I've used a couple of stains including Caboit which is supposed to be the
best. It wasn't. This year I used a semi transparent REZ. It looks good and
it went a long way. It goes on nicely and where I used four cans three years
ago, I did the job with two this time.
The test will be how it survives the winter but I have a hunch it will last
longer than the others.
As far as pressure washing...
If you hold it at just the right distance, it works great. True, if too
close, it actually will blast grooves in the wood. There is the odd spot
I have misjudged, but overall it does a great job of getting off the crud.


"Henning Follmann" wrote in message
...
Scott writes:

Bruce,

The Behr semi-transparent stain you used....did it darken the wood much?
(that's what I'm trying to avoid).

Our contractor is mailing us a color sheet showing different stain
colors.

I'm still leaning toward a transparent seal, because I just love the
natural look.

And, yes, we're enjoying our deck immensely. If it means power-washing
and sealing it every year or two, so be it. It's worth it.

_Never_ power wash a cedar deck! The pressure of the washer is too high.
It
will create small (invisible) cavities and damage the wood irreversibly.
Clean it with a thin solution of NaOH (which removes the tanning acid) and
hose it thoroughly. After that apply an _oil based_ stain. All water based
stains I have seen so far are crap. Or don't stain it at all. But if you
want to stop cedar from getting gray, you have to remove the tanning acid
every year (at least every two years).

Henning

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Henning Follmann |