My buddy said my deck stain job looked 'blotchy' and now I'm redoing it

I stained my 12x14 foot deck last month with a solid color oil-based stain, thinking one coat was enough. He pointed out the wood grain was showing through unevenly in spots, making it look patchy. Should I always do two thin coats, or was my prep work the real issue?

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3 Comments

jesse47mo ago

Ugh, I read that prep is EVERYTHING for stain.

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cora_schmidt857mo ago

Remember when we all thought the stain itself was the magic part? I used to skip prep and just slap it on. Then I tried a project on a deck that wasn't ready. The stain peeled in a year. Now I spend twice as long cleaning and sanding than I do actually staining. It's boring but it works.

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gray_kim916mo ago

Jesse saying prep is EVERYTHING is so true. I stained a picnic table once and missed a spot with the cleaner. The stain just beaded up on that one board like water on a waxed car. The rest soaked in fine. It was this weird shiny patch that drove me nuts until I sanded it all off.

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