I need to paint/stain my deck.....where do i begin??

my deck is 3 years old...never painted or stained...what should i do??I need to paint/stain my deck.....where do i begin??
Rather than go through a long discussion, just click on this link. They have a few articles on what you are looking for.





http://www.hytechsales.com/howtopaint/de鈥?/a>I need to paint/stain my deck.....where do i begin??
I agree with the other responses, first clean thoroughly with a pressure washer. After it is well dried either stain it (absolutely do not paint it) or put on a sealer as Thompson's.
get a pressure washer


wet down all surfaces with a hose-let it sit for 1/2 hour and then pressure wash every surface-this will ';open'; the wood and clean off residue. Let it dry for one week and apply stain or staining paint.


My deck ';stain'; consists of 50% mineral spirts and 50% 10W40 motor oil.


Spray it on with a garden sprayer


The mineral spirts transpot the oil into the wood and then evaporates leaving a great looking natural stain that really water prooffs the wood


No it is not slippery when done


this ';stain'; cost much less than store bought and you won't have to do it every year
clean it as suggested and then apply deck oil, not paint. Ronseal make a range of these.
DO NOT use paint on your deck it will be the biggest mistake you ever made. The deck takes the most abuse out of any other part of your home. This is what I do with new or unpainted decks. Power wash with a mildew remover like ';JOMAX'; and let dry for at least 3 good sunny days. I now take a semi-transparent stain (oil-based) and a solid color stain (oil-based) and box them together. Make sure their in the same color, usually you can get the same color in either BUT some colors you can't you are limited. Or just go with the oil solid color stain and make sure it's a ';Deck Stain'; and not a ';Siding Stain';. I'm getting an average of 6 to 7 yrs on a deck here in the northeast of course a power wash every other yr with the jomax should be done, with the jomax you can even use a garden hose after the initial power wash , Good luck Les the painter