick it up locally…
If you can get the same deck stain, you’ll live every deck owner’s worst nightmare…
You’ll have to sand your entire deck and restain it with another brand…
Trust me on this…
The best water based deck stain for you is one that you can easily get more of…
Moving on…
2. How does the deck stain look on your actual deck?
This is another very important thing to consider when choosing which water based deck stain you’re going to use…
You know those little colour samples that you can see at the hardware store?
Or even on the website of the company selling the deck stain??
Yeah, well…
That is NOT how it’s gonna look when you put it on your deck…
Especially if its a semi transparent stain…
I’ve been staining decks for over 8 years now and the finished deck never looks like the colour chart…
That’s why you need to check how the stain will look on your deck before you purchase a couple of gallons of the stuff…
And here’s exactly how you do this…
- Head over to the websites of your top 3 chosen water based deck stain suppliers and go to the samples page…
- Then go ahead and order some samples of the colours you like…
- Wait for the colour sample to be delivered…
- Once the colour samples are in your hot little hands, apply 2 coats of the deck stain to your actual deck. You only need to do a small section of your deck…
- Do this with all of your colour samples from each company you’re considering…
- Once the samples are dry, choose your favourite…
- Sand off the colour samples and stain your entire deck with your chosen deck stain…
And that my friend, is exactly how to choose the best water based deck stain for you…
That’s exactly how I help my customers choose a deck stain…
It’s full proof…
Before you get too excited, there’s one more thing you need to consider…
3. Is the deck stain from a well known brand in the industry?
I know it can be great to support small businesses and help the “little guy” but when it comes to water based deck stains, you want to be sure that you will be able to get more in the future…
Listen when I tell you, you will without a doubt, be giving your deck a maintenance coat in around 12 months time…
And I know for sure that you’ll also need to give your deck another maintenance coat in say…
Oooh maybe???
12 months after your first maintenance coat…
Yep, you’ll need to pretty much recoat your deck every year…
It’s called annual deck maintenance…
It’s just how it is with decks…
It’s not all bad…
In some cases you may get 18 months or even 2 years before you need to recoat your deck, but don’t be surprised when you start to see your deck fading in only one year…
It happens all the time…
That’s not really the important thing you need to take from this…
What you really need to understand is…
You will always need to get your hands on more of whichever deck stain you use to coat your deck…
And if you use a small brand that shuts up shop in 2 years time, you can’t simply apply a different stain on top of your current stain…
Nope!!
You’ll have to sand it off and start again…
Each water based deck stain uses a different formula so they don’t work very well together…
This is also one of the reasons I’ve chosen the list above…
These companies have all been around for years and will continue to be around for years…
They are trusted, tried and tested…
Are they perfect?
No, not even close…
But for the reasons I’ve just gone through, they’re some of the best water based deck stain brands you can get your hands on…
So choose from one of the water based deck stains above or choose one that you can grab in your local hardware store…
Just make sure it ticks all the boxes that I’ve gone through here today…
And when you find that stain that ticks all of the boxes…
That my fine friend, is the best water based deck stain for you…
That’s all I have to say on the matter…
I’ll see you next time…
Peace,
Jason
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FAQ’s
The best water based deck stain is the stain that is easy for you to get, fits within your budget and looks great on your actual decking. Some of the best water based decks stain are, Defy, Restore-A-Deck, Intergrain, H2Oil, Haymes Dexpress…
If you live in an area that is subject to humid or very wet conditions then you should definitely use a water based deck stain on your deck. The drying time and resistance to mould is great to use in these conditions…
Some of the best water based deck stain and sealers are, Intergrain, Haymes, Defy, Retore-A-Deck and H2Oil…
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