Posted: 6/1/2009 4:49:57 AM EDT
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I built my deck 5 years ago and just pressure washed it for the third time, as of yesterday.
I bought a 5 gallon can of Thompson's water seal about 3 years ago and have half of it left. Has anybody added stain to Thompson's or a similar product to give their deck a darker finish? It says not to thin it out, but a can of stain would have minimal effect and also contains sealing chemicals. I could buy stain/sealer all-in-one, but don't want to waste what I have. Has anybody done this? Can it be done? |
| I've never tried it and I'm not sure if it can be done. My thoughts on this though are that it won't mix very well. The water seal repels waters/liquids which leads me to believe the stain and pigments won't mix with it. Maybe you could buy a small can of stain and try to mix a small batch before trying to mix the whole 3 gallons? |
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Quoted:
I've never tried it and I'm not sure if it can be done. My thoughts on this though are that it won't mix very well. The water seal repels waters/liquids which leads me to believe the stain and pigments won't mix with it. Maybe you could buy a small can of stain and try to mix a small batch before trying to mix the whole 3 gallons? Good point, it would probably have a better chance of working if I use an oil based stain or just dry pigment. |
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If you get a good stain then you don't need the Thompsons. I, personally, Thompsoned (new word) my deck and I like the way it looks, however 3 weeks ago I stained my little brother's deck for him while he was on vacation. It came out great and the water beads of of it just like if I had used Thompsons. So if you wanted a stain to get darker than just the regular old Thompsons I'd say spend the $30 and just get a stain you like. I wouldn't try mixing stain into Thompsons.
FYI, things that might help you. Get a pole attachment, like for a paint roller, and use it on a pad type applicator they sell in the paint department. It will not be as messy as using a roller or spraying and basically works just like mopping the floor. I went one step further than I think I needed to go and for about $50 you can rent a drum floor sander and sand your whole deck down to get to unmolested wood. |
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Quoted:
If you get a good stain then you don't need the Thompsons. I, personally, Thompsoned (new word) my deck and I like the way it looks, however 3 weeks ago I stained my little brother's deck for him while he was on vacation. It came out great and the water beads of of it just like if I had used Thompsons. So if you wanted a stain to get darker than just the regular old Thompsons I'd say spend the $30 and just get a stain you like. I wouldn't try mixing stain into Thompsons. FYI, things that might help you. Get a pole attachment, like for a paint roller, and use it on a pad type applicator they sell in the paint department. It will not be as messy as using a roller or spraying and basically works just like mopping the floor. I went one step further than I think I needed to go and for about $50 you can rent a drum floor sander and sand your whole deck down to get to unmolested wood. I pressure washed it and plan to take a belt sander to the raised parts and an orbital sander for the railing. I may just go with stain. |