Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - wolmanized deck questions(stain/seal)

I've looked through the threads and saw some answers I was looking for but I hope I can get some new answers to some specific questions.

I built a new deck last year out of PT lumber(pine I'm guessing). It's aged for one year now and starting to gray. I'm ready to stain/seal it now, and I'm planning to do a dark stain(not sure how dark yet). Here's my questions. I live in central NJ and the deck gets about a half day of sun in the middle of summer do to the placement of my house(house faces west and blocks sun once it reaches it's apex)

1.Sanding- is it really recommended to sand PT lumber? I know the treatment doesn't penetrate completely through and I'd hate to ruin the protection of the treatment through too much sanding. If sanding is recommended how best to do it?(without buying a belt sander if possible)

2.Cleaning- it's new enough that most of the dirt that's gotten on the deck in the last year comes off in a heavy rain. The only thing I'm really concerned about is the ink labels on some of the wood showing, how do I remove these?

3.Stain/Seal- Are most stains applied in one coat? And do they stain/seal in the same coat? Any recommended brands?(looks like Sikkens and Cabot are the most recommended by those in the know on this forum.)

Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Very good O Chem,
not many people know/remember that Wolman invented the pressure treating process!!

Your wood is probably pressure treated SYP - Southern Yellow Pine.

Sanding the entire deck is difficult and not really necessary.
Pressure washing will remove any graying and dirt. You may have to sand(80 grit) to remove some of the ink markings. All you need is an oxygenated bleach. You can spray it on or mop it on and wait about 10 to 15 minutes before pressure washing. It can be scrubbed - but that's alot of hard work.

Most penetrating oil stains will only require one coat. Sikkens, Cabots, Wolman F & P, Readyseal, Superdeck, Penofin, are a few of the better stains.
Some of the above say one coat ONLY as the first coat may repel a second.

fred

Thanks alot for the quick response.

If I'm going to use a dark stain, is it really necassary to bleach the wood? Or can I just pressure wash with water to remove actual dirt?

Thanks again.

Bleach it if you have any mildew. Bleach will most likely kill it. If bleach does not remove it, then sand it off. If there's no mildew, you don't have to bleach, just use a good deck washing detergent to wipe off the dirt and grime. If the wood is in good shape, you probably don't even need to pressure wash it, just use a scrubbing brush. Let it dry for a few days and proceed with the staining. Good luck

I'm totally against household bleach - sodium hypochlorite!
It bleaches the color out of the wood and destroys the lignen.

I recommend an oxygenated bleach, as in Wolman's Deck/Fence Brightener.
It's almost harmless - sodium percarbonate. Or even use OxyClean before you use bleach.

fred

I'm totally against household bleach - sodium hypochlorite!
It bleaches the color out of the wood and destroys the lignen.

I recommend an oxygenated bleach, as in Wolman's Deck/Fence Brightener.
It's almost harmless - sodium percarbonate. Or even use OxyClean before you use bleach.

fred

Fred,

I agree. Sorry I did not mention this in the original post. I was going to recommend OxyClean, but forgot :o Thanks for recovering my fumble ;)