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Last Updated on April 11, 2022 by TWP Help
TWP with Wet on Wet Application Tips
TWP Stains are to be applied “Wet on Wet” when the wood is absorbent enough to handle more than 1 coat of the stain. This is typically for wood and decking that is older than 12 months and has been exposed to the elements. Applying the TWP “wet on wet” is similar to applying 1.5 coats of stain. The second coat covers twice as much square footage as the first coat.
Applying TWP “wet on wet” is very easy and not complicated once you understand the simple steps.
How To Apply TWP Wood Stains “Wet On Wet” to a Deck:
- Apply the TWP to the verticals first. This would include the railings, benches, and any vertical walls.
- Lightly apply one coat of stain to the horizontal flooring. Apply to the entire floor surface. If your deck has multiple levels, do one level at a time before moving to the next level.
- Wearing shoes that are disposable, walk back onto the “wet” stain and reapply another coat to the “tops” of and railings, walls, and benches. You may walk on your first coat of stain 10 minutes after finishing.
- Apply your second coat of stain to the horizontal flooring. Take care to not step in or leave footprints in your second coat!
- Finish stairs last, repeating the above steps.
TWP Staining Tips
- Do not apply 2 coats of stain to new wood or decking or to recently sanded wood that was sanded finer than 60-80 grit as the TWP stain may not be able to fully absorb into the wood.
- In most cases, a second coat only needs to be applied to horizontals as the verticals will last twice as long.
- Apply your second coat of stain within 10-60 minutes of the first coat.
- Watching for puddling on the floor. This usually happens under railings and benches.
- Wear shoes and clothes that are disposable. Do not wear shoes that have black soft rubber soles. The TWP can “soften” these soles, leaving black residue marks on your deck if you step in the stain.
- TWP Wood Stains can be applied with a stain pad, brush, roller, or sprayer.
If You Need any Help, Please Ask Below!
Using TWP 101. Have shiny boards, which I am assuming means I applied to much stain. The deck boards are new but we prepped with a cleaner that removes mill glaze.
What do I do now to remove the excess stain?
See this: https://twpstainhelp.com/twp-stain-is-spotty-or-shiny/
What is the best sprayer to use for application to a large wood siding building? Is there an epoxy resin wood restorer and epoxy filler recommended for repairing weathered wood prior to application?
There is not an epoxy wood filler from TWP. Wood fillers allso will not “stain” with the TWP to blend. As for a sprayer, might want to try an ariless sprayer since it is a large building. Spray on first coat and back brush the second coat with a brush.
We have just finished sanding off a solid color stain from 1500 sq foot of deck (horrible experience), we used large belt sander and hand sander with 35 grit paper. Do we have to wait until spring to stain, and if so, should we use the cleaner and brightener now after sanding?
You can stain now but you should clean and brighten for the final prep.
When can I put my deck furniture on the deck after applying twp stain
When it is fully dry to the touch. About a day.
My deck is sticky after applying the stain wet on wet method. Other than stripping it, is there anything else that would eliminate the stickiness temporarily?
Wipe it all down with paint thinner and rags to remove the excess stain. This will help speed up the curing. Make sure to take all oily rags and saturate them in water. Lay the rags to dry flat and outside.
applied first coat last year, now going to prep and apply wet on wet With the Gemini prep, do we use it full strength?
Yes since you are doing the two coats this year.
Have used the 1500 series and need to treat again so I guess I should use the same in NC?? Or can I switch to the 100 series? Also need to replace a couple of boards. If go ahead clean and stain deck now and leave new boards out side to air dry for a few months can I stain and then do the replacement?? If so…. I need to leave out to air dry for 4- 6 months before staining and actually replacing on deck?????? I kind of hate to have unstained boards mixed in with the other stained boards. Thanks for any help!
Bes to stick with the same 1500 Series. If you do the new boards now, you will need to touch those new boards up with another coat in the Spring.
How soon can it get wet after application?
12-24 hours.
Thank you!!
What happens if it gets wet sooner? Does it stain the wood?
If the stain is still wet when a rain comes, it could create water spots all over the wood. Looks like white dots.
How soon after applying borate can I stain? Thanks.
Couple of days after it dries.
my deck has a 12″ cedar ‘skirting’ all around. Do you recommend doing “wet on wet” application on these vertical areas too. The deck is weathered ‘prepped’ cedar. all surfaces have been stripped.
Thank you.
Depends on how absorbent the wood is. If in doubt and older wood, best to do the two light coats.
I have a 6 month old, 400 sq foot deck made of Ponderosa pine on the West side of my house. Southern half gets full sun, Northern half is very shaded. Can you confirm we should only apply 1 application of TWP 100 at this time? Assuming we do 1 application now, when would the deck be ready for a wet-on-wet application (i.e.-12 months, 24 months, etc.)
1 Coat now. See this about new wood: https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
I have a 8 year old deck which I have prepped by cleaning ,stripping , applying brightener. If I apply TWP 100 or TWP 1500 wet on wet this year – in 2/3 years time can I just apply TWP 100 / TWP 1500 directly on top? What would be the process to maintain it in subsequent years?
Prep when reapplying with the Gemini Restoe Kit. It is a cleaner/brightener prep.
I just added a pressure treated wood deck for our pool. How long should we wait to stain and seal? The deck is in full sun and exposed to wind. We live out in the country in northern Illinois.
See this articles about new wood: https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Hi there,
I have a pretty large deck, and there is no way I could finish staining it within the 60 minute window to do it again w/ the wet on wet method. Is it best to do the deck 1/2 at a time fully (both coats) and then do the other half?
Thanks
Yes, you can do this. Make sure you have a very distinct dividing line between the two sides.
When you say “Do not apply two coats of stain to new wood”, what qualifies as “new”? I installed a pressure treated deck July 2016, going to be staining with 1520 in August 2017. Deck is just starting to fade/gray from it’s green pressure treated state. Will clean with Gemini Restore-A-Deck. Will this be considered new? One coat or two?
That is not new now. Apply two light coats wet on wet.
My painting contractor applied one coats of TWP 100, the next day he offered to do a second coat. Is 24 hours a wrong time for a second coat?
if the wood is extremel dry you can apply a coat the next day but you have to be careful and make sure it fully soaks into the wood.
Can I apply a 3rd coat on dry? I applied wet on wet but on 1/3rd of the deck it is a lot darker than the other 2/3rd. You can see from pictures. I used Dark Oak
Hi Kurt,
We have replied to your previous questions on this. No, it is not a good idea to apply more now. It will not soak in correctly and create issues with drying and curing.
Can TWP be applied to a boathouse deck that has had many coats of Thompson Tinted Water Sealer? It has been power washed.
The Thompsons will have to be removed fully first before using the TWP.
Hi, i live in Costa Rica i am going to stain my deck with your product. The wood is like walnut (costa rican corteza amarilla). The wood was cut a month ago. What should i do? What are the steps? If i have to wait….should i use another product in the meanwhile? And when i have to stain do i have to sand all over again?
See this about new wood: https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
I have a five month old deck build out of treated pine. Do I need to apply two coats of TWP 100 stain? I live in southwest Kentucky.
One coat for new wood. See this: https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Should I apply two coats of two 100 stain on my new deck that I have waited five months to stain. The wood is treated pine.
Have stained old medium red cedar deck with two coats TWP 101 Cedartone Natural wet on wet last August. I have just cleaned the deck for the first time this season and the color is now a Yellow Mustard Gold tone. It does NOT look very natural cedar-ish at all. Deck was cleaned, stripped, brightened and allowed to dry for 3 days before application. Is it possible that the tint of the product was off or possibly mis-labeled? Can I intermix the products to tint it darker or redder? I am not entertaining the idea of doing this whole process over again.
Hello, no the colors are not off or mis-labeled. You can intermix colors of the same series. See this for more info on colors: https://twpstainhelp.com/twp-100-color-choices-and-tips/
The “professionals” that I hired totally messed up my deck. I ordered the beautiful TWP 1500 series. First, they have not finished applying the stain saying that they “ran out”. So now the deck is partially stained and has been drying for 4 days. They only ran out because they used a massive amount of stain for the first coat and there are sticky puddles of stain all over my deck. What can I do? I ordered another 5 gallons and need to know what to do with the sticky puddles, and can I still do a second coat now that the stain has dried for the first horrible coat? I’m so frustrated. I don’t even care if there will be lap marks, i just want the sticky puddles off of the deck!
Thank you,
Erin
Hello,
Sorry you had issues with the application. It is unfortunately not possible to add more stain or spot fix this. It would be best to have them strip this off so it is down to the bare wood. Use the Restore A Deck Stain Stripper. Repeat if needed until all is removed. Brighten the wood after the stripping as well.
CAN I APPLY TWO COATS (WET ON WET) ON NEW CEDAR SIDING ON A SMALL SHED (600 SQ FT)?
See this about new wood: https://twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Just one coat.
I totally missed how to apply wet on wet and just did one coat yesterday…I assume it’s too late to apply another one now?
Hard to say. Sometimes it works fine and soaks in and other times it sets on on top of the wood and dries shiny.
Due to Gemini product delivery delays, lost big window needed for prep and staining. The deck has been prepped since the 10th of July and now there is finally enough time for the deck to be dry for 48 hours and then stain and be dry again for 24. I have noticed that there are dark marks around where the nails are now. Do I have t o get more product to brighten the deck again and then wait again for proper drying times or can I still go ahead and stain today?
Does the 48 hour without rain rule apply to fence as well since it’s a vertical surface? Waiting for 2 or 3 days with no rain forecast is tough.
What is the best application process for the TWP 115 stain? I have a 16×20 Redwood deck with railings. Should I brush stain on the railings and then use a pump sprayer for the rest of the surfaces? If I’m to do a wet on wet coat then brushing the main deck surface will take to long or is it better to use a pad or roller?
How many years can I go between applications with a Cedar deck in New York State? The deck has sun and shade, not too much traffic. Is every 3 years okay?
I have a padco pad for application, but was wondering if a stain brush that can be used with a pole would be just as good and help get in between the boards as you stain. Is a brush more prone to uneven applications, making a pad superior? If a pad is superior, do you recommend the crack and groove tool to get between the boards – if so, do you use it as you go, i.e. stain 1 entire row with a pad, follow up with the crack tool, move back to the pad for the next row, etc.?
I put new wood on my deck 8 months ago. I have cleaned it. Should I apply one coat or wet on wet. I will be applying two 1500. I live in NH
I have finshed sanding the original stain from a 6 year old cedar deck. Do I need to strip and brighten the cedar prior to staining with TWP 1500 ?
How do you get good coverage of the gaps in the floor boards other than brushing it in? Asking because brushing in the cracks when I stained my 19×32 deck with the old Olympic formula five years ago took a lot longer than a couple of hours, but then I only applied one coat. Concerned about getting the second coat of TWP100 on quickly enough. The deck is four years old and in good shape, and I plan to strip and clean using the RAD products.
We live in Nebraska and have a covered wood porch with treated wood. The porch was built in March and we were told to let weather for 6 months by the contractor. There are some splits in the wood now. We just prepped with the cleaner/brightener and due to some rain and other engagements we had to wait a week to stain. Should I use a wood filler on the splits in the horizontal decking before staining? Should I use one or two coats of the TWP 100? Thanks.
Hi will be staining my weathered pressure treated pine decks and verticals tomorrow with TWP 1500 cedar tone…..is it necessary to wipe stained surfaces with a rag after brushing on to avoid high/low spots? Does TWP have the same consistency as traditional stains or is it more paint-like? Already used Gemini 2 step process.
I just finished staining my 2 year old western red cedar deck with TWP 100 cedartone formula after doing prep with the Gemini Kit and power washing. It is very impressive in appearance and I’m quite pleased thus far. One thing that I had to get the hang of was tracking where I had put down the second coat – with a herring bone pattern for the decking it was a challenge for the first half of the floor, but I came around for the second half and the tone appears much richer and more consistent. This begs the question – now that I’m able to see the difference from one side to the other and realize where I missed an adequate second layer on the first half, am I able to apply another coat to help make it more consistent looking? Or, am I stuck with a do-over or waiting for the next cycle of staining in several years?
What will happen if leaves fall on the deck while it is wet either from cleaning with the Gemini kit, or the. 1500 stain?
I applied The TWP 1500 Cedar tone as directed early this summer, now where the water will stand on my PT wood deck the wood is turning black?
I have a new cedar deck. I let it weather for 1 year. I recently applied Deck cleaner and then power washed the deck. I then lightly sanded the deck to help remove any residue from deck cleaner. I then power washed again. I purchased TWP 120 and ready to do deck. I am waiting for rain to stop. I plan on waiting two days for deck to dry out from rain. I am little confused about apply TWP120. It sounds from reading your tech info above that I should only apply 1 coat this first time? I bought 5 gallons to make sure I had enough for 2 coats if needed. If I should apply only 1 coat now??? will the stain in my 5 gallon pail last until next year to stain second coat? Please explain and tell me what I should do. Also this wet on wet thing sounds like it applies to only situations in which you are putting two coats down? I also have rails to do.
We used 1500 on a very dry deck. The stain soaked in immediately. We ran out of day light and thought we’d be able to reapply a second coat the following morning. Obviously, we did not read the application directions thoroughly enough. I now see that we needed to reapply the second coat within ten minutes. What do we do now? Will we need to wait a few months, or just wait another year?
I applied TWP 1520 Pecan several days after pressure washing my small front porch area which is over 10 years old. Unfortunately, I missed the part about “wet on wet.” It is now 24 hours since the first coat and the wood surfaces are now dry. Should I do a wet on dry second coat of TWP? If not, is there anything else I should do beside read the directions better next time around?
we applied twp to older redwood siding, dry bushed after to absorb extra. Next day, under the eaves it appears shiny,what should we do?
We plan to stain a small front deck with your Black Walnut 1500. It is treated wood and was installed last summer. We live in Michigan and hope the 1500 is the right choice. I am confused about whether to do I or 2 coats. Nothing has ever been used on the deck so we are just going to use the cleaner and brightener kit before staining. We used a sample of the black walnut on a extra board using 2 coats. I like the color but it appears very dull. Is there supposed to be a top coat to add some shean?
Can NBS 30 insect repellent be added to the 5 gallon pail of 1500 series?
How wet is too wet to apply TWP 100 stain? I’ve stripped/sanded/brightened my deck, and now it’s raining a bit (brief showers, only a few hundredths inches of rain) nearly every afternoon and looks to do so for a least a week. What’s the minimum I can go without rain and be safe to stain with the outlook of a 12-hour rain-free window?
Last July we added an addition to an existing pine log cabin that is stained with Weatherseal. The addition has weathered since then and we plan to strip old cabin and stain entire structure with TWP. Do you recommend the 100 or 1500? We are in the UP of Michigan. Also, sounds like you recommend 1 coat for new wood. Should we do 1 coat on new addition and 2 on old cabin? What would you recommend. We want the color to be as consistent as possible. We are also going to stain the deck. Front portion is new and side porch is old. Recommendation?
hello
I have a ten year old pt deck in northern va. It had a behr stain that had mostly worn off the floor but not the verticals. it was necessary to sand the verticals with 25 grit.
Based on a previous answer, the verticals will only take one coat. do you recommend a strip and brighten after sanding to increase absorption? If I strip and brighten some new wood, will I be able to skip the wait time to season it? will I notice a significant difference in coloration between a deck floor done wet on wet and one coat on the verticals? I was going to use 1500 dark walnut.
thanks
I have a cabin with T1-11 plywood siding, treated once about 7 yrs ago with Thompsons water seal/stain. It is VERY dried out, but also very clean. Do I need to prep/ clean it with anything special, or can I just spray it with TWP 100? Thanks
We have a 2 yr old 20 x 20 deck. We’ve done nothing to it since it was built. The builder used pretreated pine. I want to use the 1500 series stain in natural. Do you recommend 1 coat or 2? I read just do 1 the first time and then I read do the wet on wet which is like 1.5 coats staining it twice? We live in PA. Thanks!
Can twp be applied in the sun