Need Some Help With TWP Stains?

by TWP Help

Last Updated on January 30, 2023 by TWP Help

We are here to help you with your TWP exterior deck or wood restoration project for 2024!

TWP is an advanced wood preservative/protectant registered by the EPA. Performance and longevity can vary though depending on the wood type, how the wood is prepped, the age of wood, and how the TWP is applied. We want everyone who has decided to use TWP 100, 1500, or 200 Series to have the best possible results.

TWP Stain Tips and Help

When asking questions please give us some information about your wood restoration project:

  • What structure is your wood? Examples would be: Deck, Wood Siding, Fence, etc
  • What species is the wood? Examples: Treated Pine, Cedar, Redwood, Ipe, etc
  • Is the wood new or older than 1 year?
  • Has the wood been stained previously with a different brand? Please specify brand name and type of stain used: Examples: Solid stain, Semi-Transparent Stain, etc.
  • Any additional info that would be useful

Once you supply us with the information, we will able to give you advice as to how to prep your wood and any needed instructions for the TWP application.

Please ask your questions in the comment area.

Thanks

TWP Stain Help Staff

 

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Tom Gilligan
7 years ago

Hi, I have an old farm wagon my father-in-law used with a team of Belgian horses. My wife remembers riding with him as he drove the horses and she filled the seeder as he sowed oats. Great memories. We want to place the wagon in a grove of trees outside our dining room window. I want to preserve the remaining paint, the stencils, the patina and of course the wood (which I believe is oak). It has not had any protection in the past other than the corn crib in which it was stored. The people at Hanson Wheel and Wagon recommended TWP but they didn’t specify which product. What would you recommend?

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patrick chapoton
7 years ago

one day after applying twp 1500 I have several glossy spots on my deck. How can I correct that?

Kaa
7 years ago

It started raining 5hours after I applied the stain- will it be ruined?

 
Dany
7 years ago

What’s the best way to mix the 100 series stain? I use a Homax 69012 5-Gallon PolyPro Mixer attached to a drill but I found a lot of pigment in the bottom of the 5 gallon can. Because of the deep ridges on the bottom of the pail, the pigment tends to settle in the grooves.

Leanne
7 years ago

I have a cedar fence about 12 years old that I would like to stain with TWP. It is a shadow box fence. It has already been power-washed/conditioned. My only problem is how do I estimate the amount of stain needed for this type of fence?

Leanne
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

It’s 940 sq ft although the top is scalloped so probably a little less. Let me know how much stain I need. Thank you.

Raymond Rice
7 years ago

I am staining wet on wet for the first coat on 12 month old PT deck. How soon should I wait before another application. I have read 1 to 2 years. I know the deck may require more applications over the years compared to the railings. What do you recommend?

 
Yvette
7 years ago

I installed a new 6′ cedar fence for my home in May 2015, I stained the wood to protect it using TWP 100 or 200 (i don’t remember) about 2 months later, after the wood had time to dry, as recommended by you guys. I now have had to replace a few pieces of wood and am waiting for them to dry. Question, if I don’t remember if I got 100 or 200 does it matter? And I forgot when is it time to reapply, 3 years or 5 years? And…bare with me please, since it was new fence with TWP, what prepping do I need to reapply TWP and once again would it matter if I ordered the wrong one? Meaning I don’t know if I got 100 or 200 (I think it was 200). Can you please be specific when telling me about cleaning. I am hoping that all i have to do is power wash the fence, let it dry a day or two and then re-aaply the TWP. Also for 2 boards do you think the sample would be enough, I know gallon would be way too much and I don’t want it sitting in the garage for a year or more. Thank you so much! P.S. My fence still looks awesome thanks to your product!

al wieting
7 years ago

can the twp100 series pecan be used over the twp 120 cedar

Al Gettings
7 years ago

I just stained new redwood deck with TWP100 after sanding with 80 grit and cleaning procedure. However, on the first half of deck, I did not catch the excess stain in time to spread/remove it. So I have some glossy spots on otherwise beautiful deck. Any suggestions on spot treatment for these glossy areas? Washing; sanding and reapplying on spots? I watched it much closer on the second half and it turned out great. Also, if I leave it for winter, will the glossy spots fade to match other?

Al Gettings
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Ok, I managed to follow that procedure on second half of deck, but the first half dried before I could wipe all spots. Is there a way I can spot treat the glossy areas to remove the excess?

 
Julie Wilde
7 years ago

What is the best stain to refresh my multi-colored, black bamboo fence? (Would clear bring back the original colors that have greyed?)

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David McClurg
7 years ago

I am refurbish a 27 year old cedar deck. Will replace some boards with new. It has stai from another manufacturer on it now. I have power washed and scraped it. I am planning to rent a float sander to use after prep.

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David McClurg
7 years ago
Reply to  David McClurg

Thank you for the quick reply. What stain do you recommend? Going to go ahead an order today and stain old boards and leave new boards until spring.

Trevor
7 years ago

I just stained my deck using the wet on wet technique. Two things one I can see a couple of footprints in the stain should I sand and stain again in those areas? Second I have a couple of areas where stain didn’t really take. I striped off old stain and sanded but it maybe that is wasn’t fully removed in those areas can I sand and stain those as well. Total area affected is pretty small maybe a couple f 6 inch by 6 inch areas. Thanks for the help.

 
Danny Faber
7 years ago

I am buying a house with western red cedar siding, and pressure treated decking that is starting to get pretty worn. The deck has greyed quite a bit, and the siding is uneven (still clear and nearly new looking in some places and greying in others). I will use a deck and siding cleaner/brightener on both before I stain (there are some black patches on the siding…mold no doubt).

I want to use a semi-transparent stain. The house is in Truro on Cape Cod and gets a healthy dose of the elements. I like warmer and richer colors, and was thinking of perhaps the 1511 Redwood stain. I am a little worried that the deeper redwood might be too much red for the siding and decking. Opinions? However, I am also thinking about the cedar stain. But is that what you would use on red cedar siding? I am basically asking for recommendations on what color stain would work best given the photos below.

Another consideration is the pressure treated posts. They have stainless steel cables. Will getting some stain on them damage stainless steel? I can wipe it right away, if so, as I do the staining. Otherwise, perhaps I should go with a stain that comes closest to resembling the PT posts for the deck railings, and that would be something a little more brown (like pecan).

Thanks
Danny

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Michael Rosenblum
7 years ago

Hello, please see attached picture. We did a wet on wet 2 coat application this summer. The original plan was to add one more coat in the fall due to full sun exposure to try to get the most uv protection. Wood is red western cedar. Can we apply directly over or do we have to re clean and brighten prior to this application? Thanks

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Michael Rosenblum
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

thanks for the prompt reply. I am sure my contractor will ask so I am wondering why you recommend waiting until spring instead of doing in the fall. Also when you say lightly wash do you mean with a product (the cleaner sold on this website), or light power wash with no detergent? Can you provide details on the light wash? Thanks for the help!

SharonUmber
7 years ago

I used the TWP 1500 series but flipped all boards and added some new boards to my deck. I want to stain it again about 3 months following the work. Should I used the TWP 1500 series on the new boards or would you recommend the TWP 100 series?

 
bethanee
7 years ago

I have prepped wood using the restore a deck stripper and brighter. I’m getting ready to stain with twp and noticed the instructions on the can call for cleaning with a bleach solution prior to staining. is this an additional step to the restore a deck kit or did the kit take care of this step?

Josh
7 years ago

Just got an email ” Winter is coming. Stain and protect your deck from the harsh ice and snow!” You had originally said to wait to spring after sanding our brand new deck built in June. Should I still wait or will teh snow and ice damage it.

Trish
7 years ago

I’m about ready to stain my deck and just order my twp stain. I’ve sanded my four year old deck to get a paint stain off and what a job I never want to do again. Took me six weeks. Im about to wash and then use wood brighter. My question is I see it says temp 50 or higher does that mean it has to stay 50 day and night? It is like 78 during day now but like 47 and up some nights. I want to make sure I do this right not to have the nightmare of sanding deck again. Thank you

 
Shannon
7 years ago

I have a 3-year-old 5 gal drum of TWP 1530 that was stored in my basement. What is the storage life of this product? Will it be usable on my deck?

Pat
7 years ago

I have a new Red Cedar smooth board fence. The fence was installed about 2 months ago but the contractor had the wood for a few months before installation and said it was dry enough to stain. I did the absorbancy test and it penetrated quickly. I’m in California and our weather has been very warm and dry. Yesterday my painter applied TWP 1501 (Cedartone) and it’s very blotchy and not dry after 24 hours. Since it’s blotchy, it seems to have penetrated well in some spots but not others and I the painter applied 2 coats in some spots making it too thick. How do we fix it? If we wait 6 months will the stain even out? Or do we need to fix it now? The painter is less than enthused about stripping it. He applied some mineral spirits today and it helped wipe away some of the excess but did not improve the blotchiness.

Pat
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Since I live in California, why do you suggest I do it in the Spring, rather than right away?

Pat
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Ahhh! Thanks!

Chris Coogan
7 years ago

Redoing my 3-4 year old white cedar deck with the same kind of two stain, cedartone. The previous coat failed in high uv area and got all gray. Then i tried to wash it with a cleaner that destroyed the finish. what a mess. So i decided to start over again. I have stripped with your brand, restore a deck, and also sanded because i used a pressure washer and damaged the wood, so i tried to even out the damage and also take the stain off. I did a water absorption test to see how porous the wood is and noticed that some areas must still have stain in them because while the surface looks good the wood is not absorbing water even over night. other areas do except the water. So is it necessary to strip again? Since I’m using the same kind of stain does it even matter? Also, on a second question. I have sanded the red cedar verticals on the railing but there are some really hard to get places (especially in between railings) and I’m wondering since it will be the same stain if I need to worry about getting all the old stain off. I have tried to redo it but i am worried about the absorption test and now I’m thinking that after all that work prepping I’m just recoating something already in the wood. Not sure if it matters between recoating or redoing: if it is impermeable that is probably a good thing. But worried that my stain will fail because of poor absorption into the wood?

Chris Coogan
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Here is an area where the water won’t absorb. I should note that on this deck it started its life five years ago with another stain, a walnut color. That was sanded off (but not stripped and brightened) and the twp put on top of it. Two years down the road the twp failed. Im guessing this has something to do with it. Should I strip it again?

On my other deck, (back deck), I just sanded because the cleaner i used took off much of the stain already. i did a water test on that deck and the water is absorbing into the deck so I’m thinking that deck is ok with just sanding and whatever stripping work the ‘stain solver’ clean did. I do have more stripper though so if you think it would come out better with stripping and brightening.

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Chris Coogan
7 years ago
Reply to  Chris Coogan

I’m remembering when we installed the front deck 7 years ago we put cedercide on it. this is a product that petrifies the wood and stops rot, and therefore insects, by taking out all moisture. I’m guessing that it is the reason why my stain or water is not penetrating. I’m wondering what to do next on the front deck.

Second question, on the other deck, back deck(see pictures below), i noticed that after prep work that the color of the wood has some gray blotches and some pinks/red cedar color areas. I’m worried that when I stain the gray area won’t magically disappear. On this part, I used a cleaner that ended up taking some of finish off, ‘stain solver’ so i sanded the remaining stain off. i brightened but i didn’t think i needed to strip because i had already removed stain. Should I indeed strip and brighten again or is this discoloration not a problem and will even out on staining.

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Chris Coogan
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

ok so in terms of deck cleaner and pressure wash to remove oxidation: can i use that stain solver product (oxegyn bleach) or just dish soap? or do you recommend another deck cleaner product before the power wash. I also have some power washing all purpose soap for my power washer bought at home depot. which solution do you like? appreciate your help.

 
Bob
7 years ago

What is the best way to store leftover stain. I have three gallons left in a five gallon can. Move it into one gallon containers?

Todd
7 years ago

Additional info…it is pressure treated plywood.

Todd
7 years ago

We are trying to figure out the best way to finish our deck and so far TWP seems the way to go. The deck is pressure treated and is approx. 2-5 years old with no previous coating. The deck was just cleaned with Behr premium all in one wood cleaner using a wire brush and power washer to try to get rid of the green. Please advise if additional cleaning is needed and also which of one your stain formulas would work best in the North East.
Thank you!

 
Charlotte
7 years ago

Is the TWP product dangerous to skin as the warning that says if you get it on your hands to wash for 20 minutes. How bad is it for a person.

Les
7 years ago

With ideal weather, dry, sunny and within the products temp range, how long can I expect the 1500 stain to dry and ready for use?

Donna Anderson
7 years ago

I stained my front porch with the dark oak..but stain splattered onto my metal door and side of metal mobile home and a/c thing outside. Will this come off and what do I use

 
Josh
7 years ago

Part 2 of my question – Is there any merit to going back and resanding with a coarser grit sand paper?

Josh
7 years ago

I built a 12×18 Treated Pine deck in June of this year. This past weekend, we used an orbital circular palm sander to sand out some of the manufacturing marks on the wood. We used 80 and then 220 grit. Is it okay to stain now? If not, what are your recommendations for a stain and wait time or prep?

Donna Rozenburg
7 years ago

I had cedar shutters put on my house and they used TWP dark oak to stain them. I’m wanting to use the same color to match on my wooden garage door. The door is a couple of years old and was originally stained with Thompsons. I tried to match the shutters from a home improvement store. It’s too light. My question is can I put TPW on top of what I applied last weekend or do I need to prep the door before applying the TPW?

 
Darcy Kent
7 years ago

I live in central Minnesota. I am looking to stain my cabin deck. The deck is well over a year old and has never bee stained before. We’ve used a heavy duty cleaner and pressure wash. What product is recommended for staining?

Debbi
7 years ago

Hi. Which TWP do you recommend for a new, unfinished mahogany entry door? It’s under cover with west sun exposure on the bottom half. I found a BM gel stain color that matches my trim very well. Can I apply one of your finishes over it or another dye/pigment? If not, can your product be tinted? Thanks so much for your help!

Alvina
7 years ago

Can you apply stain to exterior of house at temperatures below 50 degrees

 
Lisa Dyson
7 years ago

How often is 1500 reapplied to a horizontal deck? We are staining our pressure treated pine deck. Looks great, when do know it needs reapplication? Thank you

Steve
7 years ago

Hi, I am looking to refinish a 450 sq ft treated pine deck. The deck is 15 years old and has been stained multiple times over the years with a semi-transparent Deckscapes waterborne stain. I am looking in purchasing a TWP 100 Series Deck Stains to refinish my deck. Will the TWP stain adhere properly to the previous Deckscape stain? Is there special prep work in order properly apply the TWP stain?

Please let me know.

Thanks!!

Steve

Neal Cummings
7 years ago

I have purchased your 1500 series stain and also your cleaner and brightener. I have 2000ft2 of decking, mostly walkways, on numerous “levels”.
I have cleaned and let a section dry. I’m wondering…is it better to:

1. clean the rest of the deck, thereby potentially getting some water/chems on the part I already cleaned? I can place plastic sheeting/tarps on the part that’s cleaned, but I can’t guarantee that some water won’t pour down onto a lower section next to it. I have waited 5 days for the part I washed to dry, so I hate to lose this dry time I’ve taken.

2. stain this section, and wait for it to dry properly before washing the adjacent section? However, I’ll need to then pressure wash the section next to it…which is elevated about 6″ higher but next to the first section. What I don’t want to happen is the harsh chemicals staining or degrading the newly stained section I just finished. I’m sure there will be overspray from applying the chemicals and spray from the power washer.

This is all happening because of variables such as the weather, my time, and how much pressure washing I can do at one time, plus getting access to each section of the deck.

BTW- great cleaner and brightener!
Thanks.

Neal Cummings
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Thanks. You guys are terrific.

 
Janie Walthall
7 years ago

I have multiple components so I have several questions. I am on the Gulf Coast in Texas with intense sun.

1) Our Lower (water-level) deck and fishing Pier are made of Treated Pine, at least 10 years old, never stained. All were under water (and 2-3″ of caked mud) for 2 weeks with Hurricane Harvey. I pressure washed all surfaces but now the wood looks too bare. Which TWP stain product should I use? Also since it is already cleaned, which prepping materials do I need to buy?

2) Upper deck, Stairs, railings and porch made of Treated Pine, probably 9 years old (Hurricane Ike). I stained this with a Behr transparent deck product in Natural color back in 2013 but all heavy traffic areas have peeled. Which TWP stain and prep should I use here?

If you recommend 2 different products – which of your colors would most closely match? We liked the Natural color when I did it before so would like to go that angle if possible but not a fanatic about it. Just want the 2 components to look similar if possible.

Kathy
7 years ago

We bought a 5 gallon pail of stain even though our new deck wood is only 4 months old because I assumed we could just use the extra stain again when we need to prep & reapply a second coat. However, I just now read that the shelf life of an opened can is only one year. Is there any way to keep it airtight and extend its expiration? Thanks.

Scott Johnston
7 years ago

How soon will the color fade on TWP 1500 “redwood”? Just used this weekend and HATE the color. Way too dark, very deep red with a gray look to it. Used the restore a deck, wood only 1 year old. Can I re apply the cleaner to get out the color and use one of the lighter tones? Do I have to wait?

Kathy
7 years ago
Reply to  Scott Johnston

I wonder what type of wood Scott has because we are about to use the “redwood” color on untreated cedar. I’m hoping I won’t regret it! 🙁 Does the color look different on each type of wood?

 
Janet
7 years ago

We have a cedar shake sided house which has been stained with oil semi-transparent 2X over its life of 14 yrs. We used Cabot first and then quite a few yrs later TWP 200 series Redwood. Our issue is that we waited too long to re-stain the 2nd time w/ TWP. In that time, areas of shingles had partially weathered or mildewed.

We washed the worse areas of mildew off but the weathered shingles we could not do much about. Although the house looks better, the siding does not look homogeneous. It has been 2 yrs since the last staining.

(1) We are wondering if we should just re-stain again with 200 series Redwood or go with a darker TWP color to approach the look of a solid stain in the hopes of blending the darker weathered areas (which are of course under the last stain coating). (2) With either stain option, can we assume there is enough porosity left for the shakes to take another coat next summer which will be 3 yrs after the last staining?

Janet
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

This is too extreme a measure for us. We may not be able to get a solid stain look but there is some blending w/ multiple layers (I found this when I re-applied to the porch supports a while back).I just didn’t know if it would be worth going to a darker color. I can live with the areas of past (partial shake) weathering, it makes the house look more rustic. (1) Can I mix redwood color with oak to get a more mahogany color mix? (2) For a completely different option, would a deep color solid stain oil based product over the TWP, cover for an opaque finish?
Thanks!

Don
7 years ago

I plan on spraying TWP series 100 stain to my open picket cedar fence with my LVLP spray gun (SPRAYIT SP-33000) with a 1.3 mm tip. Is this tip size appropriate or should I use some another size?

Jan Than
7 years ago

Hi, I have a 15 months old cedar deck in the second floor of our house. It hasn’t been stained so far. It faces the west and does get a good share of the Texas heat in the evening.
We want to stain the floor, railings and posts. Our stainer recommends semi-transparent TWP as it penetrates the wood. While I have heard semi-solid has more pigments and holds up longer. Which one is better for this type of deck? We prefer the natural grains on the wood to show-up, but would like to give the wood some color. How long will semi-transparent vs semi-solid last?

 
John Doughtie
7 years ago

Hi, I’ve got a 3 yr old untreated pine deck that was originally stained with TWP and it’s now ready for maintenance. After reading directions on the Gemini 2 step prep products, I have these questions:

1. It says keep the cleaner wet for 15 min before rinsing. What about after rinsing and before applying the brightener? Can the wood be allowed to dry or does the brightener need to go on a damp surface?

2. Both products are to applied with a garden sprayer. Can I use a sponge (and rubber gloves) instead? Other than more work for me, why would it matter?

3. The brightener instructions say to apply the brightener and then rinse. That sounds like rinsing immediately is OK. Or should it be allowed to stand a bit? Can you suggest a time window for allowing the brightener to stand or does it NEED to be rinsed immediately.

4. I assume the deck should be fully dry before applying the actual stain… correct?

Thanks for your help.

Rodolfo
7 years ago

Forgot to mention I use two 100 cedartone 1 panel of the cedar came out lighter that the one next to it. is it already dry. Can I give a second coat to try to Mach it.

Rodolfo
7 years ago

I stain a 1 year old cedar fence 1 coat gate came out lighter that the panel next to it. Notice after it was dry. Can I give it a second coat to the lighter area?

 
William Stewart
7 years ago

Hi
Have a 6′ panel fence with bamboo panels and pressure treated wood 2×4 and 6×6 posts. I am hand painting the two buys and the six by sixes with TWP 100 with a brush in light cedar. Plan to spray the bamboo panels with TWP 300 in light cedar. My question is can I spray the 300 directly over the 100 and not have a problem. I figure it might make the pressure-treated wood darker but that’s good. Will this work or will it mess up the 100 stain being topped with the 300. Thank you very much in advance.

Tom Lykowski
7 years ago

Wood deck PTP,new 12months ago,proper prep w/1coat twp100 pecan color.Michigan Indiana line.
Unfortunately hit by not predicted rain storm after 3hrs of application. We were able to cover entire area with tarps.We do have several water spots(4 total) .What can we do with these spots? They are on the main path and obvious.

Tom Lykowski
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Wash and recoat in the spring?
Would that be considered the 2nd coat?

Tom Lykowski
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

I’m sorry, can you define “light wash”..maybe product to use and if I should use a water blaster or would hose pressure be adequate? Thank you so much.

Tom Lykowski
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Here’s before and after pics of our 1260 sq.ft.deck using twp120. Very happy with this product and procedures.

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Tom Lykowski
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Thank you…Great Product!!!

jenifer
7 years ago

Hi,
I finished applying twp 1500 to my redwood deck yesterday evening per instructions on website. I noticed today that in some areas where there are knotholes in the deck the stain seems to have absorbed unevenly leaving lighter areas. Should I add additional stain to touch up these areas that appear dryer and lighter?

 
Dori
7 years ago

I have a new cedar fence. It was installed 6 months ago and according to the fence installer, is ready to stain. Would I do the same prep for a fence as a deck? Use the Restore-A-Deck Kit or is there just a simpler cleaning that should be done given the fence really hasn’t weathered, only faded and dried out?

kenny shuey
7 years ago

im trying to mix bug juice in twp 100 stain following the directions correctly , no matter what I do I cannot get it to mix , always settles to the bottom after about 5 minutes in a big glob , any advise ?

kenny
7 years ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Ask A Question Here I didn’t buy the wrong product , nor was it out of date , I have used 15 gal of twp 100 series stain on my log home trying to mix with bug juice and it will not mix , settles to the bottom , I even called walla walla makers of bug juice and was advised had to mix with penetrol which still did not work .

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