If you want to know how to stain a deck quickly without rushing and doing a terrible job, then here’s 4 “dead simple ways” to speed up your deck staining and still get that expert finish…
Warning… These expert tips could have you staining a deck at unsafe speeds!
You’ve been warned!!
The truth is, you can stain a deck quickly but you can’t rush it if you want it to look any good…
So don’t even think about spraying your deck stain on with a paint sprayer…
And for the love of Zeus, don’t even think about sloping it around with a mop…
Sure, it’ll be fast but the finished product will look terrible!
Embarrassing even!!
Relax… I’ll show you how I stain a deck the right way and quickly without sacrificing the quality of the finished stain…
Ok, let’s get into it…
Stain your deck quicker by cutting in with a deck brush applicator…
In case you haven’t read any of my other guides where I show you the Deck Brush Applicator, this is what the applicator looks like…
It’s just like a giant paint brush…
But for decks…
Just a little heads up, don’t use this gigantic sucker to paint your house…
Doesn’t work so well…
Anyway, I always use this applicator to apply deck stain…
One way I’ve managed to speed up the time it takes to stain a deck is to use the Deck Brush Applicator to cut in the start of each board…
Like this…
This is so much quicker than the “Normal” process of staining a deck…
I’ll break down the normal staining process and you tell me which way is quicker…
You have to put your applicator down, switch over to the paint brush, get down on your knees, cut 2 boards in, then switch back over to the Deck Brush Applicator and then stain those 2 boards…
Meanwhile, you’re walking over to your tin of stain and then back to cut in…
Then you have to move the tin out of the way, so you don’t knock it over, and bring your deck stain bucket back over…
Now stain those 2 deck boards completely with the deck brush and when you get to the end of the board, run over to your paint brush and stain tin so you can cut in the other ends of the boards…
Go to the next 2 boards and…
Quickly, take 2 puffs of your asthma inhaler!!
Breathe!!!
It’s a long, drawn out process…
Now think about multiplying this process over and over again for the entire deck…
This could easily add an hour or 2 to the time it takes to stain your deck…
So here’s how to do this quickly…
Stain as close as possible to the end of the decking boards, then I grab the deck brush…
Then cut in with the applicator and continue to stain the whole board…
And voila!!
No stopping, no switching over to the paint brush…
This actually saves a tonne of time…
It’ll only take a few boards to get used to cutting in with the applicator, but once you do, you’ll be able to stain a deck faster than most…
Let’s move on to the next speed staining tip…
Use a water based deck stain…
There’s always a debate about which deck stain is better…
Oil based or water based deck stain??
Well, the truth is, both are great and both are horrendous!!
But, I personally love to use a water based deck stain because it is so much quicker to use than the oil based stains…
Depending on which brand of deck stain you use, you only need to wait 2 to 4 hours before you can apply the second coat…
The oil based stain on the other hand, needs 24 to 48 hours before you can apply the second coat..
So if you want to stain your deck quickly, one of the best ways to speed it up is to use a high quality water based deck stain…
You can put the first coat on in the morning and then apply the second coat at lunchtime…
And if you listen to my advice, you can put a third coat on in the evening and you’re finished in one day…
Or not, it’s up to you…
Nobody listens to me anyway…
Moving on…
Have 2 people stain at the same time…
This tip is pretty obvious, but it’s also one of the best ways to speed up your deck staining…
If one person can stain a deck in 4 hours then you could assume that it would take only 2 hours if 2 people did it together…
You just need to make sure that you have 2 escape routes so you don’t stain yourself into a corner…
Now how about if we have 3 people or even 4 people staining the deck together??
I’ve found that the more people you have staining a deck, it doesn’t really get it done that much quicker…
The more people you have, the more chances that you’ll get in each other’s way…
And you need 4 escape routes instead of 2…
The planning it would take to pull off a feat of this magnitude, would take a good 2 or 3 days just to map out…
Someone is always getting painted into a corner…
It’s much easier and much quicker just to stick with 2 people…
But if you do end up trying to stain your deck with 3 or 4 people, please film it and send it to me via text or email…
I love a good laugh!!
Let’s go to the next one…
Apply only thin layers of stain, it dries much quicker…
One of the mistakes I see people make when they try to stain a deck quickly is that they apply thick coats of deck stain…
You’d think that if you apply 1 heavy coat of stain then you won’t need to apply a second or third coat…
This is genius!!
Get all of your deck stain coats done in one passing!!
Think of how quick it would be!!!
Wrong!!!!
I hate to break it to you but thick coats of deck stain will take longer to dry than thin coats and they are more likely to peel or flake off…
You see, your deck can only absorb a certain amount of deck stain…
If you apply too much stain, the excess will dry on the surface and not absorb into the boards…
The stain becomes like paint where it sits on the surface and it can easily peel off…
Plus thick coats will stay sticky for a good couple of weeks…
You’ll walk around on the deck and your shoes will be sticking to the surface…
Whenever I apply thin coats of stain, that stickiness is gone in 24 hours…
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s having a sticky deck…
And I don’t like to brag, but my deck is hardly ever sticky…
Wait…
Hang on a second…
Get your mind out of the gutter!!
You’re disgusting!!
Let’s change the subject…
And that Folks, is how to stain a deck quickly…
At this point, you must realise that staining a deck quickly does not mean rushing and doing a sloppy job…
My whole aim as a deck restorer is to stain a deck as fast as possible but never at the expense of the finished product…
So I’m sure you can find ways that will speed up your deck staining but your deck will look terrible…
I recommend following the methods I’ve laid out above and stain your deck quickly but to the highest quality…
But again, the choice is yours…
That’s about all I have time for today…
I wish you the best of luck with the speed at which you stain your deck…
If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below and I’ll do my best to help you out…
Peace,
Jason…
Need some Expert Advice?
If you’ve been searching the internet trying to find an answer to a specific deck problem and you’ve found it impossible to get a straight answer…
Why not just reach out and ask me directly for an answer?
I’ve got 10 years of deck knowledge crammed into my noggin. I can pretty much guarantee I’ve got an answer to your problem just rattling around in there…
Come on, don’t be shy…
FAQ’s
The fastest way to stain a deck would be to have 2 people stain at the same time while using deck brush applicators and water based deck stain. A paint sprayer is faster but I don’t recommend using one if you want a quality finish on your deck…
The best way to stain a deck in one day is to use a water based deck stain because they only need 2 to 4 hours before you can re-coat. Apply your first coat in the morning, then your second coat 4 hours later. I recommend a third coat 4 hours after that. All three coats can be done in one day if you use a water based deck stain…
For a rough guide on how quickly you can stain a deck, applying the first coat of deck stain on a 25m2 deck will take about 1 hour from start to finish. The second coat will take about 40 minutes.
It is always better to stain a deck with a brush rather than a paint roller. A painter may recommend staining a deck with a paint roller but if you want a deck that looks beautiful and stunning, use a brush and apply the brush on, brush off technique. Don’t use a roller, it’s lazy and you’ll get a lazy finish…
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