Last Updated on January 10, 2025 by Defy Help
2025 Update on New Wood Application for Defy Stains
For new wood and Defy Deck Stains, the wood does need to season for a time and should be prepped. We love hearing from our customers who have used the Defy Stains or have questions about the application. We appreciate your input, so feel free to leave a comment below and pictures of your completed projects if you have them.
Prepping New Wood for Defy Exterior Wood Stains
Defy has stain products that are excellent for newer, dense wood. With special penetrating properties, newer wood is shielded against water damage and graying. Defy Stains are not prone to peeling and flaking and will ensure beautiful and lasting results for your new exterior wood surfaces.
It is recommended that wood should be allowed to dry out for 3-6 months before cleaning and staining. New woods that are rich in oil such as mahogany should also dry out for 3-6 months before protecting with Defy Stain for new wood.
After proper dry times, new wood should be cleaned using Defy Wood Cleaner prior to staining with Defy Stains. Defy Wood Cleaner is an oxygen bleach wood deck cleaning solution that is extremely effective at removing dirt, grime, mold, mildew, graying, and mill glaze found on new wood. Defy Wood Cleaning Solution is a biodegradable concentrated powder formula that mixes with water to safely prep new wood prior to stain application.
Once cleaning of new wood is complete, the wood will appear darker. This darker appearance is normal and will disappear once an application of Defy Wood Brightener is used. While the wood surface remains wet from cleaning, apply a generous coat of Defy Wood and Deck Brightener to lighten the wood to its original, like-new appearance and to open the wood pores for better stain saturation and performance.
After prepping new wood for Defy Stains, allow the wood to visibly dry before staining.
Defy Stain New Wood and Decks
Note: Two Coats wet on wet. Only 1 coat should be applied to new cedar wood the first time staining.
Hi….My deck is on the north side of the house .but it receives full sun in the summer.which product should I use.Any recommendations on color also?
Use the Defy Extreme for this deck. Make sure to prep first. Any color will work!
I have cleaned and brightened my deck of the pressurized wood wood that has weathered for 2-3 year. It has never been stained. There are still remnants of greying. Can I apply stain over it? If not, do I need to repeat cleaning and brightening?
Pics?
Following your directions, I waited a few months before staining my new cedar garage with Extreme, semi-transparent cedartone stain. It’s been about 6 months since I did the job and I think the stain is a bit too “orangey” for my taste. Could I apply a second coat to it now to make it just a shade darker?
To use a darker color it would be best to strip and brighten for prep.
Thanks for your response. The reason why I asked is because I came across this swatch online –
and it looks like a second coat would darken the cedartone. What are your thoughts on that image?
It will still have the “orange color” just slightly darker.
About to do a sample piece of brand new cedar following using the cleaner and the Breitner. Does the stain go on the wood dry or damp? This is for a first coat on new wood. Thanks.
Dry wood.
I installed a deck last spring and prepped as directed and used the Defy product. I now wish to wash the deck and reapply before winter arrives (I’m in Upstate New York). What’s the process for reapplying the same Defy product I used in the spring?
Reply
could you please change my ID so that it does NOT include my email address? Thanks!!
Use the Defy Wood Cleaner for prep.
I installed a deck last spring and prepped as directed and used the Defy product. I now wish to wash the deck and reapply before winter arrives (I’m in Upstate New York). What’s the process for reapplying the same Defy product I used in the spring?
Use the Defy Wood Cleaner for prep.
What will happen if I don’t allow new wood to dry out before staining with Defy Extreme?
I have a new arbor privacy partition with kiln dried premium PTP just installed 2weeks ago. I want to prep & stain the side where I am planting vines in a few weeks. Otherwise it will be impossible once the vines are planted & growing on that side of the arbor. This side will be covered in vines within a year. Can I do two coats now with knowing it may not penetrate perfectly? Will it flake off?
It will possibly fail if you do not weather correctly and prep. Definitely would not suggest two coats.
Ok, but exactly what do you mean by fail? Please describe. Would it be uneven, or flake off?
Could be many things but since it may not penetrate new wood without proper weathering and prep, then it could peel and lift off the wood.
I have three decks, two red cedar and one with a recycled mahogany flooring that has been on another deck for many years with unknown type of staining.
The first deck has been stained with red penofin. The second has been stained with Readyseal. Both were stained last year. The recycled mahogany deck has not been retreated. It also has newly installed white cedar railing, aged in weather for four months, never treated.
I want to start afresh and get it right this time.
How do I proceed?
Use the Defy Stripper and the Defy Brightener for prep for both.
I have a cedar deck with existing defy extreme applied. The first coating did not take well. I think I failed to wait long enough for the cedar to weather. I now have a mixture of stained areas and bare areas which greyed. Should I strip off the old stain and start over, or can I just use cleaner then brighter as stain over the old defy?
Defy Stripper and then the Brightener.
Deck is 2 years old, I used Defy deck cleaner about 3 weeks ago, would is it be any need
to use he deck brightener now?
No need at this point.
For a home with existing (not new) wood, do i need to use the cleaning solution or can I go straight to the stripping solution (then brightening, then staining)?
That depends on if stained prior and what type of stain? Pics would help.
Yes, it is stained. I believe the prior owner used a Cabot semi-transparent stain.
What you have on your wood now cannot be stripped. It would have to be sanded fully off if you want to use the Defy. Defy cannot be applied over it.
Also, I have already tested a board that was previously removed from the house using defy products (defy stripper, defy brightener and defy stain samples purchased from defy website and a few other competing stains) so I have a good idea what it looks like (we prefer defy light walnut). I’m just trying to understand whether I need the cleaner or can go straight to stripping.
I have a new garage just built using 8″ pine lap siding, raw wood not pressure treated. How long should I wait to stain? The siding is kiln dried I believe. I guess it would need Cleaner then Brightener then Stain. Would it work using a power painter to spray the stain?
You would wait as the article above explains unless rough-sawn wood. You can spray the stain and then back brush and drips and runs.
How do I remove Defy epoxy fortified stain (applied 3 years ago) from wood decking?
Use the Defy Stain Stripper and then the Defy Brightener.
I have a brand new pine pressure treated deck that was completed Aug 2021. I plan to use Defy Extreme Light Walnut stain. I will use the defy cleaner and brightener. My question is wet on wet coats. For new pressure treated pine wood do I do 1 coat or 2 coats with the wet on wet method for first time staining?
We think one coat should be sufficient for the first time on your PTP.
We have a red cedar pergola that was clear sealed when constructed 2 years ago. We have just cleaned and then used defy brightener. We plan to use defy semi-transparent cedar colored wood stain next. Do we need to put on a clear sealant after stain is dry? If so, what should we use for sealant?
No, you cannot seal over a deck stain.
correction, rinsing not washing
must you pressure wash after applying deck cleaner or will washing with a hose suffice?
Pressure wash.
When using douglas fir for exterior stairway treads I’m planning on installing the wood to season it as suggested (3-6 months). My question is, should I sand the wood to the desired smoothness PRIOR to installing the treads for seasoning or after the seasoning process? The new fir lumber that I have has some surface imperfections.
Sand first if sanding is needed.
our deck is new pine pt wood. about 5 mos ago, after cleaning and brightening should we use one or two coast of stain? never had nothing on it to date and we want to make sure. if we apply two coats should we apply 2nd coat when wet? Thanks,
2 coats and wet on wet.
I am planning to stain a newly built pergola that is over a patio made of stone pavers and a fireplace with seat walls that have stone caps and stone veneers. Is the cleaner and brightener safe to get on these materials?
Yes but keep the stain off.
Thanks!
I have new pressure treated wood deck that has aged enough to begin staining. I am using the cleaner followed by the brightener products, but am unsure what amount of time needs to be allowed between the cleaner and the brightener? The cleaner instructions say “let it dry” but does that mean totally dry? A day?
Thanks
Brighten right after the cleaning while wood is wet is correct.
Hello, we’ve used the cleaner and the. brightener and power washed well both times to rinse/clean off. Now it looks like there are whiter/lighter spots on the wood. We washed it really well but I’m concerned there might be cleaner/brightener left. Is this normal? We want to stain soon but I’m not sure if we should power wash again or not. Or maybe just try to sand it off?
Knots will be lighter in color and this is normal.
These are more like larger spots on the wood that have big white/whiter splotches – not just on knots. I’m just concerned that cleaner or brightener is trapped in the wood. We power washed it and didn’t have anymore soap coming up, but not sure if we should wash again. Maybe the wood held onto it too well? Or maybe I’ll just go ahead and stain and see what happens. I might try to sand the white stuff off just before too.
Post a picture or two.
Already stained when I didn’t hear back. Stain looks okay, so hoping it lasts.
Ok I need to ask this question again sorry.
I have kiln dried boards for skirting. I remember you said to let it dry more for about 2 weeks. I am ready to stain so do I Clean and Brighten or just stain? I guess I need process on this again. I can’t find my original question on this string.
Thank You,
Jo Ann
Dry for 1-2 months and then use both the Defy Cleaner and then the Defy Brightener for prep.
Using Defy stain (semi-transparent) Butternut for new Kiln dried cedar pickets.
(1) should I apply 2 coats wet on wet or 1 coat now and 1 coat in a year? I tested a picket and it seems to accept 2 coats well without beading up, but I don’t want to make a mistake. When I called 1-800-860-6327, they said 2 coats wet on wet is preferred, but the can says 1 coat on new wood.
(2) Also, can the stain be applied in full sun?
1. One coat.
2. We would not suggest full sun as you could have issues with flash drying.
I am building a deck …the frame is complete…PT but the posts are 6 x 6 douglas fir. The deck floor and rails/fence will be cumaru/garapa(most likely)…I plan to let weather..but how about the douglas fir posts…can i stain them now or let them weather also.
You can stain those now or later if you want.
I have a cedar deck that is now 2 years old. I did allow the new deck to dry from Mar to July before staining. The cedar felt too slick to stain so I used a deck prep that supposedly took off the mill glazing (used a pressure washer to rinse the prep off and it actually removed wood strands even though I was not agressive with the pressure washer). After a good week of drying (deck gets good sun exposure 10-6) I stained using Defy Extreme. Attached are pictures of deck after only 1 winter ( about 9 months, August to April). I want to believe Defy is a good stain but this makes me think I should use something else. What steps should I take so this doesn’t happen again?
In areas on the wood you over applied to the point it could not fully soak into the wood or you applied in full sun causing the stain to flash dry. As the article mentions above, it is needed to apply another coat on new wood after the first year. Best to use the Defy Deck Cleaner and pressure washing for prep when you do this.
BTW, we do not see that you ordered directly from us. We are an online dealer only for Defy. You can contact them directly for help if you have not ordered from our website.
I’ve already pressure washed my patio furniture today that I built 5 years ago with pressure treated lumber. After it’s thoroughly dry, I’m going over it with 60 grit sandpaper before staining. Can I just apply the Defy Extreme stain over it or do I have to apply the Brightener?
Use the brightener.
Think I’m reading that I should only apply 1 coat of stain — my deck is 1 year old pressure treated and has never been stained — it appears I should clean and brighten an only apply one coat now and then recoat in 12-18 mths as required?
That is correct.
So am I understanding this right, that I need to pressure wash the new wood that is cured, BEFORE applying the Defy Stain cleaner and brightener???? If this is the case, after pressure washing the new cured wood first, how soon can I apply the the Defy Stain cleaner and brightener?? Then when do I apply the Defy Extreme stain?
You pressure wash while using the deck cleaner, not prior. Brightener after. Stain 48 hours after drying.
After application of defy extreme how long before rain safe
4-6 hours.
Hi, I just want to clarify the procedure for staining new, seasoned and prepped wood. I saw a video (not on this site) on how to apply Defy stain. He used what he called a back to back method, applying one coat, waiting 20 minutes, then applying a second coat of stain. This seems to be what you say here is wet on wet. He said this method would be considered one coat of stain, not two coats.
How do you define one coat. It seems from what I am reading here, a wet on wet method would be considered 2 coats and should not be used on new wood. The only thing we would do is literally put on one coat.
Thanks
Just one coat for new wood, not two coats applied wet on wet.
Do you need to pressure wash new wood that is cured if using the DefyStain cleaner and brightener applications?
Yes.
Hi, I’m a wife putting together a new Backyard Discovery Skyfort II playset for my kid (hubs is not happy that I purchased the set). A few questions: I’m interested in the Butternut Defy Extreme stain.
Would you recommend that I
1) stain the new Chinese White Cedar boards BEFORE putting together or after?
2) do they need to be “seasoned” (3-6 month + wait time) ?
3) Since it’s new wood, do I really need to clean it?
4) Is there another, lighter stain that would complement the darker Butternut color?
Right now the wood is a kind of ghastly, fake cedar orange. Can’t wait to make it darker! But as you can imagine, darling daughter is impatient for her set.
Advice?
1. No.
2. Yes
3. Yes, clean and brighten.
4. Any color that you like will work.
If you have a current stain already from the factory then it needs to be stripped off first and then brightener.
I have an older deck that had a solid stain applied 3 years ago. I had new boards installed last December in one section. Is it okay to use the stain stripper on the old and new wood? Do I put one coat on the new boards and 2 on the old boards?
The Stripper will not remove a solid stain. You will have to sand to get it all off.
If I apply a Defy Solid Stain this year will the Defy stain stripper take it off when I’m ready to restain or will I have to sand the Defy solid stain off?
You cannot strip off a solid stain. You will have to sand if you want to remove it.
I know I have seen this somewhere, but cannot find the answer now that I’m ready to stain our deck. We have a five-year-old deck (stained twice with Flood stain) and have replaced some of the boards recently. The new boards are only about a month old. What is the procedure to try to get the new staining as even as possible? I have purchased cleaner, brightener and stain already, and this next week will be cool enough to work in central Texas.
You will need to wait 3-4 months for the new boards to weather. Make sure that the previous coating is fully removed as well from the older boards.
Do I need a stain remover for the old boards? The Flood stain did not seem to last well, so I thought the Cleaner followed with the Brightener would be enough prep. We’ve already spent $500 to obtain your products; I want to use a stain remover recommended by you IF it’s necessary. We also have a dock (also previously stained with Flood stain) over fresh water which we’ll be staining, so we were particularly happy that your products were safe for the fish. Thank you for your prompt replies!
You cannot apply the Defy over the Flood so if the Flood is still on the wood, then yes you have to remove it. Feel free to post some pictures here.
Attached is a photo of one of the new boards with the other boards which were Flood-stained in April of 2019. Those original boards have been stained twice with Flood over their five years on the deck. I need a stain-removal/stripper product recommendation if I must use one. We do realize that the deck will never be one color. The stain we have already purchased from you is Cedar Tone.
Yes, the Flood has to come off. It is not possible to apply Defy or any other brand of penetrating stain over this. Unfortunately, this is not an easy strip as the Flood looks thick in spots so you may need to strip more than once to remove all. This is the link for the stripper: https://www.deckstain.com/defy-stain-stripper.html
Thank you for your promptness! I am 77, and this is beginning to look like too much for me. :(
VERNE here again with more images.
I am installing railings to an existing deck. Since they will have metal balusters, I would like to stain the wood prior to building the railings so I don’t have to stain around the metal. Would it be okay to go ahead and do this without letting the wood age for several months? I assume I would use cleaning and brightener first as usual.
Sorry but no, you will need to weather the wood and then prep it first.
I am in the Chicago area with a new pressure treated pine deck. The deck is 1 month old. Sounds like the ideal is to wait 3-6 months before staining. Given our climate that leaves me with the choice of stain early as in now or late as in May which would make it 8 months. Do I stain now or wait until spring?
Wait until Spring.
After I apply the wood brightener you recommend waiting 48 hours before applying the sealer/stain. What is the longest period I should wait before applying the sealer/stain?
Try to stain within 10-15 days of prep.
I have a new deck on the lake house in northern Iowa that is directly underneath several large oak trees. Acorns are already dropping (Aug 28). One tier was built in June 2018. The other tier was competed November 2019 before the snow. Neither tier has been treated, yet. I wanted to get it done before this winter, but now with the trees and temps dropping – would it be best (ok?) to wait until spring even though the deck is still bare? Also, I have existing steps that have dark solid stain or paint in them. What is the best way to prep them? I want to put the walnut semi on the deck and then a coordinating solid color on the steps (assuming I won’t get them stripped down enough for a semi). Thanks!
You would have to sand the steps to remove the solid stain. You can wait until Spring or do it now. Either is fine. Thanks!
thanks for the quick reply! would I need to sand the steps if just going over with a solid or paint? Or can I get away with power wash and strip prep?
If using a solid stain again you can cover the current solid stain. Pressure wash and strip what is loose for prep.
I have a new redwood deck. It has aged for 3 months. Do I have to scrub the deck cleaner into the deck. Or let it sit for 5 to 15 minutes and then use a pressure sealer to rinse it off? Then rinse.
Apply, let sit for 15 minutes and then pressure wash. Rinse after.
Thank you!
I have a pressure treated deck it’s 4 years old never been stained what product do you recommend I live in Ontario Canada
Prep with the Defy Wood Cleaner and then the Defy Brightener. Stain with Defy Extreme Stain: https://www.deckstain.com/wood-and-deck-stains.html
Just completed a cedar deck in western Washington. The info on this web site indicates that we should wait 3 to 6 months before sealing this new deck with Defy stain. Is that correct? After waiting the 3 to 6 month period, then we need to follow the proper process to clean and brighten the new deck before staining the deck. Again, is my thinking correct? Thanks for your help.
Yes and all is explained in the above article. Thanks!
I just built a pressure treated pine deck. It is in full sun. Which Defy stain is best for UV protection?
Use the Defy Extreme.
How should the deck cleaner be applied? Is it ok to us in a pressure washer?
Apply with a pump sprayer and then pressure wash off. It cannot be applied through a pressure washer.
Today i used defy cleaner , scrubbedm and then used brightener on My pressure treated deck. There are still some stubborn green stains that wont come out despite 2-3 passes with the cleaner and scrub brush, is this normal? Can i still stain it with those green stains?
It is most like in the wood and will not come out. You can still stain the wood.
Hello. We are building a new cabin. The wood is northern spruce, being shipped from the Baltic region, and is not pressure treated. Therefore, we are concerned about leaving the wood untreated for any amount of time.
Time from manufacture to receiving shipment is about 3-4 months. WOULD THIS BE ENOUGH WAIT TIME?
WOULD I STILL NEED TO CLEAN AND PREP THE WOOD?
No. It has to sit outside and weather after install. Yes you will need to clean and prep it.
I applied applied Defy on a new deck after allowing a year for seasoning. I followed all manufacturer directions. After just one year, the stain was lifting from the wood, and fading the horizontal surfaces were fading badly. Note that the wood displayed “silvery” patterns. I contacted Defy customer service to explain all this, and they sent me a gratis 5 gallon can of Defy stain, suggesting that I use Defy Brightener, and then wash the deck surfaces with water. I did this.
This year, the vertical surfaces all look fine, but all horizontal surfaces are again fading badly, and still showing the “silvery” streaks. I am considering sanding the horizontal surfaces with 80 grit paper, washing with brightener, and then a final power wash rinse with water, before applying Defy stain.
I am getting a bit frustrated. Are there alternative suggestions?
The prep sounds correct but do not over sand. Too smooth and the stain will not absorb as well as it needs to.
I have upper and lower wrap around porches to prep and stain on new wood that has weathered for two years. I had planned to stain last year but weather would not permit. Now I’m afraid I will be in same place almost impossible to get four days in a row of no rain in Missouri. Can I bleach and brighten and then wait with rain in between before I begin staining? If so how long do I allow to dry after rain before I can stain? If not do you have any suggestions. Thanks
Yes, it can be prepped and have it rain between staining. If it does, just wait 48 hours after the rain to stain the wood. Try to stain the deck within 2 weeks of the prep.
Last fall I applied one coat of natural pine to new wood (built earlier in the spring) I have quite a lot of leaf stains and other marks that have build up on the deck boards over the last year. Was planning to clean, brighten and apply more stain now, is that wise? If so, do I apply just one coat or the usual two coats, wet on wet approach? Also, if cleaning and brightening in phases, should I clean and brighten together or, can I clean the whole area over a couple days and then come back and brighten?
Just wait until Spring. Clean and brighten for the prep and apply one coat.
Okay. What could I use now to clean up the leaf stains other marks on the deck boards?
The Defy Wood Cleaner and pressure washing in the Spring will clean this up.