Do-It-Yourself Wood Restoration Made Simple!

Restore-a-deck.com

Restore-A-Deck Customer Videos

by RAD Products

Restore A Deck LogoSee independent customer how-to videos for the Restore-A-Deck Wood Prepping and Stain Products. All videos have been made in the field without any compensation from Restore-A-Deck, by actual consumers.

If you have a question, please ask below in our comment area.

 


How to Prepare A Deck for Staining with Restore-A-Deck Products

Products Used

  • Restore-A-Deck Cleaner
  • Restore-A-Deck Brightener


How to restore a 30-year-old deck with Restore-A-Deck Products

Products Used

  • Restore-A-Deck Stripper
  • Restore-A-Deck Booster Additive for Stripper
  • Restore-A-Deck Brightener
  • Restore-A-Deck Semi-Transparent Stain

How to prep and apply a maintenance coat of stain with Restore-A-Deck Products

Products Used

  • Restore-A-Deck Cleaner
  • Restore-A-Deck Brightener

How to clean and stain Decks and Retaining Wall In One Day with Restore-A-Deck Products

Products Used

  • Restore-A-Deck Stripper
  • Restore-A-Deck Brightener
  • Restore-A-Deck Semi-Transparent Stain
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Muriel
Muriel
9 months ago

Here’s a picture from a section that restore step 1 was done twice. Scrubbed by hand with a scrub brush the second time. Frustrated and thinking of just sanding it and then staining. And suggestions appreciated.

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Muriel
Muriel
9 months ago
Reply to  RAD Products

No stain or sealer ever. There was an outside rug on that section and it looked good before cleaning.

Muriel
Muriel
9 months ago

We have used the step one after power washing but it doesn’t look good enough to stain. We are redoing step one now. Should power wash after scrubbing? And what is the purpose of the brightener? We already have Valspar semi transparent stain and we’re planning to do that after step 1.

C. Harger
C. Harger
9 months ago

I ordered the restore-a-deck package of cleaner and brightener. I ordered 3 more of the cleaner less than 1 week ago and have not received a confirmation other than payment. Your phones are disconnected and I am unable to get information

George Pfeffer
George Pfeffer
9 months ago

What type brushes and what type and length nap roller covers are recommended for your solid stain application?

George Pfeffer
George Pfeffer
9 months ago

I have just ordered your brown walnut solid stain for my 23 year old pressure treated wood deck that has previously been coated with only semi-transparent coatings. I previously ordered and received your prep kit and as soon as the stain arrives want to start with my restoration process. I have read and watched videos of the two step prep process and think I understand that well, but not sure what is the best method to apply the actual solid stain. I was going to buy one of your wide deck brushes, but it said these are only to be used for semi-transparent coatings. What should I use to best apply the solid stain?

John Green
John Green
9 months ago

Stripper looks like a good product. We have a 23 year old covered deck that is in good shape that has original redwood stain. Through the years we have restrained it maybe three times with Behr Wood Finish water based. Just wanting to start over since we are installing new decking to exposed connecting deck. Has anyone had a similar situation and did stripper do a good job. Thanks!

John Green
John Green
9 months ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Here are the pictures you requested. Thanks.

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John Green
John Green
9 months ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Thanks for responding. I want to remove it completely and start over.

John Green
John Green
9 months ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Want to restain with a transparent stain.

John Green
John Green
9 months ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Sorry to bother you again but haven’t seen a response from my last message. Thanks.

Rob
Rob
10 months ago

I have a pressure treated deck with what I believe is a solid stain over over a semi-transparent stain. If I’m planning to use one of your solid stain products, would the prep consist of cleaning and stripping? Thanks.

Greg
Greg
10 months ago

Can you extend a complete deck stain renovation over a month if weekends are all you have?

Greg
Greg
10 months ago
Reply to  Greg

Thank you

Avatar photo
1 year ago

How do I unsubscribe from email notices? 

Bill
Bill
1 year ago

Just placed an order. How long till it arrives to Massachusetts?

Christi
Christi
1 year ago

We finished railings on our huge pool deck, within the two week deadline after prep, but floor boards and outside fascia were not. Can we still stain now? I don’t know how we’d repeat steps 1 and 2 without getting product on railings, and have no desire to go through that again anyway, even though floor was easiest by far. What will consequences be if we just stain floor anyway, at day 16-18 after prep? Thanks.

Christi
Christi
1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Thank you!

Robin
Robin
1 year ago

I used TWP 1500 oil based series stain on my deck 3 years ago. Do I need to strip and brighten before applying restore a deck stain?

rick
rick
1 year ago

what is the recommended wood moisture content before staining. 

Ursu
Ursu
1 year ago

We had 2 pine decks (more than 1 y.o., but never stained/treated before) cleaned and brightened yesterday. We need to pause the work due to an emergency (today, tomorrow). Tomorrow there is rain in the forecast, and for the following 2 days showers. 

Can we restart on the last day of showers, i.e. if they occur in the morning? We would have needed to re-wet anyway…

Independent of the answer to the previous question, when re-wetting, is hosing ok or should it be with a power washer? Do we need to use brightener again after the pause and/or rain? 

Thanks in advance for the help.

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1 year ago

Just finished my front deck (new seasoned pine) using cleaner, brightener and semi transparent dark walnut. Beautiful color!!! I purchased the brush and used it as well. I followed the prescribed method up till the end when I noticed an area that appeared lighter so I “touched it up” using a paint brush. It became much darker and put a sheen on the area that I touched up. Am I able to put a second coat on the whole deck to have a more even application and a darker finish? I will post a picture tomorrow morning when it’s light outside.

Avatar photo
1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

I am not happy with the result. How do I fix?

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1 year ago

If I use a semi-transparent stain on an outdoor Douglas Fir Table, should I put a sealant over the stain?

Atsuko Podgurski
Atsuko Podgurski
1 year ago

Our old deck really soaked up the stain so I ran out, only able to apply the first coat to most of the deck but not all.  Would I have any issue finishing the first coat and doing the second days later?  Do you have any tips when applying the second coat a few days later?

Pam Comer
Pam Comer
1 year ago

My deck was stained with a SW solid stain which peeled and bubbles in months of staining due to improper prep.  The painter is removing that stain and is willing to use Restore A Deck semi transparent stain. I choose cedar for the color. He did use your stripper but didn’t get the booster. He is willing to sand off what was not removed but showed me there is some stain remaining in small cracks in the deck boards which a sander can’t reach.  Should I ask the painter to strip again with the booster? sandblast the deck to get in the cracks? 
Thank you,
Pam

Merwin Dupuis
Merwin Dupuis
1 year ago

If I use cleaner and brightened on my deck which was finished with SICO translucent oak coloured stain, can I apply restore a deck semi transparent light walnut stain

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1 year ago

Are these products safe to use on a boat dock? Safe for the lake, it’s inhabitants, environment? If not, what products would be recommended?

Greg
Greg
1 year ago

Best finish for a redwood table?  It has imperfections but has been sanded down, and all weathered fibers removed. 

Hank
Hank
1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Ok. I will make sure to order new product and go with semi transparent cedar color rather than the semi transparent natural used in the past and also use the stripper and brightener rather than cleaner and brightener.  My last question is with the fuzzies after power washing.  I recall seeing something about using an orbital sander with a scotch brite like pad rather than a sanding pad. If I use a machine to remove the raised wood fibers do I do that in between stripping and brightening?

Pam
Pam
1 year ago

How long after a single coat of semi transparent stain is it safe to walk on and how long till furniture and outdoor rugs can be put back?
Thank you

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1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

This does the good and faded areas (sorry, it is a little dusty).

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1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Uh-oh. This is very discouraging… I just spent a chunk of money ordering products this week gor 1st time, quite shocked to see such a difference in barely a year… 😮

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1 year ago
Reply to 

Dont be discouraged. Most of my deck looks great. A few areas faded. I’m going to refinish those areas again and if I remember I’ll update this comment.

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1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Faded and good.

Tracy
Tracy
1 year ago

Does the deck stain calculator include the spindles and the deck post?

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1 year ago

I will be using the opaque white on posts, railings and lath. Would the thickening gel be indicated?

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1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Didn’t realize it was specific to the stripper. I thought it would help prevent running on vertical surfaces. Also, does the solid stain adhere to metal, like paint?

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1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Sorry, did not phrase that well; the deck has metal mesh (hog panel) in the framing and I was asking how difficult it is to get the stain off of metal

Kim O
Kim O
1 year ago

Do you ship to Canada

Cory
Cory
1 year ago

Does this stuff remove Cabot Australian timber oil or Pro Luxe/sikkens

Cory
Cory
1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

I don’t think its a varnish, Just feels that way. Have you ever heard of those products? It’s like a hard film on top the way that it dries but it is a deck stain

Cory
Cory
1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Somebody told me if you had RV antifreeze there’s butol and it that will heat it up more does that sound right

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1 year ago

As I’m reading some of the Q&As below, it seems as though the advice is that after a couple-3 years, when deck is due for a touch up with the same product as original, that a full prep is required with  a stripper, instead of cleaner, and then brighter.  Is that so?
I had thought that a maintenance coat of the same product would just require cleaning and brightening. 
also, does RAD solid stain require the same exact prep as RAD semi-transparent under all circumstances?

Eber Wright
Eber Wright
1 year ago

I have a 25-year-old pressure-treated deck that has been semi-transparent stained before. This was about 5 years ago.  I bought some of your cleaner and semi-transparent stain.  It looks great, but we put it down by wetting it lightly because S Florida sun is pretty hot. Anyway, after a week, it is still a tiny bit tacky. Will it ever dry out completely or do I need to do something else.

Corey
Corey
1 year ago

I put restore a deck down 3 years ago and the stain is starting to fade on my deck boards. However, my deck posts are in perfect condition. I’m assuming the fade / flaking is because the actual deck boards are very old (even though I sanded them down to good wood before I did my first application 3 summers ago).  If I was to reapply with my left over stain, what are the steps for using a stripper, but also trying to make sure i don’t doutch my deck rails and posts. 

I know a stripper is available, but I don’t want to strip the posts.  What are the steps I need to follow for my situation. 

Corey
Corey
1 year ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Do I also need to apply a brightener? And if so, what are the steps? Stripper? Brightener? Apply original semi transparent stain? 

Wes
Wes
1 year ago

I just installed new stair with the Veranda (PVC) trim & kicker boards.  Will any of the RAD cleaning and brightening products chemically attack the PVC?

Dan Sethner
Dan Sethner
1 year ago

First two years I applied two light coats. This year the color is fading.(semi transparent) . Can I just clean with cleaner and apply an additional coat of stain. Or do I have to strip stain first.

 Thanks Dan Sethner

Bob
Bob
1 year ago

Hello, I am going to be redoing my quite old deck this year and wondered if you had recommendations for your products. The stain that is currently on the deck is Timber Pro which is a water based stain. I would like to have this deck looking decent again and protect it. Thanks. 

Patti
Patti
1 year ago

 I have an Ipe deck and want to keep the natural color of the wood which is a mahogany with some lighter areas. What is the best color semi transparent stain to use to achieve this?

Blair Cockhill
Blair Cockhill
1 year ago

If I add the thickening gel additive to the stain remover, principally to handle the vertical components of our deck, can I still apply the combined solution using a typical hand pressurized garden sprayer? Will the longer dwell time with the thickener improve the removal strength so that 2 coats of 3 year old Behr Semi-Transparent Acrylic Stain (which is already shedding both coats on much of the deck, except for the 4×4 posts and the upper and lower horizontal railing lumber, which have not shed at all)?  Your many very positive customer comments, speaking to the quality and performance of your RAD products, is reassuring. Unfortunately, as we live in Ontario, we face both the US exchange rate and shipping costs. I’m hoping to find the most affordable and, yet, successful solution.  I am aware of the booster additive, but I’m unclear if our budget can include such.  Any suggestions, regarding our deck challenge, will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you, in advance, for your time, effort, and kindness in providing us your guidance.

Susan
Susan
1 year ago

2 year old pressure treated pine deck. Had it “soft washed” 3 mo this ago. Wood is lighter with few areas of fuzziness so I guess cleaner had bleach substance.  How do I now proceed to stain? Going with semi-transparent natural.

Greg
Greg
1 year ago

I have a twenty year old deck that’s been stained several times through the years with Olympic semi-solid mahogany stains. It hasn’t held up well. Others in my family have used your product and been very satisfied.  Questions – can I use your dark walnut semi-solid on this, and which prep steps/products are recommended?  Same questions if you recommend your solid stain.  Thanks in advance for your guidance!  

Phil
Phil
1 year ago

Last year I did the whole thing…..stripped, sanded, cleaned, pressure washed, brightened, and stained with Defy water-based light walnut.  It looks great except for dust/pollen accumulation on horizontal surface.  I want to clean it and re-coat with Defy in May.  Two Q’s;
If I just clean for a re-coat why would brightening be necessary since last year’s stain will still be on the wood?
Should re-coat be one coat or two wet on wet?

Rob J
Rob J
1 year ago

Will the stripper and/or brightener cause any issues to the coating of our Fortress aluminum railing?
Will be stripping old TWP 100 stain off of Tigerwood decking.

Thanks!    

Zach R
Zach R
2 years ago

I recently had my 9 month old cedar deck stained with 1 coat of Readyseal Natural Cedar stain, but the stain seems like it did not take.  We’re not sure why.  It rubs off on shoes so you can’t even walk on it even after 1 week.  I recently purchased the stripper, booster, and brightener.  In order to use the deck now, I need to remove the current stain, but given the current climate I cannot re-stain it until the spring (approx 3 months away).  Is it okay to strip and brighten, but not re-stain right away?

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2 years ago

First off your products are awesome. I stripped, brightened and stained my deck back in 2019I used the Cedar semi-transparent stain.This coming spring I want to apply another coat of stain.  Note: the majority of the deck has a roof.Most of the deck looks fine execpt in an area where sun has faded the floor (small area) and the railing on the same side.Do I Clean, or Brighten, before I stain againThanks 

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2 years ago

After I stripped and neutralized/brightened my deck yesterday the weather changed and I wasn’t able to stain.  It might be a long time before I get a long enough dry spell with a daily low above 45 degrees.  The pores of the cedar wood are very open with some raised grain here and there.   The wood looks normal when dry but almost black when wet.  Will leaving it as is until spring ruin the wood?   Any advice on how to proceed?  What are the potential downsides of staining in too-cold temperatures or when there might be fog or dew overnight versus letting it weather until I get proper conditions for staining, which might be 3-4 months from now?

Ronnie
Ronnie
2 years ago

Just purchased your cleaner,brightener & stain. Live on 3rd floor condo… no pressure washer or access to hose. Deck is almost 6 month old & has a fair amount of green streaks in the boards… some almost iridescent? Do not know what kind of wood was used. Should I be concerned and is it unrealistic to do this jub with a bucket & brush? 

Sue
Sue
2 years ago

We used the stripper without the booster, it supposedly only had one coat of stain on it.  As you can see by the pictures some of the stain came off really good, but others not so much.  We hate to continue if our new new stain won’t stick what do we do with this?   

Sue
Sue
2 years ago
Reply to  Sue

Here are a couple of pictures since it has dried. 

Susan Reimer
Susan Reimer
2 years ago
Reply to  Sue

It’s old stain in the indentation in the wood.  And we have not used the brightener yet. 

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2 years ago

After using the Restore -A- Deck Stripper and Brightener, afterwards am I able to Stain my deck with another Stain/Sealer Product? The name of the Stain/Sealer is “Ready Seal Exterior Wood Stain and Sealer”.  Didn’t realize you guys sold Stain as well until after the purchase. 

Avatar photo
2 years ago
Reply to  RAD Products

Thank you for the swift reply

Bo
Bo
2 years ago

My understanding is that if I strip and brighten one day and stain the next day or even a week later that I should moisten the surface before staining. Correct?

Bo
Bo
2 years ago

My intention is to strip one day, brighten the next day and stain the following day because of time constraints. Any problem with that approach? Thank you.

Carolyn
Carolyn
2 years ago

I scrubbed, then used an orbital sander to prep my very small 8X12 deck on my townhome.  Do I need to wait until spring to stain?  Do I have to use the cleaner / brightener before staining if I wait until spring?

Carolyn
Carolyn
2 years ago
Reply to  RAD Products

So I need to use your cleaner even though it is sanded? 
P.S. I am in Portland OR, ordered your stain onrline.  I’m guessing I will need to do the same with the brightener and cleaner – i.e., no distributors here in Oregon?

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