The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

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  • Worst Deck Staining Job: Recoated

    A year after using up the rest of the stain that Came With The House™, I pressure-washed the worst deck staining job into submission:

    Deck restaining - pressure washed
    Deck restaining – pressure washed

    Given the variegated ugly remaining, a “solid” color seemed appropriate. Based on web color samples, we independently decided “Cedar Naturaltone” was the least awful choice:

    Deck restaining - Behr Cedar Naturaltone
    Deck restaining – Behr Cedar Naturaltone

    I am not an expert on woods, but IMO that ain’t close to any real substance named “cedar”.

    The instructions insist two thin coats will produce a better outcome than one thick coat, so I did my best:

    Deck restaining - starting
    Deck restaining – starting

    The first coat dried slightly less orange than I feared:

    Deck restaining - first coat
    Deck restaining – first coat

    After the second coat, it’s not really pumpkin out there, but it’s pretty close. The phone camera + GIMP seem unable to cope with the situation, so trust me when I say that’s a sheet of pure white EVA foam:

    Deck restaining - not pumpkin
    Deck restaining – not pumpkin

    I suspect the stain / paint will outlive the deck structure, but now it’s uniformly ugly.