For any finish to take well, the deck needs to be clean and dry. I
use a mixture of TSP, bleach, and warm water. If the deck has not
been cleaned in a year I usually need to clean it twice. A
semi-transparant stain is better (lasts longer, protects more) than a
clear finish. Thompson's is popular but not too good.

On 30 May 2005 22:18:51 -0700, wrote:

I am a deck cleaning newbie. I've cleaned my pine deck as it was
extremely dirty by scrubbing with Sherwin Williams Revive deck cleaner.
Most of the dirt was removed but there are still some areas that have a
slightly dirty look to them because I guess I didn't scrub hard enough
(I did this by myself and the deck is pretty large, so it was tough to
get everything without going over it twice and spending hours on end).
Is this an ok thing? I have since sealed with Thompson's Advantage. Do
I need to strip the sealer off and clean the dirty areas and seal
again. I just don't want to do that and have it looking splotchy.
Thoughts?

thanks!