I had a similar experience with my new Ipe deck which was stained with Cabot's SPF 48 in August 2005. The instrutions were followed completely and the deck looked great until the first snowfall that December. After the snow melted the deck started to peel. I had to have the entire deck sanded the next spring. Very expensive. I left the vertical surfaces of the railings in SPF as they didn't peel and used Australian Timber Oil on the decking. I have been told by a senior person at Cabot that for the SPF to last the deck should really be sanded before cleaning and application of the product. I reapplied the SPF just to the horizontal toprail of the railing and it seems to be holding up although there are a few small spots where it peeled. I doubt that Cabot will officially admit that SPF requires sanding before application as that makes it much more labor intensive for a homeowner to apply. I considered taking them to small claims court but was advsed by an attorney that they were protected by their limited liability disclaimer. I like the ATO, as peeling is not an issue but it needs to be reapplied yearly. I also had a small T&G Ipe covered porch done in the SPF and that has held up well as it is well protected from the elements. What kind of wood did you apply the SPF to? I think what happens is that the SPF, which is a film forming finish peels during the freeze/thaw cycles unless there is perfect adhesion. That is asking a lot. I wll never again use it, or any other film forming finish on horizontal decking. Sorry I can't give you a more optimistic report. Marty

I am posting this a year after your original post and I have had the exact same thing happen - TWP Cedartone 101 came out very orange on PT wood. What did you do about yours? Did it weather to a more natural color and, if so, how long did it take? Thanks!

Good points! What type of wood and was the deck exposed to sun and approx temps?? My Guess! If the wood is treated and stacked out of the hot sun it might hold as is.. IMO a change of environments causes more chance in untreated wood. I have a variety of wood from inside storage, stored outside years w/o any changes, “out of rains”. I feel you can monitor and get on the project faster if you see the wood changing. That should be nice using 2X6 material. Please share a design idea or pic.. Take Care!

We use Diamond Vogel opaque deck stains with good results. Needs to be renewed about every4-5 years. As bad as that wood is, however, I would not expect too much. Were it my deck I would set all the nails, rent a floor sander and try to get down to good wood before staining. To answer your questions: 1. Can anyone tell what type of wood my decking is made of? Treated pine 3. Can I wood-fill smaller cracks and splits instead of replacing? No. Wood filler is not for unstable environments like a wood deck. 4. Do I need to prep my railing differently than other surfaces? Only the top of the rail should be weather-worn. Sand it down before staining. 5. If I replace some boards, any tips for trying to blend the old and new boards? Blending is not really possible. The new wood is full of treatment solution and will take stain differently than old wood. The usual recommendation is to let new wood sit for a minimum of six weeks before staining.