DEFY Extreme Wood Stain Driftwood Gray gal

We spent spring and early summer creating a screen porch at our home. After researching the many flooring options we chose premium grade treated lumber. Then the research began for how to preserve the beautiful wood grain. I learned all about using cleaners and brighteners and good quality stains. Continued research had me choosing Defy products even though they were only available to me online. I ended up using the cleaner and brightener on the new floor before applying gray stain. There is a small landing area that leads to the new porch that had been in place for four years and treated with "regular grade" stain twice. I used the stripper on that before finishing with the same steps. The final result amazed everyone because there is no discernible difference in appearance between the old and the new. So I still had most of the bottle of stripper left so I ventured on to the twenty year old uncovered porch on another part of the house. This had many layers of various semi-solid stains with the original couple layers being a custom mixed color that my research tells me probably included paint pigment. This was much harder to remove. We used the stripper twice and lots of sand paper. But the color finally is gone and the wood has been cleaned and brightened and is currently drying so I can stain. The products were all easy to use and included easy to follow directions. The stain went on easily with a specially purchased brush and the wet on wet second coat was easy enough to do once I figured out my maximum stretch capabilities. I am very happy with the color and will definitely purchase Defy products in the future.

This is my second time using this product. I extended the time for a redo by a year because of an overly wet summer last year. The two uncovered decks didn't have time to sufficiently dry out! By this spring, water was no longer beading on the surface of the wood but there was no damage to the wood itself. One of the decks is in full sun for most of the day and the second is mostly shaded. DEFY works successfully on both. Algae grew on the small shaded deck but only on the surface. Not into the grain of the wood like I had experienced previously with other products. I chose the driftwood gray and am very pleased with the color. Even after three years it faded very little. It is very important to follow the directions and do a second coat on a still wet first coat...this makes a significant difference in the final color.

The color of the stain does not match the brochure color. It is a light gray. I tested all the other colors by sample and they all were like the brochure. I goofed on this purchase. I ordered 4 gallons to cover 400 square feet. I used only 2 gallons on the deck. I had the wood stickered in my garage for 6 weeks. It was dry and I sanded ( 80 grit) the boards. Did the all the washing ( caustic ) and prep ( oxy clean) work as called for. The wood averaged 10 on my Roby moisture meter. The boards soaked up all the stain and I did 2 wet coats back to back as directions stated. I later read on a website dedicated to yellow pine decks to WAIT 6 months after the deck is built to stain it. It would appear the new treated pine boards have to be aged to break up the cell structure in order for the stain to penetrate deeply. MY advice is simple … get samples and test the color on old and new boards before you buy. I will know in a year if the sealer will stand up to the sun and moisture in East Texas. Be happy to review on this site again. I hope it stands the test of time for 2 years. At which time I will change colors most likely. I did not want the hassle of return and reorder. It was my error in not getting real samples. However I am concerned that the directions do not state to wait 6 months on new boards.