I have stripped the deck. Now, while I'm waiting for stain to arrive (3 days) should I still use a wood brightener? If so, how long do I need to wait to stain after wood brightener?Thank you!

Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada and have a south facing cedar deck with full sun exposure. I have been using Armstrong Clark transparent stain, natural tone, for several years now and am generally pleased with the product - it is easy to apply and soaks into the wood. I like that it is considered to have preservative properties and is not just a surface treatment commonly found on the shelves of big box and hardware stores. Since my last application approx. a year ago, my deck turned a dark brown - I don't mind the colour, but am concerned that this might be due to mold or mildew. I will be treating the deck as soon as this unseasonable cold weather subsides - and the snow melts! Do you have any comments or advice on what cleaning process I should perform prior to applying stain? I am open to using a different colour, i.e. a semi-transparent cedar perhaps which should provide a bit more protection.

Yes, you should re-clean and re-brighten.

Hi
Recently stripped and brightened a large pt deck on long island and getting ready to stain with twp 1500. Some parts of the deck txed earlier in the summer with brightener are starting to grey out from exposure. Do I need to re-brighten and/or powerwash prior to staining?

Best to use both.

I sanded my cedar deck and have some dark lines in the wood that appear to be "weathered". Can I just use a Brightener and not have to clean the deck first?

Just let it dry again for 48 hours.

I know I need a dry 24 (?) hours after staining, but if I clean and brighten first, and then get some rain, do I have to rebrighten afterwards, or can I just wait for it to dry and then stain?

They both work about the same but you need the cleaner as well. You cannot just brighten for the prep.

correction: bucket not bucker

I need help deciding whether to use Citralic brightener or Restore-a-Deck brightener for my pine siding. I don't want to use a sprayer; I'd like to just have it in a bucker and do it by hand with a mop or brush if possible. Can you tell me if one is better for pine and what the main ingredient is in each? I'm going to stain with twp 100 series if I ever get it ready.

Restore the color with the Restore A Deck Kits. Stain to retain color with the TWP Honeytone or Armstrong Clark Amber.

My husband built deck last year 2014 with blonde pressure treated lumber The part under protective awning still has colour The rest is quite faded. How do we restore it to natural blonde finish

That is oxidized wood ells that did not come off with the cleaner. Best to re clean to remove as much as you can before staining.

I used a cleaner and brightener on a 9 month old PT pine deck to prepare it for an Armstrong Clark stain. The cleaner is Behr all in one cleaner and brightener. I have used this before with great results (I follow the instructions exactly). The deck went from grey to a golden color after thoroughly scrubbing each board with the solution. After it was hosed off and dried there are some boards and areas that are much paler, almost white - if I scratch with a finger nail or use sandpaper it comes off to reveal the golden wood underneath. Can I stain over this, or do I need to clean and brighten with more scrubbing again to remove the pale layer on the wood?
Thank you for your help.

No it will not fill in anything. The only way to get it looking correctly is to strip it all off and start with an evenly cleaned surface.

Deck is 1/2 covered by house roof and 1/2 not. Recently had it cleaned. Area under roof is beautiful; however, most of the stain/finish has come off the area not under the roof. Was told to use Flood CWF UV5 natural tone finish and that it would "fill in" (not totally) most of the places. What do you think?

The Restore A Deck Stripper followed by the RAD Brightener.

I m looking to remove all the penofin oil product from my ipe wood and switch to Armstrong Clark, what are the best products to remove this old product and prep for Armstrong Clark ipe oils

Yes you should wet the deck than apply the brightener. It will still work.