I put the 2nd coat on today, screw the expert advice. Basically I've
already tried one coat & it failed, I believe because water could still
get beneath it, so I'm trying two coats to get a more waterproof
surface.

Part of the problem (beside Behr sucking that is) is my deck is 10
years old, so there were some cracks in the boards that remained after
sanding them down that were not well sealed by one coat. I think they
admited the water that ultimately unseated the stain.

What's best for a new deck may not be best for an older one like mine.
Colour's a little dark now, but we'll see.

jeffc wrote:
"Paul" wrote in message
oups.com...
Advice:

Obviously I don't think much of Behr. If I were starting out, I
wouldn't use stain at all. I'd advise some kind of penetrating oil -
not much advice as to which one, but I've used linseed oil on some
planters & they look fantastic. It NEVER flakes & you can just reapply
some whenever you want. On the other hand, if you don't even have a
deck yet, then apparently those new plastic boards last forever.

I personally have gone with Cabot, after reading a positive review in
Consumer Reports. Seems like quality stuff. However they also advise 1
coat. Why, I can't fathom. The stuff is really something more along the
lines of a stain/polyurethane blend. I don't say that to imply it IS, just
that it behaves that way. Two coats can be better than one, especially if
you see some areas where a hard film didn't form on top (it all soaked into
the wood and it looks matte that reveals the wood grain, rather than having
sheen.)