I have an unfinished deck i would like to stain?

Question

i have an unfinished deck. it's about 6 or 7 years old. last fall i power washed it and sanded it. you can see some of the golden wood tones still but it's greying up a bit and i was thinking about staining it (a medium color) when the weather permits this fall. would i need to rewash and sand it? i mainly sanded it the first time due to some rough areas that came up when i pressure washed it.

ALSO...

are there any stains that i can just "paint" on verses the rub on/wipe off ones?

if you want the points please answer ALL the questions. THANKS SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME!!

Answer 1

for a consistant cover you need to sand it all.  i wouldn't worry about power washing it, just sand it.  being that it sat for so long unfinished, you might want to put a coat of conditioner on the deck (just brush on wood conditioner from home depot to allow even coverage of stain).  the best stains are penetrating stains, and those brush on, wiping off the excess.  i've used paint-like stains before, but those make the wood look "flat."   good luck

Answer 2

I would just give your deck a good cleaning, and purchase a quality stain like Cabot, Olympic, or Behr.  I would not sand unless it is bad.  If you do sand, don't forget to wear dust mask, when sanding treated wood. I would apply the stain with 4" brush.  Yes your presure washer is very hard on 5/4 decking. I learned this the hard way.

Good Luck with your deck