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Q & A

Non Toxic Paint, Deck Stain, Wood Finish, Floor Finish and Mold Remediation Paint
Healthy Sustainable Coatings

What's the best non toxic way to stain my 2 decks, porch and rails?

10/27/2017

 
Hello,
We have a front porch, back screened in deck and a grilling deck that was constructed in 2014 when the house was built. I believe it is the standard pressure treated pine you talk about.

We live in central NC. We have done nothing to the wood since moving in. We would like to stain/waterproof these areas (and paint some).


Ideally we would like a semi transparent plum color for the front porch floor and semi transparent lighter blue for the screened in porch and grilling deck floors/stair steps.  The front porch gets some indirect am sun and direct afternoon sun. The screened in porch gets some indirect am sun and the grilling deck gets indirect pm sun.

We'd also like to paint the railings and stair risers of the grilling deck and the support wood for the screened in porch with a good outdoor paint. Any recommendations as to what products and methods to accomplish this project will be appreciated.
Front Porch :
Grilling Deck
Back Screened in porch
​

Thank you!
Picture

Hi, 

I would start by cleaning all three decks with Lime Clean. 
While that is being done it would be a good time to try a few samples. 

Slate Blue is a nice blue for decks. Stain Chart. 
We don't have a plum color exactly. There is a Legacy Color called Rosewood 18. That is in the plum range. It's a nice color that would work well on the front and back decks. 
Slate Blue will look nice on the back deck as well. I notice some mold and algae in the pic, so a color that doesn't contrast those things will look good longer. 

To paint the rails I would use Lime Prime and two coats of Lime Seal. Usually Oak Tone White or such is used instead of Bright White since the whiter "whites" tend to show dirt more outside on rails. Also, off whites or mid tones tend to hide any bleed through that may occur from pressure treated wood over time. If the rails that are there now are in good shape after cleaning, then I'd skip Lime Prime on them and just do two coats of Lime Seal. If they have raw wood and look worn after cleaning, then we find it better to use Lime Prime first.

The nice thing about painting rails with Lime Prime and Lime Seal is that these are coatings designed for very intense environments and they last a long time on residential exteriors. Lime Seal is an excellent, waterproof, washable exterior coating that is synergistic with Lime Prime. As a general rule, it takes three coats of any paint to fill in all the pores, crevices and such to water proof raw wood. Thus, Lime Prime and two top coats of Lime Seal.

The screened in porch can be given one coat to match the back deck but I would consider applying The Clear 00 System to since it's covered and doesn't get much sun. This will make it more like an exterior grade wood floor. It's easier to keep clean, looks really cool and lasts longer.

​To maintain The Clear 00 System we just wash and give it a clear coat as needed. Usually we don't use multiple coats on pressure treated because of the amount of movement that wood has but on covered porches that are weathered it does well. Some people have used NanoTech on porches like yours with good results. But it's always best to get a first coat of Rainforest Sealer in the wood before the top coat. Rainforest is the dense yet flexible tether that ages well in harsh conditions and keeps the top coat in good shape. 

The Clear 00 System is described on the website but the basics are:
1. Lime Clean
2. Sand 35-50 grit
3. Rainforest Sealer (any color or clear)
4. Mountain XT Clear 00 x 2 coats. 

Once that is done, the deck just gets a clear coat as needed. A covered porch doesn't need much maintenance but I'd roll out a quick bolstering coat in 1-3 years just to keep it nice.

It's fine to do just one coat of Slate Blue on both back deck and screened porch. This is very easy and works great. To apply one coat of stain on these areas I would use Mountain XT as the stain since it does better with lighter toned stains such as Slate Blue. I might just stick with that for the Rosewood as well but if you wanted to, it would be fine to use Rainforest Sealer for the Rosewood stain. 
To decide which way to go, I would try some sample pints on test areas while the deck is being prepped with Lime Clean. 

These stains are not sensitive to cold weather although they will dry slower the closer to freezing the temp gets. A little rain after staining won't hurt but the wood should be as dry as possible before coating so that the wood fiber cells get fully saturated with stain and not water. This way it lasts longer. 

There are several surfaces with different requirements so this has turned out to be a lot of info. Let me know if I missed anything. 
​
Best wishes,
Tom

Comments are closed.

    About Earthpaint 

    Tom Rioux founded Earthpaint after becoming severely ill as a professional paint contractor.

    He combines painting experience since 1985 and paint formulating experience since 2004. He also works continuously with a masterful team of seasoned veterans who believe sincerely in a healthy sustainable Earth. Some of the most advanced healthy sustainable coatings on Earth have been developed out of these partnerships.

    Earthpaint offers a unique perspective and these facets are brought forth here to offer advice to our fascinating and caring customers.  

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Responses are in order received. Thank you for your patience. Earthpaint.net offers factory direct specialized coatings, internationally. For these type of coatings to be available to the general public, each Project needs to be individually considered by experienced coatings professionals, and this takes time to be done properly.. Sample Pints are recommended. 
  • PAINT | STAIN | SEALER TYPES
    • NATURAL DECK STAIN
    • MOLD REMEDIATION PAINT PROJECTS
    • ZERO VOC FLOOR FINISH OPTIONS
    • WOOD FLOOR FINISH APPLICATORS
    • NON TOXIC WOOD FLOOR FINISHES
    • HARDWOOD FLOOR CLEANER
    • BEST WOOD FINISH OPTIONS - INTERIOR
    • HOUSE AND SIDING PAINT & STAIN
    • WINDOW DOOR AND TRIM FINISHES
    • CONCRETE FLOOR PAINT AND SEALER
    • RENEWABLE SOLVENTS
  • HEALTHY SUSTAINABLE FINISHES
    • ALL PRODUCT CATEGORIES
    • AQUALINE SATIN FLOOR FINISH
    • BABY SAFE CRIB FINISH
    • BIO POLY NATURAL
    • CLEAR SKIES HOUSE & SIDING PAINT
    • COLORANT CONTAINERS
    • CORN SOLVENT
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    • LIME SEAL TOP COAT
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