One of the easiest finishes for either a pressure treated or cedar deck is a tinted water repellent finish. These stains are sometimes called "toners"
Toners are thin viscosity stains and can be applied with airless spray or even pump garden type sprayers**.
If overspray is a problem, you may find that a low pressure garden sprayer may still work.
Toners are non film forming stains that usually contain some form of wax as a water repellant. Since they are film formers they really don.t peel. Because they contain wax they can be slippery when beaded water is sitting on the surface of the deck.
Toners come in assorted colors, the most popular colors are cedar, redwood and hickory colors. They come in waterborne oils or solvent thinned oils, the first is the easiest to apply and has the convenience of water clean up.
Ease of Re-application
One of the biggest advantages of toners is refinishing. Unlike solid and semi-transparent stains which often peel and require extensive surface preparation upon refinishing (including stripping sometimes), toners simply require pressure washing prior to refinishing. It is this simplicity that makes toners a popular choice for deck staining. You are going to have to refinish the deck in three years or so anyway, so why not make the refinishing easy.
Toners must be applied to unfinished decks or decks previously stained with a toner type of stain. Toners cannot be applied over semi-transparent or solid deck stains.
Clean the deck as prescribed by the toner manufacturer see also: Refinishing Wood Decks Surface Preparation
Application:
Generally, you will apply one coat only of the toner type stain. You want to avoid too much film build or double coating. The second coat ( of a waterborne toner) will not penetrate the wood and will just bead up on the surface.
Application can be done with a brush and roller. When rolling, you will want to back brush in the direction of the wood grain (and board length), to eliminate any bubbles and roller stipple. Use an extension pole and do only two or three boards at a time. Stain the boards from one end to the other end to avoid lap marks.
Spray application can be done with a standard airless sprayer at very low pressure. Use a low a pressure as you can - and still get reasonably good atomization. I for the most part will follow up the spray with a brush in the direction of the wood grain to even out the film thickness and push the stain into the pores.
Using an extension handle with your brush.
Save your back. Buy a brush holder (shown below) and connect the brush to an extension pole which will give you better reach and also allow you to brush each plank without having to bend over.
Wood Toners
A favorite toner stain that I personally use and like is made by Wolman called "Raincoat" - I use the waterbased version, usually the Cedar (color) toner.
The Raincoat comes in a clear (untinted and "untoned") version which is easiest to apply, but the tinted toners both look better because they add color to the deck and they last longer because the tint helps to block out the sun's UV rays preventing graying for a longer period of time.
"Graying" is the natural color of wood that has been exposed to the elements.
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Refinishing Wood Decks
Water Repellent Finishes
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