Staining Trex decking

[slammer]

Anyone done this? What products did you use? Did you have mold on the deck? What did you use to clean it?

[crothmeier]

Trex's HSOforum has info on cleaning it, but Superdeck make a composite deck cleaning product that works well also for mildew.

[JAR JAR]

I did stain my Trex but after it faded to the proper shade (lt gray) I used CWF UV Cedar toned deck stain... Its been on for almost two years now but needs to be redone soon...

Jar

[Big Tom]

What's the point of Trex vs. Cedar if you still have to stain it?

[RebelSS]

What's the point of Trex vs. Cedar if you still have to stain it?

Not to be a smart butt, but...doesn't Trex have a 25 year No-fade warranty? I thought that was the point of buying it....

[slammer]

My deck is 9 years old and is faded I would say about 30% from original color. It still looks pretty good. I am curious to know how well the stain holds up and how often you would have to redo. Trex states in their warranty that it will fade to some degree and this is normal. They have had some issues with mold and mildew but I have not checked how they have handled those claims. I was mine every spring with a deck cleaner and so far it looks good. At some point I will stain it and see if I can return it close to original. Just want to get the right product from the start.

[Surface Tension]

Check out this pdf file Here

I personally would not put a solid stain (which is nothing more then paint IMO) on a deck until its gotten to the point that it needs a solid to hide the blemishes.

Once you put that solid there is no going back and you will be building up layers which is not a good thing.

Instead think of transparent stains. In the pdf Penofin Knotwood Composite Decking Colorant is mentioned and I'd check into that.

For sure use a deck cleaner and scrub it down good before doing anything.

I'm interested in how is your trex holding up besides the fading.

I've heard of swelling and mold .

Proof that it is not maintenance free and a sealer is going to be needed.

I installed a trex deck last summer and will have to pay that homeowner a visit.

[Ufatz]

Going on ten + years on a Trex Deck, back when it was a relatively new product and (I think) the only one on the market at that time. No mold, absolutely no rot. We put on a coat of stain a couple years back but not because we had to-it was faded, but a pleasant light brown. It was my wife's idea. So I let her do it!

The stuff DOES get HOT on an August afternoon. It will bend and bow at times but always comes back into shape. Our deck has frost heaved from beneath and that will bow the Trex Deck planks upward. But they move back into place. The stuff is plenty flexible.

We have had homes with cedar decks off and on for 50 years and you could not give me another one. Who needs the $%$%$^^%# hassle every other year of pressure washing and treating!

Speaking of pressure washing: we do it about every year on our Trex Deck.....any little moss or dirt or chipmunk doo doo (like cute little dark grains of rice) comes right up and disappears.

Oh...one more thing, sometimes on a frosty October morning, when you're heading out early for mallards, watch your step because the deck can get FROSTY. Pay attention. Soon as sun hits it things are fine again.

I think it's a great product.

[solbes]

Ours has faded some, but it's been even and it still looks good. It does appear to have some minor mold black spots forming. I tried a deck cleaner for composites last year, but it didn't do much good.

I heard that pressure washing was bad for it for some reason, I can't think of why though. Unless someone has some great product to recommend to clean the mold off, that's probably my next course of action.

As to staining, I would not want to go that route. That's the main benefit of Trex, apart from the no rot thing.

[Ufatz]

Here's an eye opener! I'll bet the black "mold" spots on your Trex Deck are from your GAS furnace. They are actually condensed droplets of exhaust from your chimney.

Now, if you have an electric heat system I gotta fall back and think again. That's what WE discovered.

[solbes]

We do have a gas furnace, but it doesn't discharge horizontally out of the siding, it's a roof chimney. If that's still the case how do I get rid of them?