How To Protect Your Deck | Never Sand Again!

Hey dude, let us focus more on doing the actual work and less talking. DIYs are looking more at work and not talking.

I just cleaned and pressure washed my deck but there was no sealant on it before. Do I need to sand the whole deck before I apply the Thompson's water seal so that it can penetrate the wood or can I just apply it on now without sanding? Thanks!

can I use this product the first year? just got a new deck a few weeks ago and I want to seal it.

Hi Jeff, I really want to try the Thompson and don/t think about sanding anymore, but does that work for the tinted version too? I found Thompson Water Seal Waterproof Plus Tinted Wood Protector , is it the same, does it work the same? Please let me know because I would like to try it this year.
Thank you so much

I have a second story wood balcony that gets pounded by Texas sun, wind, rain, ice, snow and golf ball size hail. It has a solid base stain that I have to have redone every 2 years. Would it help if a sealer were put on top of the solid stain? This 10x10' balcony has an amazing view of a beautiful golf course, but it is getting very expensive to maintain!!

The reviews are terrible on this product, why?

can you clear coat wood fence to preserve the redwood instead of painting?

A lot of people say not to pressure wash decks. It fuzzes the wood up and makes it fail faster next time

My deck is 5 years old and though I stained it twice, it has discolored and now it is not just dull, but also has a lot of chipping off. I am a bit confused with your advice. Should I apply the Olympic Maximum coat and does that require me to pressure wash first? Or, should I pressure wash and apply the Thompson sealer? It appears that the second option would give me better looks. Correct me if I am wrong.

Do you still recommend the Olympic Maximum product or is something else better protecting the wood and easy maintenance every year or two?

You give a couple false recommendations" oil based products are always only ONE coat. They must penetrate into the wood. Any excess that does not penetrate may cause shiny spots and will not dry! To this end, if you put Thompson's Waterseal on first, the oil ( or water based product) will not penetrate, and failure can be expected.
The present version of Olympic Maximum (2023) is an emulsified oil, that is, it is made from oil, but is made to be water soluble. The Maximum is used just like a true oil, and is only ONE coat.

L 👀 KS Amazing 👏 love this guy!😂

If installing a new cedar deck that is not klin dried, do I need to wait before applying a penetrating sealer?

What pressure are you using on you washer. Thanks!

"UV rays" haven't changed in THOUSANDS OF YEARS!

I'm no home improvement expert, but I really like this guy. Uses language that everyone can comprehend.

so the lesson is... if I want to just highlight the natural characteristics of the wood (which I do) and both protect the wood long term and prevent graying (weathering), use one of these clear oil-based penetrating sealers. And then every year, just pressure wash and re-apply? I want to avoid sanding NO MATTER WHAT. I have an 800 sq ft deck area. But I live in the desert, so the UV is gnarly. So I plan to clean and seal every year no matter what. So it seems that with this method, I can avoid sanding during my annual maintenance, protect wood long term, maintain the natural beauty of my redwood, and be set?

Also Jeff, what kind of wood is that on the deck? Is that just douglas fir? Or Cedar? I feel like doug fir will get wrecked after a few years. Or maybe I'm wrong?

Jeff, my porch has been painted. Now it collects dirt and looks terrible. How can I clean it? I have tried hard floor cleaners. Help!

All the trades ppl i know built their decks from non wood!...the besyiption is dont use wood.fir the rest of us carpenter and several seniors told me to use linseed oil and varathane mix on decks and rails. There decks look good at 10 years. I tried 2 high end water based products and they had to be redone at 2 years with some new boards were splitting. "New formulas" are garbage. Cabot timber oil is great...should have saved up for the "plastic wood" deck material. Dont see many videos promoting that. All my trades friends have them.

15 - 20 minutes to pressure wash ? how?

But don't pressure washing leave the wood fizzies..I pressure washed and then had to sand anyway

Bought my 1st home..its brand new. Built a deck and a ramp. Yout videos has so many tips and perks. Love being able to do it myself

Eh? Prō cess

So with the Olympic do I just wash with deck cleaner and recoat when needed?

So do we add the Thompson first on a new deck then add the Olympic?

Will it last 3 years in Florida? Lots of rain here

Why don't ever recommend Sherwin Williams products? I know they have a presence in Canada so it's surprising that you don't use superior products. Thompson's has terrible results most of the time so it's shocking to see someone of your caliber suggest that product. Not to mention its not as expensive as the others mentioned here....

Would one recommend pressure washing if we inherited an older deck, wood isn't great, but also not bad enough to re place?

Jeff, what if we already used the solid stain. Can we sand it this year and put this on it now or do we have to keep doing the solid stain? Oh goodness, wished I would have found you before doing that!

Is that pressure treated lumber? My deck is about 6 months old now and that C2 Guard says it's for unsealed wood surfaces so not sure if this is appropriate for my deck.

Says pro-cess funny ! Lol

How is Thompsons One Coat Water Seal different from this product?

Never pressure wash your deck.

I used that Olympic sealer from the video. He says it goes on yellow like butterscotch but dries clear. Nope, dries yellow. I used it on some redwood deck 2x6 samples, and they're super yellow. Anyone know a true clear sealer that, sure will probably darken the wood a tad, but stays true to the original color of the wood?

I followed your instructions from this video and used the Olympic Maximun waterproofing sealant in June of 2023. After only 1 winter the sealant is peeling off our deck leaving patches. We spent days cleaning and applying your recommended Olympic product to our 800 sq ft deck and it now looks like crap. Please let us know what we should do to restore it to its' natural beauty.

The UV rays nowadays are CRAZY. So much more than when I was a kid.

what pressure washer specs to get that performance?? I have a Greenworks 2100psi 1.2gpm pressure washer that can "sand" the deck like that with a 40 degree tip but it would take twice as long to get that result. What specs to get that performance in the video??

Great advice

On the basis of this video, I applied a stain version of Olympic Maximum as per the instructions to my cedar deck. Well, here I am one year later and I will probably have to do the whole thing again. The stain is blotchy and faded wherever the sun hit the deck. Everything looks good in a video, but in real life, not so much... 🙄

Is it normal to just seal a deck and not stain. Just to keep the natural wood look?

Hi Jeff, How long the sealer will last on the deck? Will the sealant change the colour of the deck a bit? I am planning to seal my deck and not to stain.

Will and combination stain and seal like Cabot Semi-Transparent Stain + Sealer work the same, or will be need to pressure wash and sand when we apply in the future?

Just a quick question so if i decide i want to use the Olympic maximum am i supposed to still put the Thompsons sealer on first before that or just not use the thompsons at all?

Hey, I want to use the product but the can has changed and you make no reference to its stock number or a link. They now have a few different similar products. which one is this?

Forget this, just use composite decking and call it a day.

Bro! You made my day!! 😅👊🏽 Gracias! I just found you and thank you for to be transparent and honest with us. Great video. I’m going to be watching your videos 🎥

you can't keep going over sealer. I did with the same project, it ends up very dark, and flakey. UNLESS you put a REALLY thin coat on initially, although I think you would still end up in the same boat / mess - with dark patches, and tons of flaking. Nice idea - but with the same project, I just had to pressure was and paint strip the whole deck which was 5-10 hours. something I don't want to do every few years (pain in the ass). What we need is an oil product, that acts more like a simple oil.

So glad that I found this video, this is just what I needed to know before purchasing stain!