If you’re thinking of staining a new deck, then this article could save you from making a costly mistake…
Here’s what you need to know…
You should never stain a new deck…
It’s best if you wait at least 3 months for your deck to weather before you even consider applying any type of deck stain to a new deck…
That’s right…
You need to wait 3 months before staining a new deck…
Here’s the thing…
Most timbers will have a natural oil called tannins that will leak out of the timber for around 3 months…
And if you stain a new deck before those tannins have had a chance to leach out of the timber, these tannins will continue to leach out right under your deck stain…
As you could imagine, this would stop your deck stain from absorbing into the timber and it’ll peel and fade within a couple of months…
But this is only the first reason why you need to wait 3 months when staining a new deck…
There’s also the issue of Mill Glaze…
New deck boards can’t be stained because they will have Mill Glaze…
You see, new timber has been put through a process to get it nice and smooth…
When they cut the timber, the blades move at such high speeds, it creates a lot of heat…
This heat will cause this “mill glaze” to form on the surface of the timber…
And this acts as a barrier and stops the stain from absorbing into the surface of your decking…
When you let your deck weather for 3 months, the mill glaze will break down and open the surface of the decking boards…
When this occurs, then you can stain your new deck…
Make sense?
Ok. great…
But there’s another reason why you need to wait before staining a new deck…
New Decking Timber Contains a lot of Moisture…
If there’s one thing you need to know about staining a deck, it’s that you can’t stain a damp deck…
If your deck is wet and you apply stain, it won’t be able to absorb into the surface of the timber…
And newly installed decking boards have a lot of moisture in them…
So even if you haven’t washed them or even if they haven’t been exposed to a lot of rain, they’ll still be full of moisture…
Way too much moisture to be able to stain them…
And wouldn’t ya know it?
If you wait 3 months, that moisture will dry out and your deck will be dry enough to stain…
Do you see why it’s so important to wait at least 3 months before staining a new deck?
Ok great, because now I’m gonna throw a spanner in the works and tell you how you can stain a new deck without waiting 3 months…
How to stain a new deck without waiting 3 months…
Just know, although I’m about to show you a way to speed up the weathering process, I still think it’s way better to wait 3 months…
When you let your deck weather for 3 months, it brings a more natural look to the surface of the timber…
And once you clean and stain it, it looks so much better than if you rush the process by doing what I’m about to show you…
Now with that said, your deck will still look good doing it the “Quick Way” I just prefer the way it looks when you weather off naturally…
When you speed up the process in the way I’m about to show you, the color of the stain will look different…
But again, it comes down to your preference…
Ok, this is what you need to do…
Get yourself a cleaning product that has alkali salts as its main active ingredient…
This Wood Deck Restorer from Dirt Killer is exactly what you need…
It is designed to clean new deck timbers and get them ready for staining…
The alkali salts will break down the Mill Glaze and also draw out any tannins in the timber…
This enables you to skip the 3 months waiting period and stain your new deck right away…
Before you stain though…
You’ll need to follow up the alkali salt clean with a scrub and clean using a deck brightener…
This’ll neutralise any chemicals on the surface, bring back the natural colour to your deck and open the surface to absorb the deck stain…
When you clean your deck with alkali salts, it can turn slightly black…
But don’t panic…
The deck brightener will completely remove it…
All you need to do is grab yourself a deck scrub brush and work the brightener into the surface of the deck then pressure clean it off…
It’’s that easy…
This is like your cheat code for speeding up the weathering process…
The thing is, doing it this way and trying to speed up the process can still leave you with a moisture problem…
There’s no way to draw out the moisture that’s soaked into your new deck…
And if I’m being honest…
Staining a new deck before it’s had time to weather and dry out, never looks as good…
I’ve done the whole “Alkali Salts” and stained brand new decking boards without any future problems…
But the finished deck didn’t look as good…
It’s hard to explain…
It just looks so much better when you wait and let your deck weather naturally…
So with all of that said…
Let me list out the steps you need to take when staining a new deck…
How to stain a new deck…
- Let your deck weather for at least 3 months…
- Clean your deck with a deck brightener…
- Allow it to dry for 2 to 3 days…
- If you have raised fibres, give it a light hand rub with 80 grit sandpaper…
- Give your deck 1 to 2 coats of deck stain…
- Monitor over the next 6 to 12 months for signs of wear…
- Apply a maintenance coat when necessary…
If you follow the steps above, you’ll have one of the best looking decks in the neighbourhood…
If you’ve never stained a deck before then you should check out my deck staining guide…
That’s all there is to it…
Just note that the light rub with 80 grit isn’t to sand your deck…
It is literally just a hand rub to remove any splinters or raised fibres…
A new deck won’t need to be sanded back, even after 3 months in the weather…
Once you clean your deck with the deck brightener, your deck will look better than when it was first laid…
Once the Mill Glaze has broken down, that’s when you get to the true beauty of your decking…
So wait the full 3 months…
You won’t be sorry…
And don’t worry…
Waiting 3 months won’t damage your brand new deck…
It is at about this point that some homeowners get a little worried about leaving their deck exposed to the elements for 3 months…
They worry that their deck will split, crack and end up looking ugly…
Let me tell you that a new deck will look a lot better after the 3 month weathering period…
And it’s not just a personal opinion…
Your deck definitely won’t be damaged in only 3 months of exposure…
It probably won’t even be grey in that short amount of time…
The only thing that will happen to your deck is that it will lose that mill glaze on the surface…
And what you’re left with is how the timber is supposed to look…
So don’t worry about your decking boards…
They’ll be more than fine…
And once you stain your deck and it looks fantastic, you’ll be thankful that you waited 3 months and went through the whole process…
Now the only thing you need to be careful of is that you don’t fall in love with how your deck looks while it’s not stained…
So many people end up loving the natural look of a deck that isn’t stained, that they just leave it…
The truth is, you do really need to stain a deck…
If you don’t, it won’t be long before you’ll have to replace the whole kit and kaboodle…
If you really do love the natural look, then maybe consider sealing your deck with a clear sealer instead…
Just a thought…
Well, that’s all I’ve got time for today…
I hope that’s answered all of your questions about staining a new deck…
If you have any more questions or concerns, leave me a comment below and I’ll do my best to give you an answer…
I’m out…
Peace,
Jason…
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Why not just reach out and ask me directly for an answer?
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FAQ’s
You should never stain a new deck until you let it weather off for at least 3 months. New deck boards contain mill glaze and tannins that will stop the deck stain from absorbing into the surface properly…
You do not need to prime a new deck before staining. Deck stain needs to be applied to bare timber in order for it to absorb into the surface properly. You will only need to prime new deck boards if you plan on painting them…
You’ll need at least 2 coats of deck stain for a new deck. The key is to apply only thin coats of stain. If you apply more stain than your deck can absorb, it will eventually peel off…
To stain a new timber deck properly, first you need to wait at least 3 months for it to weather.
Then you’ll need to scrub and wash the deck with a timber brightener. Next you allow it to dry for 2 days and then apply 2 coats of deck stain…
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