Restore-A-Deck Semi-Transparent Wood Stain 1 Gallon

Looking for guidance on cleaner vs stripper for my deck. (photos attached) The spindles & railings still have stain on them but the horizontal boards don't. The stain left on the spindles is TWP. I am planning to use RAD semi-transparent. Do I use stripper on all of it? The last time I went a little rogue with the pressure washer and I would like to sand some of the furry areas I left behind on spindles. What is the recommended order that I do things as far as sanding? Also, I have an opened bag of brightener from 2-3 years ago that isn't mixed up. Is that still any good? Thank you! - Jessi 

Given that this is a semi-transparent stain, what percentage of UV protection should I expect? Very little, some, or? The product description says it protects from UV oxidation and graying, however this is a semi-transparent stain, and they typically provide very little if any UV protection at all. 

My deck is about 300 sqft with a 10'x10' section that steps down to a 14'x14' section. There are also 3 steps that are 4' wide in addition to the two sections. I am only going to be using this on the deck floor for the surfaces mentioned. It is new pressure treated yellow pine that I installed in April so following what I've read, I should only need 1 coat of the stain after doing the prep. Will 3 gallons of dark walnut be enough? Also, do the cleaner and brightener have to be applied using a sprayer or is there another method that also works?

I applied the semi-transparent light walnut stain to a large cedar deck (over 600 SQ"). The deck is approximately 11-months old and the prep (cleaner/brightener) was done 3-weeks prior. 
Unfortunately, weather forecast has been challenging and I finally had a small window to apply the stain with a period of 24 hours of no forecasted rain. I knew I was pushing the prep-to-stain timeline so I decided to go with the staining with temperatures around 85 degrees F and the day turned out to be full sun to overcast during the last hour of the application.  
I applied the stain with a low pressure garden sprayer and a high quality pole mounted 12" stain pad that I kept wet using a large roller pan. I maintained wet-on-wet and typically did 2-boards at-a-time with the grain, the entire length (about 60'). The stain pad worked well allowing pressure against the wood and the ability to back brush leaving the surface consistent with no pooling. I was very cautions to not over-apply and have any pooling.
The color and consistency of the deck looks awesome but the next day, I have some concerns that I might have made the mistake to not have pre-misted the deck surface with water. One reason that I did not pre-mist was the overall size, knowing that by the time I was halfway through, the surface would be long dry and with the caution to pick a day with no subsequent rain, I certainly didn't want to mist boards with spray getting on adjacent stained boards. 
24-hours after the application, the surface is not tacky to the touch but it is slightly tacky when walking on it. I have read other posts and realize this will go away as the stain cures. I am wondering if the fact that the surface is slightly tacky 24-hours later, if this is a good sign that I did not experience flash-drying from the heat and sun? I did find that if I dripped some product on an adjacent unstained board that waiting as little as a few minutes to coat over would not always hide the splatter. Also, very surprising to me 24-hours later in the last section of deck that I did, there is a very distinct shadow through about 20-boards (perpendicular) that resembles the shadow of the top 2x6 railing, perfectly straight down the deck about 6" wide. The area is lighter in color and appears to have perhaps absorbed the stain into the wood more. Thinking back, we do not remember the sun providing a shadow at the time of application and actually believe it was cloudy at that point. I am wondering if the sun had just heated up the deck at this point with the exception of where the top railing was shading the wood? Can you help me with an explanation as this pattern certainly was not showing during the application and obviously is not from the stain being applied differently in this area.
And if I have experienced differences in the penetration of the stain due to temperature, am I destined for problems such as future peeling? Again, I was careful to not overapply and there was no pooling and I have a slightly tacky surface 24-hours after applying.
Lastly, I am assuming with this cedar deck (11-months seasoned), that I do not need to apply a second coat of semi-transparent stain as might be needed with a solid stain.
Thank you for your thoughts on this.
-Joe

Is there a measurement for how much square footage is recommended per gallon?I have a pretty small deck (177.5 sq ft) and want to make sure 1 gallon of stain is enough

What is the self life of the semi-transparent dark walnut?   I think an unopened 5 gallon can has been in my garage for 3 years.  

Can different colors be mixed? I'd like something between the cottage grey and cedar.

I would like to stain a pressure-treated pine covered-porch floor that is about 10 years old and has never had any stain or paint. It has only been weathered by blown-in rain and snow, and hosed off on rare occasions. Would it be considered to be weathered from that after 10 years, or still pretty-much new wood? What should we do to prepare it, and how many coats of the semi-transparent stain should we apply?

after first coat seems to be some tacky spots will this go way with the summer sun and hot weather?

For a an old deck pressure treated deck (30+ years), do you suggest brushing or spraying as the way to achieve best results?

What is best way to remove the semi transparent stain from the vinyl siding? It has only a few days.The system work great just need to finish a couple of hard to reach spots, very happy so far!thanks

Can Bug Juice be added to the semi-transparent stain with affecting its performance?

We applied both the RAD cleaner and brighter to a 600 SQ’ cedar deck that was new 10-months ago. We have not yet applied the RAD light walnut semi-transparent stain.
We maintained a wet surface during the application of the cleaner and scrubbed with a hard bristle brush. We worked the surface till the white/grey oxidation appeared gone.
The area was thoroughly hosed off and the brightner was applied and also thoroughly hosed off. All directions were followed exactly as stated.
The following morning after checking the dried deck you still see spots of white/grey especially around knots. The look is very consistent throughout the entire deck.
Before applying the stain, do we need to reapply the cleaner/brighter to remove additional oxidation? Or will the light walnut semi-transparent stain provide a consistent coverage?
Thank you for your help!

DOES CYPRESS RAILING & CEDAR DECK LOOK GOOD TOGETHER OR BROWN OAK RAILING BETTER

How long does this stain last in caribbean rainy season type weather? Full sun and rain for 7 months. 

On about 1/3 of the boards on my upper deck, I sanded off the old stain down to bare would.  After seeing how much work that was, I used the RAD Stripper,  followed up with the RAD Brightener.  I followed all the instructions, including "flooding for 30 minutes,"  using a pressure washer.  After that dried, I also sanded the entire surface using a 60 Grit Belt Sander & 60 Grit orbital.   I applied Light Walnut semi transparent to the entire deck, using "wet on wet" for two coats.  On the section where I did not use the RAD Stripper & Brightener,  the results were great (see photo).  On the section where RAD was Stripper & Brightener were used, I have a "chalk" like presence on the wood surface (see photos).
What's strange is that not all of the boards that were treated with RAD Stripper & Brightener (see photo) were effected in this manner.

What do I do now?

HI i have roughly a 1415 sq ft deck to stain. old stain was oil and should come off easy since most of the deck is in the sun and is faded. How much stain est.  would i need? there is no railings. Thank you

I live in Northeast Ohio in the "snow belt."  6 years ago, I used Sickkens oil based semi-transparent on my pressure treated deck.  I used Olympic Premier Deck Cleaner with a pressure washer which removed about 90% of the finish.  I sanded the entire deck with an orbital sander using 60 grit, which further removed the remaining finish.  The boards look clean and ready to be refinished. 
I'd like to use the Restore, water based light walnut.  Is there anything else I need to do at this point?

Will you be adding a redwood color to your RAD semi-transparent stain?

How do I apply the stain? Will paint brushes work? Or rollers?

I need a little advice and a pep talk on tackling the stain application on my 16' square pergola. I'm working alone and it took me 25 hours to strip and brighten it and, while it isn't perfect, by golly I'm calling Steps 1 and 2 done. According to RAD stain directions, I need to do verticals first (one coat), then horizontals (two coats), and make sure to finish the entire length of each board while the stain is still wet. First of all, isn't pretty much everything here a vertical, except for the tops of the upper boards and the lower surface of the detailing around the sides? Second, with all of the crisscrossed boards I've got, standing on a tall ladder, climbing up and down between the rafters, should I be working from the top down, or the bottom up? Whichever direction, should I do all one layer at a time? E.g. if top down, then do all the narrow top boards first, then the 2 x 10 rafters, then the sides and detailing below that, then the posts? If I do topmost boards first, is it best to do all four surfaces at the same time, or wait and do the bottom surface when I'm doing the rafters just below them? Finally I'm not going to be able to keep the wood damp during the entire application process because I just won't be able to work fast enough. I've got a window of 3-4 hours in the morning before the sun hits it, and another 3 hours in the evening after the sun falls behind the house.

Applied stain on 12 month old wood. Used provided brush. I'm not sure why there are so many horizontal lines along the wood? I also have some spots where the stain dripped off the brush and apparently wasn't spread fast enough and spots are now visble. Also some areas (such as by stairs as pictured) are very dark compared to the rest of the deck. I spread the stain pretty quickly and what seemed to be evenly so I'm not sure why any of this happened. I was kind of running out of stain and maybe didn't apply enough. I'm hoping another coat can remedy these issues? 

We're looking at the idea of a company coming out to seal the deck with a product they say will penetrate the wood and keep the boards from splitting over time (we have a 20 yr old deck and have replaced a few boards already. They don't do coloring, they say we can stain after 6 months or so. Do you see any issue with your product being used over a deck treated like this after proper cleaning and brightening?

I used bleach to get rid of stubborn algae on my shed cedar facia board years ago. The facia board grayed over time. How do I prepare that board for staining? The roof is metal so spraying around it would be tricky. Would I use a particular cleaner? Brightener? How would I apply it. Already have the stripper and brightener for my front gate project- but wanted to know what to do to this facia board on my shed to bring it back to life?

I have a small deck porch made of iron wood. I’d like to restore it to the original finish which is the cherry color that the door mat has protected in contrast to the now grey color (see pics).  What stain would you recommend to go along the rest of the RAD products needed?

How do I use Restore A Deck products on outdoor wood furniture. I plan on sanding first. 

I am looking to restain my redwood deck - part new, part old and last coated with Cabots Australian Timber Oil. I have a few quick questions:
1. I am having it professionally done and they are planning to do their own cleaning/stripping/sanding to prep for your water based product. Is there anything specific they should know for use of the RAD stain? Best practices for stripping or sandpaper grit to get the best penetration?2. I really like the color of the redwood and don't want to cover it up too much - which color option would be best for this application?3. The deck is approx 440 sq ft, accounting for 10-15% overage for ends, vertical surfaces, etc. How much product will I need?4. I had seen a 2.5 gallon offering on another website, but don't see that here. Is this amount something you still offer?
Thank you!

We have an ipe deck previously treated with DeckWise Ipe Oil.  Are there any problems using a water based product on ipe previously treated with an oil based product?  Also, if using Restore-A-Deck on ipe, which color stain is recommended?

Can RAD semi-transparent stain be applied to a 1yr old cedar fence (no previous stain) without cleaning and brightening before staining the fence?   The three step process for a fence that is as long as ours would be too labor intensive.  We use RAD for our deck and do the three step process, but for our fence it would be too much process. 

how many coats for an aged cedar deck?