Deck stain coverage

[JDgreen227]

About two hours ago, I finished putting the second coat of stain on my big deck and stairs. I first primed about 40 square feet of bare wood and places where the 5 year old stain was thin, then applied two thick coats atop that, each one a week apart. The coverage the stain I chose amazed me, counting the prime coat on the bare spots as 20 square feet per coat, I covered a very closely measured 320 square feet each time. And the amount of stain I used for the entire project was less than A GALLON AND A HALF, TOTAL.

I have used this stain in the past, and cannot say enough to praise it. A little goes a long, long way, it levels easily, and dries so fast you can walk on it in an hour. A custom mixed gallon at Lowes costs about $35 with tax, and it is worth every penny, and then some.

 

[Western]

I used a stain sealer, the second coat wouldn't even soak in!!

I cant even remember what I used, wasn't something from the box stores, it was something recommended on the web as being pretty darn good. drags getting older:laughing:

 

[JDgreen227]

I used a stain sealer, the second coat wouldn't even soak in!!

I cant even remember what I used, wasn't something from the box stores, it was something recommended on the web as being pretty darn good. drags getting older:laughing:

Label on the can of the stain I used says coverage is 150-250 square feet per gallon, I was amazed at how much coverage I actually got.

 

[Western]

JD, I know what you mean, I over bought last time and ended up giving a gallon to my brother.

 

[sld]

About two hours ago, I finished putting the second coat of stain on my big deck and stairs. I first primed about 40 square feet of bare wood and places where the 5 year old stain was thin, then applied two thick coats atop that, each one a week apart. The coverage the stain I chose amazed me, counting the prime coat on the bare spots as 20 square feet per coat, I covered a very closely measured 320 square feet each time. And the amount of stain I used for the entire project was less than A GALLON AND A HALF, TOTAL.

I have used this stain in the past, and cannot say enough to praise it. A little goes a long, long way, it levels easily, and dries so fast you can walk on it in an hour. A custom mixed gallon at Lowes costs about $35 with tax, and it is worth every penny, and then some.

What do you mean you primed it? and then stained over the primer?

I need to redo mine after about 5 years now. I used the tinted Thompson's last time and it held up pretty good. There is no way to do 2 coats. The second one would just bead up and blow away!

 

[JDgreen227]

What do you mean you primed it? and then stained over the primer?

I need to redo mine after about 5 years now. I used the tinted Thompson's last time and it held up pretty good. There is no way to do 2 coats. The second one would just bead up and blow away!

There were a lot of areas on the deck that the stain had been worn away from because of snow shoveling, etc. Meant I primed the bare spots with the stain, so the topcoats would level properly. Since the stain I used was acylic water based, it doesn't really soak into the wood like an oil base product would. Calling it "stain" is somewhat misleading.

 

[jinman]

Calling it "stain" is somewhat misleading.

Exactly what I was thinking. . . I wonder what the difference is by definition between paint and stain? I always thought that stain penetrated the surface more than paint, but acrylic latex would seem to scream PAINT to me.

 

[JDgreen227]

Exactly what I was thinking. . . I wonder what the difference is by definition between paint and stain? I always thought that stain penetrated the surface more than paint, but acrylic latex would seem to scream PAINT to me.

Agree with you there...a solid color, as the picture of the can of "stain" I used, is basically paint. To me, real stain changes the color of bare wood, and can ONLY be applied to bare wood, or over itself.

 

[300UGUY]

Sounds like I should have used that instead of the Behr stain I bought at HD. It took 3 heavy coats to do my barn, using a solid color stain.

 

[JDgreen227]

Sounds like I should have used that instead of the Behr stain I bought at HD. It took 3 heavy coats to do my barn, using a solid color stain.

Much of the reason I got such good coverage was because the deck had been coated before, and pressure treated pine isn't very pourous to begin with. About 15 years ago I used a solid color stain, Thompson's, on rough sawn wood siding, and it took a lot of stain for the first coat.