There is no question that solid stain is the absolute bane of everything we believe in at Sand & Stain. Our promise to you is captured right in our original tagline: ‘Never Peel Again’—and if there’s one thing we’re certain of, it’s that solid stain will peel in Canada, no matter who applies it.

Probably the biggest reason solid stain fails, is because it acts much like a paint opposed to a stain. Paint protects by forming an outer film coating and is built up with layers and is far too thick to ever penetrate the wood. That’s why when you see solid stains or paint on exterior wood like a deck or fence, it peels off in pieces / chunks and leaves completely bare wood behind.

I’m surprised solid stain is even classified as a stain—it really should be called a paint, because it basically is no different than a can of flat sheen exterior water based paint. Sometimes people ask why we don’t restore decks, fence, and siding projects with solid stain and paint anymore, and there are many reasons for that:

You want the best for your deck in care, protection, and aesthetics. Washing seems like a no-brainer to maintain it, so why not make your job easier with the power of a pressure washer? Here are 5 reasons we don’t pressure wash decks in our business, and why we think you shouldn’t pressure wash your deck either.

NOTE: We focus on the maintenance and care of wood decks and do not recommend pressure washing any of them (Cedar, Ipe, Accoya, Kebony, Thermory Ash, etc.) Pressure washing may be perfectly fine for your composite or PVC deck.

This article is far more than a product comparison. We at Sand & Stain have been using the Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck Transparent Penetrating Oil as the main product in our business for over 10 years. It’s a huge part of the reason we have been able to keep our #1 promise to our clients (also our slogan): Never Peel Again.

Suffice it to say, it came as a shock in the summer of 2020 that this exceptional product was reformulated without so much as a notice or warning. Not even the local Sherwin-Williams store managers knew this was being rolled out (at least not in any of my local Ontario or Quebec stores.) Staff simply re-ordered more product as normal, and in came the new SuperDeck. Aside from a brown strip on the bottom of the can and slightly difference literature (left vs right in pic below), it’s practically an unnoticeable difference.

Until you open the can…