Find the best deck paint in this comprehensive guide! We’ll show you why we chose it and how to apply it for a smooth, professional finish that will last for years to come.
Get simple tips and tricks to learn how to stain a deck without a lot of effort for a beautiful finish. Learn about the best deck paint, tools needed and so much more!
I’m not a huge fan of decks – I’d take a beautiful brick patio any day. In fact, that’s one thing I adored about that house that could’ve been.
I still think about that pretty Colonial home that I fell in love with when we were moving to St. Louis. It was in a neighborhood that wasn’t quite as charming as ours, and while we are confident we made the right decision, I still dream of that patio.
I really like when kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms open up to a patio instead of a deck, but such is life, right?!
Our home is built on a hill, making a patio impossible from the main level. It’s partially enclosed by the screened in porch, the house wall and the breakfast nook, with just one side opening to the yard.
Rather than opening up to a garden or yard space, decks tend to feel more confined, limiting both the view and access to your yard. I wanted to find a way to minimize that feeling and redefine this outdoor space as a room on its own.
The Best Deck Paint
Using a solid stain helped to make the wood deck feel like an extension of our home, rather than an enclosure. You know I love chatting all things paint around here – don’t skip our complete guide to the best Deck Paint Colors!
Choosing the best deck stain or best deck paint is essential for a durable, quality finish. A high quality deck stain is easy to apply and also reflects UV rays.
While there are many levels of opacity for deck stains and paint, we wanted one that helped our deck feel ling flooring… a true extension of our home.
With that in mind, our research led us to Sherwin Williams SuperDeck solid deck stain. After four years and several hail storms, it’s in immaculate condition. It stains and paints, offering a beautiful aesthetic.
Note – this is not a sponsored post, it’s just a product we love and wanted to share!
Read about the outdoor living room we created here, and our new Screen Porch Kit.
What is a Solid Stain?
A solid stain gives a painted appearance with the protection of a stain. While staining between the deck slats gives it a finished, polished look, almost like painted wood floors.
A color stain is suitable for decks that have been stained time and time again and can no longer benefit from a sheer stain. It’s also a great option to go over darker stains or to blend your deck with your home.
It is the best deck stain for:
- old wood
- treated wood
- dated stain
- tired stain
- to blend the deck with your home
- for a white deck
We said we weren’t going to DIY much at our new home, but it seems sometimes it’s just easier to do it yourself than to get a contractor to show up. My patience was waning, so Chris took over the project and learned how to stain a wood deck.
Supply List
- Deck Cleaning Product
- 2 edging pads with the plastic edges trimmed off
- a roller on an extension pole
- a paint tray
How to Stain a Deck
- Clean your deck throughly with a long arm brush and deck cleaner
- Allow deck to dry thoroughly- 48 hours minimum
- Place 2 edging pads opposite of one another and dip in stain or paint.
- Swipe in between slats.
- Using your roller, roll over the surface of the deck to keep the paint “drips” from drying on the surface.
- Stain your nails. It’s quick and easy to do this when staining the slats with the side of your roller.
- Roll with an extension handle for a quick, smooth finish. For solid stains, you can use standard painting supplies.
- Stain (or paint) your nails. It’s quick and easy to do this when staining the slats with the side of your roller.
- Roll with an extension handle for a quick, smooth finish (for solid stains you can use standard painting supplies).
Supplies
Tips
- Don’t Skimp – How you stain a deck and the products you choose makes all the difference. Don’t skimp on the time or money you spend here, because you’ll be doing it all over again soon if you do!
- Don’t use a pressure washer. Powerwashing should be left to professionals. Powerwashing your deck improperly could cause more harm than good. It can cause splintering, gaps, and warping.
- Stain Between the Slats – To avoid spending endless hours attempting to get a brush to properly cover the gaps between the slats, we did our research. Chris found a staining trick and it made the surface feel more like a floor and less like a deck.
- Longer Edgers – Staining between deck slats was extremely easy and not overly time consuming. It not only protects the deck, but is visually appealing no matter which direction you’re looking at it. We purchased longer edgers the second time, which made it even easier.
Thank you much for your immediate reply. The contractor keeps telling me that there will be a lot of maintenance involved—pressure washing 3/4 months because the deck will stay dirty. Is this true for you?
Not at all – had ours 3 years. We hose it off in spring and fall and that’s because we have a messy tree above it.
Hi Julie, absolutely beautiful deck. I never considered a white solid stain deck. Did you use the same color as the exterior of your home. I’m in the process of getting my deck stained. We have a very similar set up to yours with a porch of the deck off the family room and kitchen is screened. My home exterior is SW Shoji White and windows are trimmed in a dark (almost black) gray. The contractor suggested we match the trim color and go with Behr Slate (tinted by SW). However, now that I’ve seen your deck I’m almost certain I would rather the lighter color. My ultimate question is….should I use the exterior color of my home or choose a complimentary white stain? Or should I follow the contractor’s advice and use the trim color? Thank you for any suggestions you can provide.
I feel like contractors are not decorators – you could totally do that, but you need to do what *you* love! Ours is the darker of the 2 paint colors, but reads much lighter. I’d probably lean to the white over gray, personally. I hope that helps!
It looks great ! Just wanted your thoughts on a couple of things :
we want to paint/stain our deck white so it will reflect more light into the house – do you think it will serve that purpose?
Paint or stain – any views on this? Paint might be slippery but might reflect more? Right now, i think our deck has a solid stain ( dark red)
A little apprehensive about going all white since maintenance (Mold, dirt) might become an issue. Looks like you are finding it easy to keep it clean. Any advice ?
Thanks
I would definitely use a solid stain then, Tammy! We’ve been really happy with ours. You absolutely should use a stain over paint though to protect the wood, but solid stain has the look of paint, but doesn’t get slippery. Ours looks great – we just hose it every now and then. Also note ours isn’t a true white.
thanks Julie. Will check out the stains.
Do you see any more reflected light into the room nearest the deck since you painted the deck the lightish color. We are trying to get more light (or more rellected light) into the house and that’s why we are going for White. Thanks
Absolutely – our deck and screened in porch shield our dining room and family room. That’s in large part why we did ours “white” not long after we moved in. Enjoy!
Do you find the cream hard to keep clean?
Not at all! Every once in a while we hose it off.
We want to do a similar project with our deck but more of a teal color. I really like the white paint that you used and I think that it turned out really beautiful!