Last Updated on January 30, 2023 by TWP Help
TWPStainHelp.com Tips: TWP Stain Application is Spotty/Shiny and How to Fix
Staining a deck can be a challenge. There are some common mistakes that can occur that may greatly affect the final results. One such common mistake is over applying the stain.
With TWP Stain it is recommended to apply the stain using a brush, roller, or some type of sprayer. If the wood seems very thirsty, you can apply two “wet on wet” coats. TWP is a penetrating stain so you should never apply more stain than the wood can absorb. Once the stain as had 20-40 minutes or so to penetrate into the wood, you should go back and wipe away or back brush any puddles, drips, or runs.
When excess stain (stain that did not soak in) is left on the surface to dry it becomes shiny. This can give the deck an unsightly spotty or blotchy appearance. If you notice your TWP Stain application is spotty/shiny you should know how to fix it.
Once the surface has dried you can see the extent of the spotty or shiny issue from over-applying. To fix it you can lightly wipe your deck with rags and mineral spirits to remove the excess stain that is on top of the wood.
Note: it is very important to saturate all oily rags with water once done. Lay the rags flat on the ground outside to dry fully.
If you are still having trouble removing the shiny spots, meaning the stain is too thick, you may have to use a stain stripper. You can also try sanding the areas using medium-grit sandpaper. Once the problem areas are cleaned or sanded off, allow the deck to dry before reapplying a light coat of TWP.
Only apply TWP to the areas you cleaned or sanded. Apply as much stain as the wood will absorb but no more. If the stain is not soaking in after 10 minutes wipe the excess away with a clean rag or brush. Try to even out the finish as best as possible without over-applying.
If you have this issue and need help. Please Ask below!
Probably not much or any difference.
Our five year old porch was originally stained with TWP 120 Pro Series (pecan) after a six month weathering/drying period. It looked wonderful. Two years ago we pressure washed it with water post pollen season and restained it with the same product, applying one coat. Again, beautiful porch floor.
This week, also post pollen and after a plain water pressure wash, my husband applied one coat of TWP 120 Pro Series (pecan) to the porch floor. He may have applied it too heavily because after 24 hours the finish is very shiny, feels oily and a bit tacky.
What to do? Is it possible that it will still dry? It has never before been shiny so I imagine that may be a bad sign. I appreciate any advice you would share. Thanks!
This is a sign of over-application and or improper prep. Post some pics in the comments.
27 hours post application. Temperature high 60s at night, mid80s by afternoon.
Yes, that is an issue. TWP needs to fully penetrate, not dry on top of the stain, and become shiny. To fix you will need to fully remove it all down to the bare wood but before you do that, try and give it another week or so to see if it cures. Eventually, you will have to remove it but it will be easier down the road.
Thanks very much!
Fence was stained 5 years ago with TWP 100 pecan, Question is will TWP 1500 pecan absorb after pressure wash??
Use the Gemini Restore kit while pressure washing for prep.
https://www.twpstain.com/gemini-s-restore-a-deck-cleaner-and-brightener-kit
Hi, there, I had someone stain my deck and it came out looking blotchy. He tells me that this is how it’s supposed to look but I’m not convinced. Wondering what went wrong and if it’s worth fixing? Thanks in advance.
That is bad prep or uneven prep. They did not remove the prior coating fully first.
Found a 36 window of dry weather before application, wood moisture registering 7-12 on average, couple 17 readings on 2 boards. at 18 hrs after application, still pretty shinny (but dry) and started raining at 24 hrs after last boards done (took 7 hours BTW). As in other photos I hope you will tell me the shine will ‘dry’ and wish us luck for what it looks like after this next 7 days of predicted rain. Alaska
Hard to say, onlly time will tell if it will fully cure and dry. Most likley okay.
Oops, we over applied! The wood was in better health than we realized from proper prep and and TWP last year. Looking to refresh the same color (faded a bit from sun, rain) and to protect the wood we used Gemini cleaner + brightener, dried then stained. We thought the wood was thirstier than it was (when we did it last year the wood was so very thirsty it sucked right in). The TWP stain really does what it says it will do. We have learned our lesson for the future and will maintenance coat lightly!
Now the deck is dry but shiny. So my question is will wiping the deck with mineral spirits remove the excess or are we going to have to (I dread the thought) start over and RAD strip or Gemini clean again? Using mineral spirits do we rub hard or gently wipe?
western red cedar deck located on the Oregon coast
Just wipe down excess the stain with mineral spirits and you should be fine. You will not need to redo the deck.
Oh that’s good news thank you for the quick reply and for your ongoing help for your customers
Mineral spirits are not working well. Deck is still tacky and shiny. The more we try with the mineral spirits, the more uneven the color is (patchy). Would you recommend the Gemini cleaner or the RAD stripper as the next step? Thank you
RAD Stripper and then the Brightener. You might need both stripper additives as well.
Strip again? Oh no 😭
Thank you!
TWP 1500 Black Walnut on Douglas fir that had weathered for a couple months. The man I hired seemed familiar with your product so I assumed he used the correct prep and application process. This was a mistake. The photos show how shiny/glossy it is and still tacky 48-hours after application in 70+ sunny, arid weather. Should I, A) wait longer in hopes that becomes less shiny and less tacky. B) wipe the whole thing with mineral spirits. C) Strip and sand and wait til next spring to try again?
He excessively over-applied and is beyond wiping with mineral spirits to fix. It will eventually cure fully but the shine will remain. Since it is vertical we would suggest just leaving it alone as the option to fix is to heavy strip it off and it will easier to strip later on in a few years than now. BTW, it seems you did not follow directions for new wood and that is why it happened.
https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Shoot. I really don’t like the shine. A couple years feels so long to wait. Is the anything I can do to address the glossiness sooner? Would your strip/brighten kit help?
You would have to fully remove it and start over. It will not be an easy striper so you will need both additives for the stripper and you may have to do it a few times to get it all off.
That stain color looks so good on the Douglas fir! Love it. Good choice
I bought a 5 gallon pail of TWP 100, and it looks like I’ll have at least 1/2 left over. What’s the best way to store the product so it won’t skin. Smaller containers, perhaps?
Yes, you can try the small cans but no guarantee it will last. Shelf life is 12 months after being opened.
Can a oil based poly over the top of the stain fix the spots where there was excess stain left over?
You cannot apply a coating or poly over the TWP stains.
A couple of years ago, I over-applied TWP 1500 stain and failed to wipe it off. We had some shiny spots for a while, and now they’ve turned into bare spots (see picture). Would you recommend stripping/brightening, or would cleaning/brightening be sufficient?
Strip and then brighen for prep.
House was striped, brighten, then sanded. The stain was applied by brush and 20 minutes later back brushed again for extra material and to make sure no runs. However the outcome is still splotches. Any recommendation on how to even this out?
Try applying one very light coat to all wood.
Hello,
My name is Robert and I have a question about the drying of stain. Two days ago, I applied the Twp1500 cedar tone stain on my deck. The stain seems to have dried nicely, but the knots on the wood seem to be still wet and not fully dry even though two days have passed with no rain. I do not know what to do about the knots not being fully dry..what can I do?
Just let it dry out and cure. It will over time.
We have a cedar deck in the Pacific Northwest. There was previously an oil-based semi-solid stain on it. It was last stained 3 years ago.
A week or so ago, we decide to stain the deck again and we first applied Behr wood stain stripper to it, then applied a Storm brightener/naturalizer, and let it sit for a a few days in the sun to dry out (In retrospect, probably not a good idea to use two different company’s products for stripping and brightening.)
Anyway, today a couple of hours after the sun was no longer on the area, we applied a TWP99 semi-solid dark oak stain to part of the deck. Now the stained area now has a very splotchy look. (Please see the attached photo.)
So, as far as the areas we’ve ALREADY stained, any suggestion about what we can do? (I do remember reading that if you apply two coats, the second coat needs to go on 15 or 20 minutes after the first coat.)
THEN as far as the areas we have NOT yet stained, should be apply two coats, one shortly after the other?
Or should we start over and strip those areas before doing anything further?
The last time we stained the deck (3 years ago), we used a different company’s semi-solid stain and I don’t recall having this splotchiness problem at that time. It seemed then like the semi-solid stain covered most imperfections.
Thank you for any information or suggestions you might have!!
It does not look like you fully remove the old stain first? That needs to come off better. Shoot for 95-100% removal. Use the RAD stripper kit with both additives:
https://www.twpstain.com/restore-a-deck-stripper-brightener-kit-detail#
https://www.twpstain.com/wood-stain-strippers/rad-stripper-additives
Sand as well if needed to get it down to bare wood.
Not sure what you mean about the TWP Semi-Solid in Dark Oak? The semi-solid does not come in a Dark Oak color. Colors are here on this link:
https://www.twpstain.com/twp-semi-solid-pro-series
The nearby paint store mixed the semi-solid to match that color. (See the attached labels.) It sounds like I need to completely start over and that I should use the stock semi-solid colors, correct?
Thank you!!
I don’t believe they mixed it corectly to truly represent a semi-solid color. It looks closer to a semi-transparent.
You should start over and order one of the stock colors.
Thank you for your answer and candor. I cannot find any dealers in the Portland, Oregon area who carry the stock colors, even with the ‘find a dealer’ feature on your website. Do you have a list of Portland-area dealers who carry the stock colors? I don’t really want to have to order online. Thanks again, you’ve been very helpful.
We are the only ones selling the stock colors and that means you will have to order online.
We completed staining deck and porch yesterday.with TWP 101 cedartone The forecast has rain in store later today so we covered the deck with 7 mil painters plastic in hopes of not getting water spots. Will this be sufficient? The next issue is the porch. Must have over applied as it is still tacky. I have used paper towels to take off some of the additional stain. Will the porch eventually cure or will we have to do it again?
You should not have covered. It needs air to properly cure. Get it off and let it cure if you have not. It will cure over time.
I uncovered it and it was dry (the rain did not get to it). It is no longer tacky so I think we are good to go. Thanks for your help!
What happens when you have shiny spots on the surface? It’s been 24hrs and I noticed some spots still look wet but dry to the touch. I guess it was over applied. What is the detriment?
It will dull over time. You will be fine.
Thank you for your quick response. Love the product.
Those spots are from the rain. It was not fully cured, and the rain separated the oil. Let it dry for a few days and see if it evens out. If not, you will need to clean and recoat.
Thanks
But it rained 72 hours after the completion of the staining job. This is above your recommended range!?
The 200 series can take up to a week to fully cure ins come conditions.
But it rained 4 days after application! This is way longer than your recommended period!
Hello,
I do not see that you ordered directly from our website. We are an online dealer for TWP only, we do not make the TWP. Please contact the manufacturer directly for help. Their phone # is on the TWP can or 800-262-5710. Thanks.
Trying again to attach a photo.
I’ve used TWP for years. My deck was getting shiny, and spotty after powerwashing. I have sanded my ENTIRE deck with a 60 grit paper so most of the color is gone. Is there anything else I need to do before applying the TWP 101?
It would be best to wash the entire deck with the Gemini Restore Kit:
https://www.deckstainhelp.com/restore-a-deck-stain-stripper-booster-thickening-gel-review/
Had my deck stained with TWP 1500. On the footers (vertical posts) below the deck they used a roller and didn’t back brush or wipe away excess. I noticed this about 5 hours after they finished so I used a cloth to get any residual stain off. Today (24.hours) I’ve noticed a few of the posts are tacky. They look good. No runs. No puddles. No streaks.
Will this tackiness cause issues in the future? I usually power wash every year and use the Gemini restore kit every 2 years before applying another coat.
It will be fine, no issues as far as performance.
I am talking about my kitchen table top it is stain wood
Sorry but we have no idea why soap would cause a shine to your table. This site is for exterior TWP Stain prep and application only. We do not know or help with general maintenance upkeep for kitchen tables.
I had a hit on my table and I tried to fill it wth patty after I wiped it with a bit of soap it came shinny how can I make it not shinny that spot pls
Sorry but I have no idea what you mean?
I wiped a part of my table with soap and it left a shine on it how do I cover the shine of
I’ve been using TWP 207 Butternut Brown, but see it now only comes in 5 gallon pails? I only need a gallon, so which color in TWP 100 or 1500 matches closest on pressure treated wood? Thank you.
It comes in gallons: https://www.twpstain.com/twp-200-series-5-gallon
It’s been about 12 hours since my contractor applied TWP 100 in cedar tone. Seeing lots of sheen this morning. Do I need to let this cure more or should I intervene?
You can wipe it down now.
Note: it is very important to saturate all oily rags with water once done. Lay the rags flat on the ground outside to dry fully.
We have a new wood deck that we just stained with TWP 100. We wiped away excess after 30 minutes but most of it had soaked in already. The wood looks very blotchy. What happened? The wood was dry when we applied and no rain.
Did you follow the directions for new wood?
https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
I didn’t use the kit you describe but did clean with soap and water and rinsed well. I let it dry for over 2 days. Is there anything I can do now or will it look better when the second coat is applied in a year or so.
Best to just prep and eapply next Spring. It will not take another coat now.
We used TWP stain over the summer to stain our new deck. As you can see, some spots still have a ‘wet’ look to them. It’s been a few months so I’m not sure what our best option is. We live in Southeast Texas so that means lots of humidity. We also have black (moldy??) spots that have showed up over the last week. Did we not use enough stain? Thanks in advance!
You over applied it and possibly did not prep correctly. Not sure if you followed the new wood instructions? https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Best to redo this Spring. Strip and brighten for prep.
I did a test sample on my house with 1500-series pecan and it looked pretty good with a nice warm brown tone. Afterward, my contractors sanded down all of our cedar using 40-grit sandpaper and then applied a sampling of the pecan and it came out very blotchy and red. The outcome was night and day compared to what I originally tested. The first photo is the first test sample I did after cleaning and sanding with 80-grit. The second photo is the test area the contractor did after cleaning and sanding with 40 grit. The third image shows the siding in the process of being sanded. Do you think the 40-grit sanding could have something to do with this? If so, is there a grit that you recommend for clear cedar?
The final color is due to the wood itself, how old it is, and how it is prepped. There is not a way to sand it a certain grit and have it come out a given color.
Our deck is 12 years old. We hired a company to prep and stain it. They power washed it with a cleaner but there was still black moldy areas. We’re replaced some of the boards and all the top hand rails. We bought RAD stripper/brightner and power washed a second time. After it dried they lightly sanded the splinters and applied TWP 1500 in Dark Oak. There is variations in color on the old wood and the new wood has splotches. The old wood was very thirsty and the guys applied many coats. They might have over applied the stain as I suspect. Is there anything we can do to make it better or shall we wait? We appreciate any advice.
Pics. after staining, and few days later after it rained.
Nothing you can do at this point. Clean and apply another coat next year.
Thank you for your response. How do I clean next year?
Pressure wash with the Gemini Restore Kit.
Hello,
We rec’d our 5 gallon 1500 stain and will be renting a sander to take off the peeling stain on our redwood deck. it’s 3 year old, we live in Denver, CO. My question is: if we sand today (Friday) 88 degrees and sunny and we stain tomorrow (Saturday) same weather; will the deck be okay if we are getting snow (Monday night into Tuesday?) It will be 50-60 on Wed. and Thursday and sunny. We are just getting that one crazy snow day. How long should the stain dry before it gets snow?
Thank you,
Tammy
24 hours before any rain or snow after applying.