Help Needed With How To Use Deck Stain

[CADplans]

Just for general knowledge,, I know almost nothing about wood working,,,
ANY assistance or hints would be GREATLY appreciated,,, :thumbsup:

The stake sides for my JD 10AT cart looked really bad after I left it outside for a month,,
the wood went from a pretty light color,, to a dingy gray,,

The gray was such a solid color, I almost left it and coated it with spar varnish,,,
BUT, I decided to remove the gray,, with about 3-4 applications of household bleach.

I had some left over exterior deck stain from a decade ago,, so I applied that stain to the wood,,,

My plan was to top coat the stained wood with spar varnish,, since I have the varnish.

Well,, I went to the shed today,, and I find that the wood feels like it is coated with wax,, it actually feels like candle wax,,,
I was afraid to try to coat the stain,, the varnish might not "stick" to the exterior stain.

You can see the finish on the wood is shiny,,,

The stain is an oil base stain,, it held up pretty good on the deck,,,

SO, my question is,,,
do I top coat the stained wood with the spar varnish,, or just leave well enough alone?

 

[Diggin It]

Your next step probably depends on what the stain is made of. That old, it likely deteriorated to the point it may not cure properly, or may take much longer to do so. You might try leaving it out in the hot Sun for a few days. You may have to try to contact the product manufacturer to see what they suggest.

 

[Billrog]

I would leave it once spar varnish starts to peel it will be a big under taking to strip it. Regardless of what finish you apply it will be on going maintenance. The stain is going to cure very slowly.

 

[CADplans]

I would leave it once spar varnish starts to peel it will be a big under taking to strip it. Regardless of what finish you apply it will be on going maintenance. The stain is going to cure very slowly.

OH, I forgot how hard spar varnish is to remove,, I put it on a window sill one time (the previous owner had plants there)
WOW,, that was tough to refinish a few years later,,,

 

[MossRoad]

Not finish related, but on a side note, where did you get those corner latch/brackets? They look real nice and functional, too.

 

[EddieWalker]

What brand was the left over exterior deck stain?

 

[Fossil Farm]

After you applied the bleach, did you wash it off with water? You do not want any
residue left from the bleach on the wood.

If you think there is a wax topcoat, use a heat gun to warm up an area and dab it with
a clean cloth to see if any waxy residue comes off and onto the cloth. If there is a wax
topcoat, then it will have to be stripped off before using any stain or finish coat. Mineral
spirits will strip off most waxes, or you could sand the entire piece to bare wood and then
apply the stain and topcoat. It will just take a bit more work to see what you have on
the wood currently. Sanding grit of 120 or 150 should be coarse enough by looking
at the photos. Good luck.
Edit - or you can just leave it alone for awhile and see how it holds up. You can always
redo it later.

 

[joeyd]

Not finish related, but on a side note, where did you get those corner latch/brackets? They look real nice and functional, too.

Moss Road,
When I built the sides for my car trailer I purchased them from Nuera Trailer Parts. They have since been purchased by TexTrail Trailer Parts, TexTrail Trailer Parts - Manufacturers | Dealers | Repair Shops They are on page J9 of their catalog, I could not copy a link to the page it's a pdf catalog, sorry.

 

[CobyRupert]

Moss Road,
When I built the sides for my car trailer I purchased them from Nuera Trailer Parts. They have since been purchased by TexTrail Trailer Parts, TexTrail Trailer Parts - Manufacturers | Dealers | Repair Shops They are on page J9 of their catalog, I could not copy a link to the page it's a pdf catalog, sorry.

Wow! Cool, hard to find parts. (For me anyways, I wouldn't know where to begin)
This link should take you to the catalog.

Page J9 is also page 367.

https://textrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TexTrail_catalogVol72_2018.pdf#page=325

 

[KennyG]

you can find those corner brackets on Amazon or Ebay. Just search for trailer corner bracket. I have them on my small trailer and they are very effective. I got mine from Ebay because they were cheaper.