DEFY Extreme Crystal Clear Outdoor Wood Stain and Sealer in One – Clear Waterproof Sealant for Wood Decks, Fences, & Siding, 1 Gal, Made in USA

After tons of research using deckstainhelp.com which is a fantastic resource, we discovered that anything at Lowes and HD won't hold up over time. This is rated as one of the best stains out there and we found It was very easy to apply, and the color is awesome. The rain beads every time and it appears to be working as it should. We applied to 1 year old pressure treated pine. Just be aware of the following:- It will stain any surface FAST, to prevent this, just use a wet rag to wipe it off. If you're too late (which you will be) you can try mineral spirits (with a lot of scrubbing and risk damaging the surface). This worked pretty good on the painted Hardie Board, just don't scrub too hard, let the mineral spirits soak a little and then rub. For trim you can just have touch up paint for when you're done. I highly suggest having touchup paint for the surrounding trim surfaces. Way easier and faster to paint over the stain than to try scrubbing it off of trim- The color appeared reddish at first. It freaked us out. It wasn't too too bad, but just disappointing. But then after a few days, it settled into the beautiful brown that it should be- It's crucial to do the second coat within 20 minutes and not wait any longer. This is a wet-on-wet application. If you wait too long on the second coat, then it basically seals and prevents the second coat from soaking in. So if you accidentally get it get it somewhere, you're now committed to come back to that section in 20 minutes. This is really tough when you're doing railings over the floor you're planning to do (since you need to do the railings first), so I suggest putting plastic on the floor as you do the railings above them- Prep well and take your time. Clean the decks well, get the dirt/mold/mildew off a day before you apply. Make sure the wood is ready, flick some water when it's dry, and if the water is gone in a couple minutes, you're good. If not, you need to let the wood dry out. It's a lot of work, but you'll be really happy you took the extra time to do it right- Be hesitant on where you tape. We taped everywhere thinking that would help, and against the siding it did, since the siding is above the deck. But for surfaces below the deck, the stain actually seeped behind the tape and the tape made it worse. So I don't suggest using tape where gravity will work the stain against you. In these places it was just easier to apply the stain and have a wet rag ready

I have a treated pine wood fence and deck that are both over 10 years old. The deck flooring itself is original Trex, but the handrails and trim and support structure are wood. About 4 years ago, I hired someone to clean and treat the fence and deck with #1 Deck Stain semi-transparent cedar. I liked that it was water-based, and the price was good on Amazon. I was happy with the results at that time, but the color has worn off in areas under direct sunlight and the wood has cracked in several places. It was carefully applied with a brush according to the instructions. The entire job took 8 x 2.5 gallons, so 20 gallons.When I decided to treat it all again this spring before all the finish was gone, I figured I’d use the same thing, but the original #1 Deck Stain was on backorder so I looked into other options. The Defy product was readily available and reviews looked good. It is also water-based and claimed to have a zinc protectant. It was more expensive, but it said it covered twice as much area per gallon. I figured I’d give it a try in the same color, semi-transparent cedar. I did not have very high expectations with how aged and uneven the wood finish had become.I ordered 10 gallons based on calculations, and it came two days later in great shape. The same guy as before cleaned the wood well, let it dry a few days, and applied the Defy carefully and thoroughly using a brush and following all directions. The weather was perfect, but I can say the results are amazing. The finish is surprisingly even and beautiful. The wood looks new. I had two gallons left over, so instead of 20 gallons, it took eight. The finish has a very slight gloss, not shiny but clean and deep looking. I definitely recommend Defy, and you can believe them when they say it will cover 300 sq ft per gallon. That is what I got using a brush over a clean but old finish. Great stuff!I’ll try to update this in a year or two after some time to see how it holds up.

Love this stain. It was my first time staining anything. My deck turned out amazing! I went with the redwood. Picture is with just one coat. I’ll throw in a before picture