Official Help Site for TWPStain.com

by TWP Help

Last Updated on January 30, 2023 by TWP Help

TWP Stain Authorized Dealer

TWP Wood and Deck Stain Update for 2024

Welcome to the official help site for TWPStain.com.

TWP® 100 Pro-Series will keep your wood beautiful, fresh, and looking new longer! The ease of application and maintenance will allow you to enjoy your investment for years to come. Containing unique ingredients that protect the wood from damage, TWP 100 Series has been a leader and respected product for over 25 years.

TWP® 100 Pro-Series provides a broad spectrum of weather protection, is water repellent, and aids in color retention. TWP® 100 Pro-Series resists water absorption that causes warping, cracking, splitting, and prevents freeze damage in colder climates. Use TWP® 100 Pro-Series to Restore and Protect YOUR GREAT OUTDOORS!

TWP 1500 Total Wood Preservative is an EPA-registered wood preservative for decks, fences, gazebos, cedar siding, wood shakes, log homes, outdoor furniture, and other exterior wood surfaces. TWP wood preservative offers outstanding protection from UV fading, wood rot, water damage, and mildew for all types of wood species.

The TWPStainHelp.com site is designed for exterior wood and deck owners looking for solutions to their wood maintenance questions. We have gathered information based on years of experience. From TWP stain tips and wood maintenance advice to prepping new wood and how-to articles, we will guide you step by step to achieve professional-like results using any of the TWP wood preservative products.

Please read our articles and feel free to ask any questions that you may have about restoring your exterior wood or decking surfaces. The information you need regarding wood and deck restoration and TWP deck stains are all here. Please enjoy and remember that we are here to help.

 

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Warren
1 year ago

I have a question about the natural bristle brushes available to purchase currently. I’m refinishing a cedar pergola. This will be the third application of TWP 100 Cedartone. I’m completing the cleaning process tomorrow. What has me puzzled are the new brushes that are available. They call themselves “Deck and Siding Brush” made from White China Bristle and polyester. A 4″ wide brush has bristles that are 2-3/8″ inches long compared to the “old fashioned” natural bristle brushes that have bristles that are 3-1/4″ long. I’ve searched online and in store you just can’t find the old fashioned natural bristle brushes for staining purposes. Do the new style brushes enable me to make stroke on the 9″ pergola faces and avoid lap marks? I will say that the new brushes are fatter so maybe they hold more stain? I know TWP 100 is rather thin. Do these new brushes work better with TWP 100? When did the brushes change over? It has been 5 years since my last refinishing.

Dan
1 year ago

I’m have a couple of teak chairs I’m thinking of refinishing along with my deck. Is TWP 100 appropriate for teak? Same preparation method as deck?

Kate
1 year ago

I have used TWP 120 pecan on my 13 year old cedar deck for several years, always cleaning with Penofin pro tech deck cleaner and brightening with Storm brightener before applying stain. For the past two years there seems to residual stain pigment remaining after this preparation. Your instructions say that stripping is not necessary if re-staining with TWP. But the old remaining stain is uneven. Should I try sanding this away? Would stripper remove it? Last year I reapplied stain hoping it would even out, but the result looked darker where the old stain had remained.

 
Shawn
1 year ago

I am using TWP 1500 series stain on a deck that hasn’t been stained in over 4 years. Previous staining is gone.

After applying one coat of stain to the railing spindles, I have found spots that aren’t well covered. Can I restain over the dried stain?

Thank you!

Trent Hebert
1 year ago

Today we applied TWP 1503 to a front door that had a previous lighter colored stain with a polyurethane sealer on it. We hand sanded the polyurethane until it was rough to the touch, and then applied the 1503. The stain appeared to absorb into the majority of the door, however the color appears patchy in certain areas, and not uniform. Can we apply a second coat of the 1503 about 24 hrs later to try and even out the color? Or would the entire door need to be sanded and/or stripped?

Larry Dutrow
1 year ago

What’s the best product for new construction rough sawn cedar posts, beams, timber trusses?

 
R Trout
1 year ago

No questions – want to say just finished up stripping with RAD. Staining tomorrow with TWP. But if the TWP does as fantastic a job as RAD, I’ll be singing praises to everyone. Deck is 17 years old and HUGE – bottom 12X40 and top 12X15. Been a long two days, but the products WORKED. The deck is more beautiful than I could have imagined. Tomorrow, we stain….

Dave Widney
1 year ago

Can your product be used on a six year old deck that has been treated with STORM. I was told as long as the old stain is removed. But reading your articles it sounds like this product is for new decks.

Mary
1 year ago

My 1 year old ground level deck has been aged, pressure washed and cleaned with your cleaning kit prior to staining with TWP 1503, just like the upper level decks were. It accidentally was treated with Thermidor insecticide. The stain was still applied a few days later. It looks splotchy and spotty and is slick unlike the upper decks. How do I remedy this? Do I need to pressure wash the affected deck? Sand? Any other things I should do before restaining? Thank you .

 
Allan Sunny
1 year ago

If you can’t use the semi solid over the 100 or 1500,can the 1500 be applied over a 100 if it is first cleaned?

AllanSunny
1 year ago

Can the semi solid stain be applied over either the 100 or 1500 stains after those have on the deck for a year or two.?

Jim Gilbert-Walsh
1 year ago

A few years ago, we stained our deck with TWP (1501 Cedartone). We want to apply a maintenance coat now. Your website indicates that, before doing this, we need to clean/brighten the current deck with your Gemeni Restore-A-Deck kit before applying the maintenance coat. Our dilemma: we’re in Canada (in New Brunswick) and I don’t think the Gemeni kit is available here. Do you have any suggested alternative for cleaning/brightening? Thanks!

 
Annette
1 year ago

I am considering ordering a 5 gallon bucket of the semi-solid stain rather than the more convenient gallon cans due to the shipping cost. Do you have info or accessories for opening, stirring and pouring the 5 gallon buckets?

Noel Rivera
1 year ago

Hello, I am looking at using the new semi solid satin on a 1 year old deck railing never been stained, can you provide info on prep steps and materials needed

Jon Rista
1 year ago

I have a 17′ x 17′ deck, built last year. The deck itself, its fascia and decking, is composite, however it has Western Red Cedar posts, 5 of them 10′ tall, as well as four 18′ beams and 6 18′ joists as part of a pergola, topped with around 20 2×2″ perlins. All of this is Cedar, comprising a pergola. There is some hardware in place, black, very nice, holding the Pergola together.

It was built late last summer and fall. The wood has been weathering since, and it is very very dry now. Further, it is starting to show signs of graying, which I really want to avoid.

I wasn’t able to stain the Cedar last year, as winder hit and we were getting temps well below 50 degrees in October. I kind of missed my opportunity, plus everything I read, 3-4 months is barely enough time for the wood to weather and dry out sufficiently (and I can tell now, there is a huge difference in how dry the wood is now, vs. in October last year…it still had a ton of moisture last year).

I need to get this stuff stained, however…we’ve been having a ton of rain here. We get these occasional day or two of dry weather, but there are these long spans where it rains every day. The entire forecast from here out to 10-15 days, is showing rain every single day. I’m starting to get concerned that my beautiful golden/reddish brown Cedar is going to turn gray before I get a chance to stain it.

So my first question is, how warm does it need to be at minimum, for TWP 1500 stain (Colorado, so sadly TWP 100 is not an option, even though I would MUCH prefer it!!!) to sufficiently penetrate and dry? Second question is…how much time would I need, to put on a couple of coats, before rain started? Is it even possible to try to do that in one day, with rain in the afternoon or evening? Or would the rain simply destroy the finish, if it didn’t have enough time to fully cure?

Finally, I’m curious about application methods. What is best…spray? I’ve never sprayed a finish, but the Cedar is all rough sawn, and I’m not sure how well trying to brush it on would work. At the same time, I have all this beautiful black hardware holding the pergola together…I’m concerned what getting any of the stain on that might do. Is there any chance of corrosion? I assume that I would need to find a way to mask off every piece of hardware before staining, especially if I spray? (With so much hardware, I suspect that would be a monumental task!! O_o)

Thank you for any assistance.

Jon Rista
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Thank you for the reply. Looked into stain pads…I think that will work for most of it. One more question: Any idea if a single 5-gallon bucket of TWP 1500 would be enough to cover all the wood in a 16×16 sized pergola with two coats? Not real sure if there is an easy way to calculate the surface area of all those different sized pieces of wood… I guess I could just brute force it and figure it out.

Jon Rista
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

So, in calculating the surface area of the pergola…between 5x 10 foot 6×6 posts which alone amount to 100 square feet (5sqft per side of each post, 20sqft per post, five posts…), and the rest of the wood which is 4x of ~20 foot 2x10s (160sqft) and 8x of ~18 foot 2x8s (245sqft), plus ~40 2″x2″x10′ perlins…which in terms of aggregate surface square footage, is amazingly 267sqft on its own (!!)…

Then I calculate needing to cover 772 square feet of wood surface… Yes, this would just be pergola structure and posts. Unless I’ve made some kind of grave error here…

The page for TWP 1500 states each 5 gallon bucket is capable of covering 150-250 square feet. I am not sure if that is 250 square feet wet-on-wet double-coated? Or is that 150 square feet double-coated? At 250 sqft a 5gal bucket, I would need at least three of them, to cover my entire pergola. Does that sound right? And at 150 sqft per, I would need a whopping 5-6!

Jon Rista
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Ah…thank you! I missed that it was per gallon.

 
Edsel Henson
1 year ago

We have a 16′ x 24′ deck and stained it a couple of years ago with 1501. It is exposed to a lot of sunlight and had some fading. I decided to refresh by cleaning and restaining. I had washed and cleaned, checked the weather and had no rain in the forecast so after 3 days of drying from the wash decided to apply 1501. It went on well and looked great. I checked the forecast today before starting.
After maybe 3+ hours we received a drizzle of rain. I will know more in the morning as for looks but given this info what is your advice?
I have been very pleased with the product, received many compliments about it.
Thank You
Edsel

Edsel Henson
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

The rain lasted less than an hour. It started as a mist and never reached heavy.
Most boards have water standing, is there a “safe” way to remove the water? The temperature is 82 and climbing.
If it is of value the water looks clear, no discoloring or lifting of stain, just standing on the wood.

Paige
1 year ago

do you have a sample size of the 205 California cedar? I made an ugly mistake and put a honey sherwin williams semi transparent on my deck over my 205. I want to be sure the 205 will go back over it. I love that color….

Scott Kingsland
1 year ago

I have about 2 gallons in a 5 gallon pail in the basement. I used it about 5 years ago and was wondering if its still good. Is there a way to test it before I use it.

 
Brad Ridgway
1 year ago

I know that the best outcome on my Deck refinish project is a function of Prep and Product. I’m willing to do the work on the prep, and it seems you have an excellent product and know what it needs better than me, therefore can you advise the best preparation process for the following situation: The deck was new in 2006 and the contractor stained both sides with Sikken oil based product. It seemed to lay on top of the wood and didn’t last long in the sun before checking and popping off. After that fiasco I had to sand down the entire deck to bare wood. At that point I applied a transparent oil based product purchased locally – Messmers UV Plus. It soaked in well, but a little thin for sun areas. My wife got sick a couple years ago and I missed the crucial season it needed to be reapplied. That brings me to now. I’m ready immediately to begin the prep. The deck is dull, and has many areas that have completely lost protection and turned grey. Can you help? Do I need to sand it down again? Do you have a prep system/ products I can use? Will your semi-transparent product be the right choice to keep my decks looking good for many years – with regular cleaning and reapplication on my part, I presume? Really ready to get on this with the right prep and products. Willing to pay extra for a quality proven product – the cost is in the labor.
Thank you,
Brad.
Emigrant, Montana 59027

Brad
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Here are the requested Pics. Deck-1 in full sun. Deck-2 partially covered. Look forward to your input.

Deck-1.jpg
Deck-2.jpg
Brad
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Thanks TWP Help. Last questions: Can you confirm, that the end result after using this kit properly, is that I should have a consistent, no stain / no gray areas, deck – ready to accept and soak up your oil stain? Should I expect to have to apply the kit twice? What is the recommended application method – stain pad? Brush? Thanks for being there with advice.

Brad
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Looks like the kit should take my deck back to a clean no stain / no gray condition, ready to accept your oil based stain for a consistent coverage. Any reason to think I might have to do the kit twice? What is the recommended application method – brush, pad/pole, spray? Thank you for your help TWP.

Rochelle
1 year ago

I followed instructions on stripping and brightening using Restore-A-Deck but it left some old PPG semi transparent stain behind and some of the wood raised (I had to get aggressive with power washer to get stain off). I am sanding over everything now to remove remaining stain and smoothing raised wood. What steps do I need to do before putting down the first coat of TWP 100? Do I need to mist the wood? Is there a preferred grit I need to use? Any other things that might work differently?

Rochelle
1 year ago
Reply to  TWP Help

Thank you for your quick reply. I did apply the Brightener after using the stripper, which I thought was to neutralize the stripper. What is the reason for applying another coat of brightener?

Sheri Bailey
1 year ago

Customer in San Antonio, Tx. Stained prepared deck with you products and stain 11/2020.. Deck has degraded with our freezes and sun and heat . What are the best products and prep we need to
do to the deck to re stain with same stain?
TWP
100
Series 5
Gallon

IMG_7150.jpeg
 
Tom Goerold
1 year ago

I am requesting a sample of your RAD paint and solid stain remover. The lengthy description below lays out my circumstances behind my request for a sample of your most aggresive solid-stain remover. I am a woodworker with a great appreciation for the beauty of wood and wood grain. After unsuccessfully trying to maintain my pressure-treated deck with semi-transparent and semi-solid stains in earlier years, I reluctantly used a Behr solid stain (paint) on my deck attached to my high-altitude home (7000 feet) in Colorado about 2-3 years ago. I slavishly followed the appication directions for the product. As you might expect the UV from sun is by far and away the most brutal weathering agent on our deck. And our main deck has a west exposure that soaks up afternoon sunlight. After vigorous preparation, including renting and using a heavy-duty floor sander, as well as replacing some of the more weathered boards, I applied Behr’s solid stain and have had catatstrophic results. Despite following all instructions on the solid stain, within 6 months I was getting widespread peeling on at least 40 percent of the deck. It is much worse today. Even on the completely shaded eastern exposure of a smaller deck, under a roof that blocks all direct sunlight, I am getting significant peeling of the stain on at least 20 percent of the deck after 2-3 years. Obviously I need to start over and attempt to remove the entirety of the existing solid stain before I attempt anything else. Please send me a sample so that I might see if it is worthwhile for me to pay at least $270 for a five-gallon container (or more–I haven’t estimated the surface area of the decks and railings yet) of your product. Thank you.

Craig
1 year ago

Do you have a clear sealer that would work with teak furniture?

Ann Berka
1 year ago

Looking to stain fence, treated pine, it is about 1 year old and has no stain on it.

Last edited 1 year ago by Ann Berka
 
Cindy Waddell
1 year ago

Hi
Where can I purchase TWP STAIN in my area? Zip code 76124

Jeff Warfield
1 year ago

I live in Minnesota and have a 20 year old douglas fir porch in good condition. I sanded and applied a TWP product 3 +/- years ago but I do not remember which series (100 or 1500) I used. I need to reapply….what series is best for the floor boards?

Thanks,
Jeff

christine vooght
1 year ago

Are these products the same…just different packaging…Step 1 and Step 2

20230512_133940.jpg
 
Katrina B
1 year ago

I’ve been using twp on a deck for 9 years.
2.5 years ago I sanded to bare boards, and applied twp100. Can I apply twp semi solid as a maintenance coat, or do I have to stick with twp 100?

Katrina B
1 year ago

Is the TWP semi solid essentially twp 100, but with semi solids added? I would like to mix the semi solid with the twp 100 I already have, 1:1 mix.

Ron
1 year ago

We bought an applied TWP 203-5 sealant 5 years ago and it has been amazing but time to recoat. The color was 203 Gold but we don’t seem to be able to find that color now for reorder- has the color name changed?

 
Bill
1 year ago

My deck has a lot of mold and mildew. The RAD directions say a mixture of bleach is need to kill mildew. OK, where does this fit into the process?
Is this correct?
1. Wet deck with water
2. Apply Cleaner with pump sprayer, wait 15 min
3. Remove Cleaner with pressure washer
4. Apply bleach solution 1 to 4, wait 15 min
5. Remove bleach with water hose
6. Apply Brightener wait 20 min
7. Remove Brightener with water hose
8. 48 hours for drying
9. TWPStain

Aron
1 year ago

Cleaned and brightened my deck a week ago and was not able to stain due to rain. Now the deck is starting to yellow. Should I do another round of brightener or go ahead and stain. Still have to sand some of the spots where the pressure washer slightly damaged the wood.

Brian Lambert
1 year ago

What is the shelf life of your product? Mainly concerned with TWP 120 pecan.

 
Kyle Lairmore
1 year ago

I’ve completed staining my wood log siding on my house and now ready to caulk everything. Any tips or guidance on selecting the right color matching caulk. Is there a way to select the caulk color to go with the stain used?

Aron
1 year ago

Can I use the semi solid stain over a sanded Behr semi solid water based stain? I couldn’t get all the previous stain off so I’m just covering what is left over after stripping and sanding.

Stu
1 year ago

Last Wed. I stained our deck with twp 1500. We applied our first coat to new pressure treated wood that seasoned for over a year on this new deck 14 months ago, same stain. Followed all the directions, cleaned & brightend with RAD products, rinsed for an hour after brightening, waited for a week, applied stain under perfect conditions and wiped off any excess promptly. Cured in dry warm weather for 4 days, then we got our first rain, and now I am noticing an oily slick on certain areas, see the photos. The deck is not tacky and it appears to dry without leaving a residue, but don’t want to track it in the house or have the dog walk through it. What is going on, and will it resolve on its own or should I do something? Thanks

20230416_180125.jpg
20230416_180133.jpg
 
Chatch
1 year ago

Hello,

Can you please confirm how many gallons of TWP 200 I would need to apply 2 coats to apx 590sq/ft of rough cut hemlock?

Thank you.

Mark Chapoton
1 year ago

I will wait until the fall to stain a newly-purchased-pressure-treated-Lowes-pine pergola with TWP SemiSolid stain as per your recommendation in the how-to. I have three samples coming to test on cut-offs now. What difference in color can I expect between the sample stained new wood, and the same wood stained after drying for 3 to 4 months in the full Texas sun?

Ania Morris
1 year ago

Hello My deck is pressure pine maybe 15 years old.I stripped and used stain1500 natural 1530 3 years ago . Do l need strip it again or just clean an brighten? Please advise. Thanks Ania

8EF29817-A883-4519-833F-F642C9344451.jpeg
 
Aimee Renaud
1 year ago

Have cedar deck and hasn’t been stained in 5 yrs and live in Missouri.

1. Do I purchase Gemini cleaner/brightner?
2. Do I powerwash first, then come back and powerwash with cleaner?
3. How long do I wait for it to Dry before staining?
4. What series do I use?
5. 2 Coats?
6. What is best application to use for stain? Sprayer, roller, paint brush?
7. Some areas need sanding. Do I sand after cleaner?
8. What grit do I use?

Kimberly
1 year ago

2 years ago we sanded cypress posts to bare wood and stained with TWP. Posts need touch up now due to sun fading; do we need to clean and brighten first or can we just go over with coat of same stain?

F09F7CBC-50BA-46A1-98E9-03B7B690B5D4.jpeg
Tom Eizember
1 year ago

I have three cedar garage doors, 9 years old. They face south, so they get some sun, particularly in the winter. They were originally treated with Australian Timber Oil, but that finish turned dark after a few years. They were stripped and brightened with your products. All the original oil came off, but they were a little rough so they were thoroughly sanded. Then they were treated with your 100 Honeytone product. The finish darked after two years, so they were stripped, brightened, and treated again with your 1500 product. It’s now two years later, and they are darkening again.

See the attached photo. The doors in the center and on the right were treated 2 years ago. The door on the right is usually up, so it doesn’t see much sun, and it still looks good. But the center one has darkened considerably. The one on the left was just stripped, brightened, and treated again.

What’s causing the darkening, and how can I slow/stop it? Striping/brightening/treating every two years seems too frequent.

Garage Doors.jpg
 
Bill
1 year ago

Application question: Applying TWP1500 at 58degs but night temp drops to 38deg is the night temp a problem
Thanks

Cherine Hazzi
1 year ago

Preped and stained a cedar deck with series200 California cedar last fall but could not apply a second coat because of bad weather. Can I power wash and stain this year with 1or 2 coats of your series 100 (more resistant?). And what Color comes closest to the California cedar?

Karen Higby
1 year ago

Can TWP 1500 be used over an older (more than 5 years) coating of the TWP 100 series?

 
Chris Anderson
1 year ago

I’m looking to strip the stain off of my log house. What would you guys recommend?

Jim Makries
1 year ago

I applied TWP 1500 3 years ago. After snow and ice storms in Michigan, could use touch. up . Your recommendations please.

Lowell Nelson
1 year ago

I have new cedar clapboard siding on a residential Mansard roof (6 months old), in southern California (Los Angeles area) and am planning to use TWP 1500 semi-transparent stain. However the siding was placed with regular iron nails. Will there be a problem with tannin or rust bleed with the TWP 1500 product?

 
Tim
2 years ago

I have used TWP on my outdoor cedar. I would like to use it on pine stair steps for indoors as well. Any reason I can’t do that?

Bob Papak
2 years ago

What happens if it rains with 24-48 of appication of TWP. Will I have to reapply?

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