Hi i have spent 2 days jet washing a 45m/2 deck area with handrails and spindles. I laid the deck for a customer about 6 years ago and in that time he hadn't cleaned it or treated it once, so as you can imagine i had a fair bit of grime to take off.
Eventually i was ready to stain- the customer supplied the stain which was the Ronseal deck stain type, with the sponge applicator. I was looking forward to this, since it is meant to take half the time and provide even coverage. I checked the tin and i saw that on a rough sawn surface ( which deck boards aren't, but since these had been power washed wouldn't be as smooth as new) should be able to cover 10-15m/2 with 2 coats., so 2 tins should have covered 20-30m/2.
No chance!! Using the applicator, these 2 tins only just managed to cover 20m/2 with ONE coat- this one coat wasn't even a thick coat. Using the sponge was a pain since the grooves meant that the sponge had to be really pressed down in order to cover all the bits of board, even then i had to dab some areas which were untouched by the stain.
After waiting for the stained area to dry, the finish was as expected for a single coat, pale colour with some lighter areas. Definately in need of another coat.
I am so fed up with this company- i used a wallpaper brush on a previous deck with Ronseal Heavy Duty Decking stain and still only covered the 'estimated coverage for 2 coats' with a single coat. I had to purchase another 2 tins that time at an extra cost to me, plus the time i had to take to go and pick up the extra. Why can't they simply put on a realistic coverage figure instead of bullsh*tting !!!
I've taken pictures of the deck i stained today and am going to contact Ronseal to have a good old rant at them- i'm sure im not the only person who will have done this.
Does anyone have any recommendations for staining, ie a brand that actually covers as per instructions? I think Ronseal is getting the boot from now on.
Anyways, i'm going to chill with a cold beer now.
On the plus side, it was a nice sunny day..
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The finish looks good, but as you said, it took 3 coats. There must be a decent stain available that only requires 2 coats for uniform coverage which is long lasting. The cost wouldn't be an issue if coverage could be relied on since this would mean i could budget for it accurately and not need to be traipsing around town looking for extra tins.
Thats a nice deck and paved area, are those burbidge rails and spindles?
Hi Will, for whats its worth, I did some deck painting the other month.
Decking before:
I couldn't jet wash or paint it in situ due to the weather , so it was lifted, bought back to my workshop, scrubbed with fungicide, rinsed thoroughly , then 'baked' in front of my wood burner for a day to dry it out.
I used Cuprinol Ultra Tough Decking Stain in 'Cedar Fall' colour - http://www.cuprinol.co.uk/products/ultra_tough_decking_stain_overvi...
Quite pricey at over £30 odd a tin, but coverage with two coats was great, more or less what it said on the tin, which I thought was not bad considering I painted both edges and the ends too.... I had to trim a few boards as there was a minor adjustment made to the deck when relaying - the product didn't chip or flake and actually seemed to have soaked into the boards quite well.
Decking after:
As always when painting anything there was half of the second tin I bought left over, but I budgeted for that.
I used a block brush/shed and fence care brush for applying it with - exactly as wide as the boards so made life easy.
Maybe a Cuprinol product might be worth a try next time you are doing anything like this?
Blimey, that's a lot of work to paint a deck, but the end result is clear to see. I hope you charged well for this. I don't like lifting deck boards (unless to replace if broken)due to the chance of the screws splitting the boards on the 'unscrew' or screw heads on inferior fixings wearing. The finish is good and will have a look at cuprinol reviews and products. Thanks Adam.
Adam Pilgrim said:
Thanks for that, will have a look in a bit- the sponge applicator is simply a cheap gimmick which, while seeming to be quick, is not a 'consistent' way of putting stain on.
On the entertainment side, i have been mostly listening to Aerosmith back catalogue on my ipod whilst jet washing and painting. Marvellous.
Paul @ PPCH Services said:
Yes, it did take a while!
All new nails and fixings costed in and used on that job. It had been nailed before, so I nailed it again as the customer didn't like the look of exposed screw heads. I had the consent of the customer to replace any rotten or damaged framing or boards but didn't actually need to change any in the end.
Before painting a lot of the boards were already loose as the previous nails had rotted off, although the battens and joists were still all good - A couple of hundred good quality out-door specification oboe nails where the boards pass over every joist and its not going anywhere now.
I just remembered I painted the top edges of all the framework underneath too, so that Cuprinol product REALLY does give good coverage!
spot on Paul same here when I paint anything
Found this Paul-http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=purdy+nylonia+elite+pain... seems a bit pricey, but quality normally is.
Any thoughts on decent stain brands/ products?
Keep us informed about about your complaint to Ronseal.
It would be interesting to hear there reply.
Good post
Regards
Martin
I have found ronseal Stains too be ok ,I find they are much the same as any others TBH .
http://www.johnstonestrade.com/woodworks.aspx?ProductRange=woodworks
I have found these products too work well ,it may be worth a go
re coverage, presumably the quoted areas assume un-grooved boards? Could the difference be down to the fact that the grooves increase the surface area considerably, probably x 2?
on that subject - since grooved boards hold a lot of muck, as well as soaking up more stain, and therefore get dirty quicker - why do people prefer to lay grooved? I far prefer smooth boards, and I don't think they get any more slippery.
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