Restore-A-Deck 2019 Wood and Deck Restoration Contest Details

  • All Restore-A-Deck Prep and Restore-A-Deck Wood Stain must be purchased first from this online eCommerce site (Restore-A-Deck.com) between January 1st - September 5th, 2019.
  • The Restore-A-Deck 3-Step Process must be used.

RAD Stain Steps

  • Deadline for entry is September 15th, 2019.
  • The winners will be decided by September 30th, 2019 by our team.

The RAD Contestant Winners will Receive

  • First Place = $500 + 5 Gallon Pail of RAD Stain of your choice!
  • Second Place = $250 + 2.5 Gallons of RAD Stain of your choice!
  • Third Place:= $100 + 1 Gallon of RAD Stain or 1 RAD Prep Kit of your choice!

How To Enter Contest

  1. Enter by September 15th, 2019.
  2. In the comment section below, post a short description of your deck/wood staining project, the Restore-A-Deck products used to prep, and the Restore-A-Deck Stain Color used. Was the Restore-A-Deck Stain applied same day as the prep? Yes or No?
  3. Example of wood projects that can be entered: Decks, Fences, Wood Side Homes, Log Cabins, etc.
  4. 1-2 pictures before the prep of the wood. You can still enter if you do not have the before pictures. 
  5. 1-2 pictures after the prep of the wood using the RAD Prepping Products. You can still enter if you do not have the after prep pictures. 
  6. 2 pictures after the staining using the Restore-A-Deck Wood Stain must be included.
  7. If having trouble uploading the pictures, please make your picture(s) size smaller (below 3 MB).

Any questions or issues posting, please ask in the comment area.

We look forward to all entries!

*Disclaimer: All products must be purchased from Restore-A-Deck.com. The contest is not open to products purchased from other online dealers or from physical stores. All 3-Steps in the Restore-A-Deck system will need to be used to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Place: Step 1: Restore-A-Deck Wood Cleaner or Restore-A-Deck Stain Stripper. Step 2: Restore-A-Deck Wood Brightener. Step 3: Restore-A-Deck Wood Stains. If you used a different brand of stain but still prepped with the RAD prepping products you can still enter to receive a 5% credit (max credit of $20) towards your purchase from Restore-A-Deck.com.

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  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Stephanie P. · 07/18/2019
    Looks like pictures 3, 6, and 7 didn't make the cut. Trying again!
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    Stephanie P. · 07/18/2019
    We had new pressure treated pine boards and a vinyl railing put on our deck in south central Pennsylvania in July 2018, as the old boards and railing were beyond repair. Our deck is around 625 sq ft at 29' x 16' with a 12.5' raised octagon, two sets of three 3' stairs and one set three of 5' stairs. After seasoning for a year, and lots of research, I decided on the RAD products. Forgive the "before" picture with the dog! It was the best I had, as I failed to take a picture before jumping in (I was excited!).

    On Friday, July 5th, we used the Step 1 Cleaner with the deck brush attachment on our power washer for the cleaning process and the Step 2 Brightener with a regular, wide-angle spray nozzle to rinse it off. On Tuesday, July 9th (we had to wait due to inclement weather), we stained the deck with the RAD semi-transparent cedar colored stain. Surprisingly, we ended up only needing one packet of both the cleaner and brightener (I had bought two of each, just in case), and about 3 - 3.5 gallons of stain. We only stained the boards (one coat only this time around), but prepped the base boards, as well, as we intended on painting them white and wanted them to be in good shape for the paint, as well. The whole process was pretty darn easy - just a lot of deck to do it on! Like others have commented, the recommended stain brush really worked well, and an Oxiclean soak got it clean for reuse afterwards. We had four people working on it (we took turns), but it could easily be done with two. Doing it alone would not be difficult, just a bit more time crunching. It's always nice to have a gopher/helping hand.

    Every time I look out the window at the finished deck, it makes me happy - the cedar color is lovely and really lets the warmth and beauty of the wood shine through instead of just "painting" it. Water is beading up with the rains we've gotten, so it's already doing it's job!
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    Keith morth · 07/14/2019
    Sorry for the clumsiness with the photos. These last photos are a couple days after it cured and out of the bright sun.
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    Keith morth · 07/14/2019
    New southern facing PT pine deck completed July 2018. Staining project finished over 2 days in May 2019. Job was incredibly easy and loved the fact that I could get it done so quickly. The recommended RAD deck staining brush used made it a breeze to apply. I used the RAD cleaner, brightener, and the RAD Natural stain. I think it turned out great and I am pleased with the results.
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    KDann · 07/12/2019
    Cleaned(30 sec cleaner from HD) and pressure washed my deck after moving into new home, deck most likely never been stained for past 5-6yrs. Want to try the Kit, cleaner and brightener and two tone solid stain(classic white for rails and Coastal Grey for deck boards) Still need to remove the worn lattices and replace with vinyl at the base and wash and clean the "base board" where the lattices attached to. Deck is 20ftx13ft with 5 stair threaders. Advice on amount needed and if kit is good choice for remaining cleaning?
    • We will reply to your comment shortly
      KDann · 07/12/2019
      Lattices
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      RAD Products · 07/12/2019
      Yes on kit for the prep. Around 2 gallons for the rails and 3-4 gallons for the floors.
      • We will reply to your comment shortly
        KDann · 07/12/2019
        was thinking max 3 gallons for deck floors based on your recommended coverage, "Coverage Per Gallon:200-350 sq. ft" is your recommendation based on the wood age and absorption? also is the Brightener really needed since going with the solid stain? I have another project I can use the brightener if not on the deck.
        • We will reply to your comment shortly
          RAD Products · 07/12/2019
          Yes, you have to brighten.
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            KDann · 07/12/2019
            Thanks order placed.....any customer pictures of the Coastal Grey solid stain you can link to?
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Philip · 07/10/2019
    Was in the process of staining my deck and after applying the stain (Thompsons Waterseal plus Stain) my wife and I HATED it. Not sure of what to do, I started looking for strippers and stumbled upon the RAD brand. Based on the reviews, I decided to take a shot at getting the deck back to normal. I used the Restore-A-Deck Stripper and Brightener with the results being better than I thought! Before and after pictures shows the incredible difference.
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    Dave · 07/10/2019
    Our 150 foot pool fence is 22 years old. While still in good shape, it had never been been cleaned or stained. We used the (1) Cleaner and (2) Brightener to clean the fence, along with a lot of pressure washing. Tried pressure washing alone, and realized that using the Cleaner first made the pressure washing much easier.

    Then we applied the RAD SemiTransparent Cedar Stain. Tried spraying it, but that got messy so we ended brushing it on.

    Total job took about a week.

    Posting the following pictures:
    2 of the fence before cleaning.
    2 after fence is cleaned.
    2 after fence is stained.



    This is my third project using the RAD products (did two decks previously). Very happy with the cleaning process and the ease with applying the stain. It looks great!
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Frederick Cruea · 07/04/2019
    Having used RAD stripper,brightener and translucent cedar stain with great results, can I apply a second coat of stain weeks later?
    • We will reply to your comment shortly
      RAD Products · 07/05/2019
      No, once the first coat cures a second cannot be applied weeks later. You can prep and recoat in the late Fall or Spring of next year.
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Rick · 07/04/2019
    Can you enter if you used the RAD stripper and brightener, but used the TWP stain also purchased at this site?
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Michael Cotton · 06/30/2019
    After pictures of our deck. We ended up staining with RAD CEDAR STAIN one day after cleaner and brightner treatment due to rain.
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    Michael Cotton · 06/30/2019
    After RAD cleaner, brightner treatment.
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    Michael Cotton · 06/30/2019
    Here are pics of our dock prior to RAD cleaner, brightner treatment.
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    Rick Eiri · 06/27/2019
    Sorry, last pic was final after staining. Here is the pic after cleaning and brightening. Sorry for the confusion.
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Rick Eiri · 06/27/2019
    2nd pic after cleaning and brightening
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    Rick Eiri · 06/27/2019
    Sorry, here are my 3 pics.

    Thanks!
    Rick
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    Rick Eiri · 06/27/2019
    I have a 15-year old, 500 sf ironwood deck (see pic) that has never been treated, but has grayed over the years and recently started to swell too much during the winter to a point where there were no gaps between the boards. Time to seal the deck with RAD.

    It took me 5 hours to clean and brighten (another pic) using a sprayer and hose with a pressure nozzle and another 3 hours to apply two coats of natural stain (finished pic). Your deck brush is a must for applying the stain. The stairs came out just as nice, but I didn't have room to attach those pics.

    For a DIY, one man job, this product is truly RAD!!! I cannot believe how great it turned out.

    Thank you Restore-A-Deck for helpimg me bring my deck back to life so easily and inexpensively! I look forward to using RAD to maintain this beautiful look from now on.

    Rick
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      RAD Products · 06/27/2019
      Hi. Pics did not post. That have to be less than 3mb in file size.
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    Donna Hawver · 06/24/2019
    Completed in one day, the stripping, brightening and staining of 3 levels of deck and steps using the wet on wet process and cedar semi-transparent stain. The new look is amazing.
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Amanda · 06/14/2019
    I feel like this was my Mona Lisa when it comes to projects. We have a front deck, most of it is uncovered but there is a covered and enclosed area over the door, and a small back deck. The decks are about 20 years old and the front section has been painted numerous times while the back area has never been painted or stained. When we bought the house from family four years ago, we painted the front deck floor red and had white rails. After the first winter, the red was peeling. Last summer (2018, three years after painting), my husband pressure washed the little bit of red off but a lot of the white on the rails was still there. I stripped and sanded the entire front deck, it took me almost two months to compete, working an hour or two in the evenings! I was so happy when I finished the stripping!

    The last weekend of May of this year, I cleaned and brightened it. It made a world of difference. I had to wait until the middle of the first week of June to stain it, the weather was being unpredictable. I tried staining the same day a I brightened it, my phone app said the weather was perfect for the next few days. Five minutes after I finished the covered area it started to rain and then hail. Glad I didn’t try to do
    more.

    I did the majority of the project on my own and would have needed at least two days. I ended up using the equivalent of 2 gallons of cleaner, 1 gallon of brightener, and 2.5 gallons of stain. U am going to use the rest of the product to redo some stained benches.

    The photos/collages show the back deck, the covered area, a close up of the wood through the process, and a before and after of the deck. The deck looks amazing, the pictures don’t do it justice. I got this done a few days before a graduation party at our house, everyone loved the deck!

    I feel a big sense of pride that I was able to do this myself. I love going out there in the mornings now. It has made the entire house look amazing.
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Jim · 06/12/2019
    Recently stained a deck and used the deck stripper and brightener to prep the surface. Products worked great! Applied two coats of stain about a week after the prep work was done due to weather. Purchased the deck brush to apply the stain and happy with the way it worked. Made things go much faster! Would highly recommend these products.
  • We will reply to your comment shortly
    Josh · 06/08/2019
    This is the before pic from my post. It was too large the first time I posted it.
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    Josh · 06/08/2019
    This is the before pic, it was too large when I posted it the first time, so I shrunk it a bit.
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    Josh · 06/08/2019
    The deck had old solid stain which was probably last applied about 20+ years ago (first pic). To remove the stain, I used the RAD stripper with the booster and thickening gel additives. It didn't remove all the stain, which was expected since it was a solid stain, but it removed a good bit since there was a lot of flaking. I sanded the rest off and applied the RAD brightener (second pic). Then the weather did not cooperate for a couple weeks, so I applied the RAD cleaner and brightener in the morning before applying a single coat of the RAD light walnut semi-transparent stain in the afternoon (third pic). The before picture doesn't do justice to how bad it looked before the restoration. This is the first home improvement project of this size I've done myself, and I'm very proud and impressed with how it turned out.
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    Lesa Thomas · 06/05/2019
    Our son purchased a 25 year old home and wanted to redo the very large neglected deck and lattice. As a single first time home buyer, we didn't want him to make the same mistakes we had made re-staining our decks. His deck was peeling some old Cabot acrylic, pinkish border and lime green solid stain. (Old cans left in garage) So I started googling and found RAD. I inquired on the RAD help section about how this could be restored. My answer came shortly after submitting my comment. So, he pressure washed to remove the thick algae growth and dirt. (Unfortunately, no before pic.) Then used the RAD cleaner and brightener. Sand, puttied, hammered in nails, etc. It's a large deck so all hands were needed to get it done over the weekend. My son chose the solid Brown Oak RAD stain. The before pics are after it was cleaned with the RAD cleaner and brightener. We are all very pleased how it turned out!
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    Walter Rodrigues · 06/02/2019
    2 more photos didn’t upload in my original post...
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    Walter Rodrigues · 06/02/2019
    Our 20 year old, 26x16 deck, was in a completely chaotic state. Originally all cedar, treated pine has replaced the rotting boards through the years. This means we have about 4 different board ages and types.
    The last time my wife and I finished this deck, we decided to go all solid gray stain. It wasn’t long before the stain showed signs of wear.
    Finally, last fall we decided to replace rotting boards again and weathered them through the winter.
    I can’t even describe the amount of sanding and scraping involved. The last few month involved every weekend (weather permitting), of backaches and knee pains.

    when I heard about the RAD 3 step, all in one day system, I was excited to make one final push to get this job done. We purchased the five gallon in semi transparent cedar kit.

    Started by spraying the step 1 cleaner in the morning, scrubbing and lightly power washing it off. Followed with the step 2 brightener and light power wash again.
    This is when we began seeing amazing results. The brightener showed a tremendous improvement on the entire deck. The different color boards were now blending or, complementing each other beautifully. We wanted to keep the different board colors as we thought it would add an interesting character to the deck.

    We allowed the deck to dry only enough to remove water puddles and hit it with the cedar stain, starting from the house entrance and working outward. We used a staining pad and foam brush to start the edge up against the house and switched to a pole brush for the rest. All this was done in one day and, we had enough time to watch our favorite evening TV shows after dinner!

    We are so impressed with the results and looking forward to maintaining our deck without scrapers and sanders next spring. Thank you, we are very grateful for your incredible product!

    -Walter & Cathy
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    Casey · 06/01/2019
    I used the RAD Semi-transparent Cedar 3-step kit. My boat dock was in awful condition as the previous owner had used something that had failed miserably, although it was said to be only 2 years old. This dock gets almost no shade at any time and I could not wait until after summer heat to get it done. I used the "hot sun" method which required a light mist before each step. Because the light mist would dry very fast I had to do section by section.

    Although time consuming it turned out great. I could only apply one coat since the first coat was drying too fast to apply a second right away. I expect to be able to do a second coat in late fall, when much cooler, so it should be a simple clean and stain process.

    The products all worked great, and one of the reasons I chose RAD was because the "over the water" application requires minimal harsh chemicals. I have high hopes that from now on I can just clean and re-stain when required. Hopefully every 2 years, but it's easy enough even if it comes out to be yearly. Time will tell.
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    Kiki · 05/22/2019
    I have a 74×10 ft. Deck with a 14×10 extension. I managed to get the stain off on two sections.but the middle section still had a lot that I can not get off with the power washer. It is a Behr solid in dark gray. (absolutely horrible stuff) it started peeling in 2 weeks. How can o remove it!!! It is also on the spindles and the face of the entire deck. We are replacing the handrail with new and replacing the spindles with hog/goat fence but not replacing the spindles on staircases. Spindles are not peeling. Can i paint over them and use your stain on the deck floor. Please help!
    • We will reply to your comment shortly
      RAD Products · 05/22/2019
      You will have to sand it to remove the solid stain fully. You can use our solid stain on the railings and the semi-transparent for the floors.
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    Mike McClure · 05/19/2019
    We are extremely pleased with the results of our deck staining project using Restore-A-Deck products! The project involved our approximate 900 square foot deck, including the rails, spindles, three sets of stairs, 26 feet of bench area, and main deck floor. The deck was in poor condition after over five years in the Florida sun/rain environment since the last time a semi-transparent stain had been applied, and no maintenance/cleaning in between. We took our time to carefully prep the deck one weekend using the RAD stripper and brightener, total time spent prepping was about 15 hours over two days. We planned to stain the following weekend, however, rainy weather moved in, so we delayed until the following weekend. Thanks to the use of a rental airless power sprayer, the staining of the entire deck took only about four hours. We used the RAD water-based, semi-transparent stain, Light Walnut color. Thanks to the excellent RAD products, How-to-Tips, responsive Q&A, and reasonable pricing – my wife and I were able to accomplish this project ourselves with better-than-imagined results, and within budget. Our family, friends, and neighbors agree with us that it truly looks as good as new. Many thanks to the RAD team!
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    Steven Murillo · 05/18/2019
    Looks like only 3 photos got uploaded - 2 before and 1 after
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    Steven Murillo · 05/18/2019
    All I can say is WOW! I was in a world of hurt with an oil-base sealer/stain product. Admittedly, I had applied too much when I was doing my maintenance clean & reapply after a year of the original coat. I tried stripping the oil-based coat with paint stripper, denatured alcohol, and mechanically, but I would have been at it for weeks!

    Then I discovered your webpage and read about your water-based products: Stripper, Brightener, and Stain. I used the Stripper along with the Booster. I first tried just the Stripper, but realized that as the salesperson noted, I did indeed also need the Booster. After a second application with Booster, the deck came out beautifully! I then applied Natural Stain (after waiting a day – ran out of daylight!). The deck looks fantastic! I hadn’t expected the gentle satin or eggshell finish, but it was a nice surprise! Cleanup, being all water-based, was a breeze, and I didn’t end up with lots of environmentally unfriendly runn-off.

    Hats off to you and your company! Great products, easy to use, with fantastic results! What more can I say?

    below photos have 3 Before views (using the oil based product)and 1 After view using RAD products