Prospective clients often ask me if water based stains are better than oil based stains, or what will last the longest between transparent / semi-transparent / solid stains, or if newer age technology hybrid stains are the way to go.

I always answer that question with another question…

Do you want a peeling problem or a fading problem?

The truth is, it doesn’t matter if they hire me, my competition or do it themselves. The result is the same: either the deck will peel or the deck will fade.

When it comes to wood decks like cedar or pressure treated, there is no such thing as ‘zero maintenance’ unless you want your wood becoming increasingly gray and dirty over time.

The closest thing to maintenance free wood is charclad, Japanese style charred wood building materials and decor from our sister company.

Even after a short time reading our articles, (not to mention the dead giveaway from our tagline, Never Peel Again), you would know that our philosophy fully endorses a fading strategy versus peeling.

Since day one, literally every single business decision and recommendation we make is to ensure your deck will never peel.

You can check out our 3 part Sand & Stain System here, or continue reading about the difference between water based and oil based stain.

Before we get into why one coat is better than two to both protect your deck and prevent it from peeling, we need to go over a few assumptions about your deck, types of stain, and prep. If your deck consistently peels every year, no matter what you do, read our previous post, Why Your Deck Peels Every Year, for reasons about why that might be the case.

So, you invested good money into your brand new deck, or bought a house that came with a gorgeous deck in the backyard. You want to protect that investment as best you can, so the first inclination is to put as many protective layers on that wood as you can—’the more the better!’, you think to yourself.

Unfortunately, too much product is one of the surest ways to end up with a peeling deck—especially if it’s a thicker, water based formula.