Deck Stain
Mountain XT -Deck Stain- A super strong, super tough deck stain. Apply one coat on your deck and you'll see why this is the best deck stain going! Effective in high black mold and algae regions and flexible enough for extreme and harsh sun regions. XT is gorgeous on exotic woods. Really brings out the natural tones in quality woods like cedar, redwood, ipe, tiger wood, mahogany etc. and brings old pressure treated back to life.
Also available in a Clear 00, which is a Semi Gloss topcoat. Use Mountain XT Clear 00 for maximum protection over your favorite deck stain color. Renewable and Natural! This patented cashew resin is a tree based resin that decks love!
The Cashew Nut has is the only technology we have found that is not only sustainable but tough enough for the extreme environments of a deck. XT uses a very dense resin which means the wood fiber gets serious protection. XT is able to reduce splitting, cracking and warping better than anything we've ever seen; significantly better. The stain colors hold true and are designed to block UV radiation without fading. For long term protection XT is the best. Use this Ask Earthpaint tool to get customized solutions for your deck.
Rainforest Sealer- Deck Stain- Our highest density deck stain made with locally derived southern pine resin. Roll it into the wood and you'll see your wood smile as it drinks up the delicious nourishment like never before. You can see, smell and feel the difference! Rainforest is a high density deck resin meaning it imbues a deep richness, leaving a large amount of resin per square inch in the deck wood it coats. This allows it to saturate the wood with lots of nourishing oils and minerals rather than solvents and fillers.
Once a deck is coated with Rainforest you will have something to build on. Wood fiber encapsulated with Rainforest Sealer allows the wood to breath and flex as it needs to, naturally. It bolsters the wood fiber making it more resilient. Similar to Mountain XT but uses Pine resin instead of Cashew. Low Voc. No petrochemical poisons! Renewable, Biodegradeable, Natural. Locally made and sourced.
Aqualine Solid- Deck Rail Stain- A solid color, Matte Finish deck stain that is great on rails. Apply this deck stain to your rails to completely block UV Radiation and add interesting color effects. Perfect for sealing in pressure treated decks. Puts a safe barrier between you and the chemicals in pressure treated wood. Great stain colors make it fun to create a deck that looks great on your house.
So many pressure treated decks just never measure up to the beauty we want. This is a deck sealer that compliments the style of your home and keeps pressure treated wood looking good. Stain the rails with Aqualine Deck Stain and stain the deck floor with Mountain XT. This system will have your deck looking better than ever and ready for fun for years to come. You can have this stain custom matched to the color of your siding. Just give us the color name and manufacturer.
Lime Clean- Deck Cleaner- After decades of begrudgingly using Bleach, TSP or Oxalic Acid to clean decks we finally have a better Deck Cleaner! Sure, Oxygen Bleach is nice but it's really only for color, It never really worked out on the deep, dark green and black sort of muck that builds up on decks here in Asheville. Lime Clean does this job nicely! It is strong like Bleach and TSP but has none of the odor or poisons. It is made out of the mineral Lime which has been used for centuries by farmers to fertilize fields and kill mold in barns.
Prep Is Everything: Before you stain your deck, clean it with Lime Clean Deck Cleaner. Any wood that is outside more than two weeks will have mold spores. Mold spores can be hard to see but they are everywhere. If you coat over mold spores they can be hard to remove. Proper prep and deck cleaning is essential before you start staining your deck. It's always impressive to use Lime Clean and see it wash the blackest, nastiest old weathered deck and bring it right back to life!
Ipe`, Cedar and Exotics: Tannic Acid is a major cause of deck stain failure. Especially in the woods listed and even more so when the wood is new. One thing that Lime Clean does better than anything else is nuetralize tannins. As soon as you apply it on Ipe you will see as the tannic acid naturally dissolves into the white cleaner. Scrub, Rinse and Stain. That once problematic deck is now taken care of the right way. Use this Ask Earthpaint tool to get customized solutions for your exotic wood deck.
Mill Glaze: If you have new deck wood or logs it will have a mill glaze from where the hot saw blade rubbed against it and closed the pores. Mill glaze prohibits stain from accepting deeply and evenly. Lime Clean removes mill glaze without sanding or dust. Wet the wood, apply Lime Clean, let it sit 20 minutes and power wash or rinse off.
Why It's Better: No bleach or acid. Practically odorless. Safe and natural to wash into the ground. Doesn't create acid rain or poison the water systems like bleach or acid can. Just brush or roll it on, give it a light scrub and rinse it off with a hose or pressure washer. Cleans old Decks, old deck stain, Pressure Treated Decks and deck stains, Black Mold Deck Stains, algae deck stains; Removes Mill glaze and preps the deck wood so it can recieve deck stain properly.
Recommended Deck Stain Approach
HORIZONTAL DECK SURFACES:
Apply One Coat.
One Penetrating Deck Stain coat will be a durable flat finish that will never peel and be easy to maintain. Specifically apply one coat of Mountain XT Deck Stain or Rainforest Sealer on the deck floors and flat lying surfaces. This is a long lasting and easy to maintain deck stain system. [Mountain XT Clear 00 is used on certain horizontal surfaces but get a customized recommendation for your wood type first Ask Earthpaint
VERTICAL DECK SURFACES: Two deck stain options listed below.
Option 1:
One Coat. You can apply a single penetrating deck stain coat on everything (floor and Rails) and leave it at that. You'll have a great looking flat deck stain with easy maintenance.
Option 2:
(Best) Stain and Clear Topcoat. Apply a penetrating deck stain on everything and then Mountain XT Clear 00 on the rails. This is a Clear Top Coat of Mountain XT that goes over the deck stain on the rails. Mountain XT Clear 00 will make deck stain last longer before needing any maintenance. So, apply your favorite deck stain color and then topcoat it with one or two clear coats of Mountain XT Clear 00 on the deck rails.
*Use this Ask Earthpaint tool to get customized solutions for your deck.
*See Technical Data Sheet, MSDS and Print How To's found on each product page.
How To Apply Deck Stain: Instructions for Applying Rainforest Sealer and Mountain XT.
Deck Stain Colors
Sample pints are the best way to check a deck stain color on your deck wood variety. The chart below is a printable pdf link that is a fair representation of the stain color.
Stain Injection Syringes are also available. With these pure colorant injectors you can customize your stain colors to practically any color you want. Add more for darker more opaque colors. Add less for lighter more transparent colors. We use complex UV Resistant, Fade Resistant pigments. Syringes are marked, so exact measurements are very easy to replicate.
1 oz Wood Stain Color Samples are an affordable way to test exactly 1 ounce of oil based stain. These syringes come preloaded with Bio Poly NT tinted to any of our colors. They are close but not exact representations of Rainforest and Mountain XT. If you need "exact" (stains always vary from board to board) use the Sample Pints, however, if you are just looking for an affordable approximation of the color or to test square foot coverage then this is an easy option to do it.
Deck Stain Colors affect longevity of deck stain. Lighter colors don't stop UV Radiation as well as Darker colors. The Stain Selection chart below has the colors marked with an * indicating more deck stain durability.
Finding the Best Deck Stain Color
Natural Deck Stain Tones: If you want a natural deck stain tone, such as you want the natural wood to appear then you will need to make a decision. Unless you want your deck to turn grey quickly a color is required. The best colors to use for a natural toned deck are Honey 11 and Light Cedar 14. These both look great, very natural tone, good clarity, light stain colors, and hold up very well under sunlight. For light tones with some more color Acorn 01, Sage 19 (great on Pressure Treated) or Jute 13 can be brightening yet still earthy. Light Honey 15 is the lightest color but won't give much protection from UV Radiation.
Midrange Deck Stain: For a midrange deck stain the Brown Cedar 04, Cool Leaf 08 and Rosewood 18 are gorgeous. These offer deep, rich colors that block a relatively large amount of UV Radiation while holding their color with minimal fading over the years.
Deep Toned Deck Stains: For a longer lasting deck stain a deep tone is great. For those who don't want to redo their deck for a long time this is a good way to go. Bark 03, Fawn 09, Warm Cinnamon 24 and arguably Brown Cedar 04 could also make it into this category. All these stain colors have historically great color retention.
Ultra Deep Toned Deck Stains: For longest lasting deck stain these ultra deep tones are the best. These are the kinds of colors you can put on and forget about for a good long time. Toffee 23 and Raisin 17 have proven to last through high altitude, heavy snow, intense sunlight and still protect the flat horizontal, brutally weathered deck boards.
Now, keep in mind that this ultra deep tone durability is mostly due to opacity and the fact that we put our deck stains into high density resins not cheap petrochemical poisons like mineral spirits. You can use the Stain Injection Syringes to increase the opacity of any of the other colors as desired. Just squeeze into the can and stir. Stop when you like it. This will increase durability of any of the colors.
Customizing: Stain Injection Syringes can be mixed and matched to create any color you desire.
Formula to Find Square Foot Coverage Per Gallon on the Jobsite
To determine Sft/gl on the exact species to be coated:
- Measure 1 fluid ounce. Apply to your wood.
- Measure inches WxH= Square inch / oz. [Width x height equals the square inches per fluid ounce.]
- Divide the square inches / oz by 144. [Divide the number you got in step 2 by 144 to get the Sft / oz.]
- Multiply Sft/oz x 128= Sft/gl. [This final number will give you the Sft / gl on your exact wood type.]
- Divide by the square feet you are coating. This result is approx. how many gallons deck stain you will need.
To be clear, most people don't calculate their deck stain before coating. But for those who want to, this is one way it can be done. Each product lists a Theoretical Coverage which is enough to estimate how much product you need to stain your deck. So even though it is not necessary to do these calculations sometimes it is nice to know how far a product will go on your deck. It is most helpful to our contractors who want to refine their estimates to improve profitability.
This formula will tell approximately how many square feet per gallon you can expect on your specific wood type. If you are going to use a sample pint to check the color of your deck stain anyway, then this formula will be pretty easy to do. Test in an inconspicuous but fully weathered area. Remember sides of boards add up to a lot of surface area.
It is easier to do one ounce than one gallon. However, a gallon is a better calculation. To do this simply stop after you have applied the first gallon and add up the square footage of what you just covered. Width x Height = Square Footage of that flat surface. It's always nice to hear back from people about how far their deck stain went so any information you can email us about your deck will be useful.
Earthpaint Wood Finishes are used on Ipe, Red Cedar, White Cedar, Pressure Treated, Mahogany, Yellow Pine, White Pine, Locust, Redwood, Tigerwood, Red Oak, White Oak, Jatoba, Massaranduba, Purple Heart, Curupau, Doug Fir, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Hickory, Poplar, Qtr. Sawn White Oak, Ash, Cocobolo, Padauk, Cypress, Siberian Larch, ...
*Theoretical Coverage is given for each product on the Technical Data Sheet and on the Label.
Deck Stain Reminders
Clear Wood Finish: Do not use clear wood finish (untinted) on Decks and horizontal surfaces unless you want it to turn grey. For a natural wood tone use Honey stain or Light Honey. These two stains look natural but add more UV protection than clear. We recommend darker stains for outside wood such as Brown Cedar, Raisin, Toffee, Bark. Darker stains last much longer and require less maintenance.
PREP: Wash surfaces with Lime Clean Wood and Deck Cleaner. This is a natural, sustainable cleaner made from the mineral lime. It works very well to remove Mill Glaze, Black Mold and Mildew Stains, Algae Stains and prepare exterior wood for staining. Bleach & TSP or Oxalic Acid are similarly strong but Lime Clean is better and less damaging to the Earth.
Oxygen Bleach is fine for brightening wood but in our experience it is not strong enough to prepare wood for coating.
DRY TIME AFTER WASHING: 3 dry warm days. Do not coat moist or damp wood.
MOISTURE CONTENT: Water vapor will leave wood slow and even, reducing splitting and warping when one coat of Mountain XT or Rainforest is applied. One coat is breathable. Two or more coats is not. Do not apply two or more coats to wood above 18% moisture content. If you have high moisture content apply one coat this year and in 1-3 years apply one or more coats.
Bolstering a Mountain XT Clear 00 Top Coat: It can be helpful to come back after the first 12-24 months and brush on another coat of Clear 00. Although the wood may look perfect at this point it is a good time to bolster the coating. Wood that is freshly coated tends to settle into its new coating. It dries out slowly and condenses firmly into it's new fully bolstered protected state. At this point it is good to give it a fresh coat to bolster the outer barrier and really seal the deal. This reduces prep in the long run and increases the overall longevity of the the Clear 00 topcoat. Washing the surface and brushing on a topcoat goes very fast and uses a relatively small amount of product. We have regularly gotten over 700 sft / gallon when bolstering a Clear 00 Top coat.