Best Deck Stain?

[CThomp]

I'm leaning towards several coats of Sherwin Williams Deckscapes.

Are those permanent deck sealants like Seal Maxx and Seal Rx a sham? Looks like snake oil to me. They say 25 year warranty. I don't believe that though. Not in Florida. No way. Maybe in Maine or something.

[Rich]

Read the fine print on that 25 year warranty - most likely it says "with re-sealing every 3 years" :)
We've had pretty good luck with the Semi-Solids from Cabots. Still has a little transparency so you see the wood grain.

[CThomp]

What kind of longevity does cabots have?

Yeah I wasn't putting much if any faith in the "permanent" products. If it seems to good to be true then it must be.

[Rich]

From what I've seen - about 2-3 years for the first coat. Longer if it's covered. After the second coat you should get 4-5 years out of it.

[CThomp]

Good stuff. Thanks Rich. Now wife just needs to figure out what color stain she wants.

[bkrahmer]

Sure as hell not Behr's water-based stuff. They claim a 4 year warranty on the can. In one year, it looked like crap. Nearly all of it was flaked off. I'm going to be taking them up on their warranty...

[tommyboy]

I second the motion, Cabots is good stuff. Been on my personal deck for 4 years and still looks good