TWP 1500 Stain
First, measure your wood surface to determine the square footage. TWP 1500 Series Wood and Deck Preservative covers approximately 150-300 sq. ft. per gallon. Buy a little more stain than you need just to be sure you do not run out at the end of the project.
Prior to using TWP 1500 Deck Stain, clean the wood using a brush or pressure washer along with a quality wood cleaner. Preparing the wood properly will ensure your new TWP Wood Stain will perform optimally.
Once the wood surface is cleaned it must dry for a minimum of 48 hours before ant stain can be applied. Be sure the temperature is at least 50 degrees and that dry weather is forecasted for the next several days.
Remove any leaves or debris that may have collected while the wood was drying. Wear protective gear like rubber gloves and safety glasses while completing your wood staining project. Thoroughly mix the TWP 1500 Wood Preservative using a paint stick until it is well blended. Be sure there are no clumps at the bottom of the pail. If the TWP stain has been sitting for some time, a paint store can shake it up for you.
Use plastic to protect any windows, landscaping, concrete, or siding that you do not want to stain. Begin staining the higher areas first. On wood siding, gazebos, wood shakes, and play sets start at the top and stain your way down. On wood decks, it is best to start with the railings and save the deck floor for last.
TWP 1500 Series can be applied several ways. Use a brush, stain pad, or pump sprayer to apply. With TWP 1500, the first coat is a saturation coat. It should soak in fairly quickly with the exception of new wood which may take longer. If the wood absorbs the first coat with no problem, a second coat of TWP 1500 Stain may be applied. The more stain that is absorbed the better. Apply a second "wet on wet" coat within 30 minutes of the first coat.
Be wary of over application of the stain. If you see puddles or drips of excess stain that isn't absorbing into the wood, wipe them away using a brush or stain rag. Do not stop staining in the middle of a board. Doing so can leave lap marks. Finish each board from end to end once you begin staining.
TWP 1500 Series Wood and Deck Preservative is the only wood preservative registered by the EPA. It is designed for all exterior wood surfaces. It has outstanding penetration properties and excellent UV resistance from wood graying. It has superb color retention and is not prone to cracking, peeling, or flaking. TWP 1500 Series will only fade in time and can simply be cleaned and reapplied as necessary for maintenance.
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477 Comments on "How To Apply TWP 1500 Stain"
It can rain on it the day after applying. Try to stain within 14 days of the prep.
Thank you for the information! Have a great day!
I followed the directions for applying the TWP 1500 Dark Oak stain on my cedar deck, after stripping and then using the brightener. I love the color but on some boards their is a residue of black grit, particularly on the cedar deck chairs and lounges.
I finished applying the stain a week ago. Is there anything I can do now to remove the black grit?
There is nothing in the stain that would create or cause a “black grit” so it must be something else. Feel free to send a picture.
1. See this about new wood: https://www.twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
2. See above.
my deck was stained over 5 years ago with a different semi transparent stain. can I simply power wash the deck and use twp 1500 at this point.
The old coating will need to be removed first before using the TWP stains. Strippers or sanding. Brighten after.
What is the maximum moisture content of the wood prior to applying the finish?
15% or less.
Hello, can I apply TWP 100 using a roller on the deck surface?
You can but a stain pad or brush is better.
After I applied the stain I noticed the overlap showed. How soon can we apply a third coat of stain. all is dry after overnight. Can we restain today about 24 hr later?
Hello,
You should not add a third coat as it will most likely not dry correctly now. Best to wait 6-12 months, lightly clean, and apply a light coat.
If I use a stainable wood filler, will TWP stain it? Is there a specific type of wood filler I should use? Thanks
TWP will not stain the wood filler to blend. Wood filler does not work on exterior wood with semi-transparent stains like TWP.
how long can 1530 natural be stored and still be effective?
How long after application of the TWP 1500 stain can we put things back (and walk) on the deck (aka drying time)?
12-36 hours is normal. Just make sure it is fully cured and not sticky.
We used this product for the first time several days ago on our front porch. The wood was pressure treated pine and we did all of the prep work according to your instructions. It absorbed very well, almost too well in areas, but looks like it needs a second coat, can we go ahead and do this now, or do we need to wait until next year?
Best to wait since it has already started to cure.
?Will or how might the Gemini restorer chemicals impact the area around the deck where I intend to plant flowers?
Nothing will harm prior to planting flowers. If flowers are already planted, prewet, cover and rinse when done.
Would you recommend using a staining pad or a Brush to apply TWP 1520?
We like stain pads the best as they allow you to “push” the TWP into the wood deeper.
Thank you. This is a new deck that has weathered for 10 months, so the recommendation is only 1 coat this year and then another coat next year? Also do you recommend wiping with a rag after applying the stain with a pad?
Yes, that is correct. One coat this year and one light coat next year. No need to back wipe.
Hi I stained my deck last year with twp 1500 and would like to restain it again this year. Can I just wash and clean the surface or do I have to clean it with the diluted beach mixture.
No, you prep with the Gemini Restore Kit. See this for more info:
Can I apply on masonary chinking as well as logs on our log home??
You can apply TWP over wood, not masonry surfaces.
A company refinished my 20 year old cedar deck in Southern California using TWP 1500. They thoroughly washed it, then the next day sanded every inch of it and applied Natural TWP 1500 the third day. It looks fantastic. However, there are a couple boards that have some wet spots on them even a few days after they have finished. How should I address this? Should I sand, and reapply the stain? How long does the gallon last when stored?
Just wipe off any excessive stain with mineral spirits and a rag. Saturate any oily rags in water when finished and lay flat outdoors to dry.
TWP, a question: We had our deck sealed Saturday by a company using TWP 1500. They started about 9am and finished about 4:30pm, Unfortunately it began raining about 8.5 hours later (around 1am in the morning). Should I be concerned?
It is most likely fine.
I have a log house and I originally treated it with 500 series TWP stain. It’s been re-stained once also with the 500 series stain. The house has been washed and prepped and I’m ready to re-stain the house. Since the the 1500 series has replaced the 500 series do I need to do anything differently?
Also, I still have about 2-3 gal of the 500 series stain left: may I mix it with the 1500 series, or are the two incompatible when mixed?
You can mix as long as the 500 is still good. Nothing different is needed to be done as the 1500 is an improved version of the 500.
You should re-prep again using the Gemini Restore Kit and pressure washing. You should always stain within two weeks of the pressure washing/prep.
Hi, we waited a little long past summer to get our deck ready. We expect a few days of dry weather coming up. However, the temperature is 70F during the day, but falls to 40F at night. Would we still be good to stain? Or with that low of 40F at night mess it all up?
No issues with these temps.
Great thanks!
Hello, We have prepped our cedar deck with the gemini cleaner and brightner. It will have been dry for 48 hrs tomorrow. We would like to stain with TWP 1500 tomorrow but there is a slight chance of rain for the day after tomorrow. It looks like we are running out of the 3 day dry spells we have been having.
if it rains within 24 hrs after staining will the stained surface be damaged?
What is the minimum window of no rain after staining one should try for.
Thank you for your helpful guidance
Typically you need about 12-24 hours of drying before the rain. Make sure that you do not over apply and the TWP fully absorbs into the wood and you should be okay.
I stripped and applied brightener to 2700′ sq ft of vertical cedar siding in Southern California approx 4 weeks ago. The color we want to use is TWP 1502 Redwood mixed 50/50 with TWP 1500 Clear. Why does stain need to be applied within two weeks, and since I wasn’t able to do that, what do I need to do now?
Within 2 weeks is mostly for horizontals as the wood will get dirty and start to oxidize. You can go longer with verticals between prep and stain. 4 weeks is pushing it though. Make sure it is clean and has not started to oxidize. If needed, re brighten all and rinse.
I stripped all the siding, but didn’t have time to put any stain on the last 1000 sq ft. It has been 2 or 3 months since it has been stripped. At this point, shouild I do anything besides re-brighten before applying the stain?
Use the Gemini Restore a Deck kit. It is both a cleaner and a brightener. Brightener alone is not enough.
Can i use the Gemini Restore Kit in my pressure washer, or does it have to be applied by hand? Thank you.
It has to be applied with a pump sprayer or scrub brush, then pressure washed off.
Thanks!
It would be best to prep all with the Gemini Restore Kit and pressure washing. Stain all after. It is normal to have to reapply again after 2 or 3 years, so it is time.
Thanks you. I am relieved that I don’t have to strip the parts that are still looking good!
2 year old cedar deck. Previously stained with TWP 1500 last year. I cleaned and brightened per instructions with RAD. It has been raining non-stop for a week and humidity between 50 and 60%. How dry does the wood have to be? Is there a moisture meter reading? Just leaving a carboard box outside it gets “wet” from humidity.
Needs to dry for 48 hours after a heavy rain. Humidity should not change this. Moisture level below 15%
Stained my deck this week using 1503. Like a newb, I was so excited to get started that I didn’t mix the stain, and just went to town. Result = the first railing I did is a lot lighter than remainder of deck. What’s the best way to solve this? Thanks.
Best way would be to strip and start over. Use the Restore A Deck Stripper kit.
Would I not be able to leave it alone and reapply in say 12 months?
If you do not remove and reapply over, there is no guarantee that it will even out. It will be easier to remove in 12 months.
with backbrush
What nozzle tip do you recommend for TWP 1500 series staining log home?
The wider the fan, the better.
I applied 2 wet-on-wet coats of TWP this morning to half of my deck but waited to do the other half until the evening because of sun and temperature. Although rain was not forecast, it began raining as I finished putting on the first coat to the other half of the deck. It has been raining off and on ever since. I am not sure what to do now since half the deck has 2 coats and the other half has only one coat. I’m also not sure how the rain will affect it. Any advice is appreciated.
Let the rain water dry off and assess the deck. You may need to strip and start over on the second half of the deck where it started to rain. Problem is that it is very hard to strip half a deck without affecting the other half. The whole deck may need to be stripped and brightened to ensure it all dries and applies properly with an even appearance. You can upload pictures if you would like.
Pictures before and after I wiped the rain up. More rain is now forecasted for this afternoon. Thanks for your help.
No pictures
Trying again.
It is still wet so hard to tell. Is the “black” old stain that did not come out when prepped? It might be best to just leave as is and address it next year. It will be much easier to fix after some weathering and besides the “black” in the wood, it does not look that bad.
Yes, the black is old stain. I sanded the deck to take off the old stain (it was not TWP), but not all of it came out and I didn’t want to sand it down too far. If I wait til next year, what would I need to do then? Thanks.
Strip and brighten with the Restore A Deck Kit for the prep.
I just applied you 1502 stain to my redwood deck today. Finished around 3:30 and it is currently 7:45. Some areas are still shinny and when I attempt to wipe off access it has become gummy and dry. How should I clean these shinny areas off at this point?
Use mineral spirits and rags to remove the over applied stain that has yet to dry fully. Make sure you wipe down the entire deck. Saturate all oil rags in water and lay flat to dry in the sun.
The mineral spirits didn’t really seem to take off the shine or extra stain. The shinny spots are not really sticky any longer but still very shinny. Stain looks very un-even. I applied using a garden sprayer then brushed the boards right after applying to smooth the stain. Any other suggestions?
Just leave alone and let it sit. Most likley the shine will go away over time and will even out. Your only other option would be to remove all and start over.
I want to add a second coat, but I let the first coat dry. The wood still looks thirsty. The first coat was very generous. What should I do? Any way to get a second coat on?
Not right now. It may not take and could dry shiny or sticky. Best to wait until Fall or next Spring. Lightly was and apply one coat.
Thanks
We just resided our mountain home with board and batten. The board is new rough sawed fir and the batten is new cedar .Can you advise us on how to best prep the siding before using TWP 1500.
The cedar batten is not rough. What should I do with it? Will what I do to it affect the rough fir?
Since most of the wood is rough we would leave it and stain. Make sure the wood is fully dry.
If it is rough wood then you do not need to prep. Just go ahead and stain.
I need advice please. My painter stained a new deck with TWP and didn’t do a good job, he applied one coat and it’s very uneven. It’s been already a month and now he wants to apply another coat and he thinks he can even it out, is that possible?
No we would not suggest this. See this about new wood: https://www.twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Can I thin TWP 1500 for the first coat?
No that would not be a good idea to thin the TWP.
Hello, stain after 48 hours of prep or heavy rain. Try to stain within 2 weeks of the prep. Makes sure to sweep or blow off any dirt.
Perfect – thank you!
I stained my new cedar deck with 1500 late last summer – kiln-dried planks, and the stain went down after 6 months’ seasoning. I put down a single layer with a roller, wiping off excess and it appeared to take well and looked great the rest of the year. As the weather is getting warmer (midwest) the stain is flaking off in spots and leaving bare wood underneath. Advice on how to address this?
Hello, did you prep the wood? TWP is supposed to penetrate into the wood. For some reason something hindered it from penetrating in your wood. May have been mill glaze that was not removed with the prep? At this point you should use the Gemini Restore Kit and lightly pressure wash the deck. Let dry and apply another coat. You could probably get away with only doing the flooring as any verticals should be fine.
Thanks – the verticals do look like they took the stain very well. To confirm – should I use both parts of the Gemini Kit? Also, should I try to remove the full current layer with the pressure washer, or just let it take off whatever hasn’t soaked in?
Just remove what comes off. Use both steps.
Update – used the Gemini restore kit today and most of the stain on the planks lifted right off with the power washing. Most definitely mill glaze preventing the first coat from soaking in. Thanks again for the help, looking forward to getting the new coat down for good!
-Yes you should be okay as long as it does not freeze- overnight. -Probably will need to remove to fix the areas where it rained. It is not possible to “spot” strip though. Maybe sanding would be better but even that is hard to blend.
-The new wood needs to be outside and installed to properly weather. Yes you will need to prep it before staining.
Does it ll look even? I would leave it alone if it does. “Beading” water is not important for wood protection. You want it to shed water and be able to allow the wood to breathe.
After a coat (or 2) of TWP1500, does one need to apply some type of clear sealant?
No need and you cannot apply a sealer on top.
Just stained a 10 year old deck with TWP and it looks good BUT the weather forecast has changed and 60% chance of rain tonight. I saw someone else ask about putting a tarp over it and someone said no and then continued to say just make sure rain is not in the forecast for 24 to 48 hours. Well since I have no control over the weather but I do have a tarp what would someone recommend???
Do not tarp it. It needs to cure properly and a tarp will create issues with this. Just leave alone and hope that is is dry enough by the time rain comes.
I have cleaned deck and am waiting 48hours before applying twp1500 pecan stain. This time of year temperature will dip down to 30-40’s at night in Iowa, but is going to be 60-70 during day of application. It will be dry. Will this effect drying to have temperatures this low?
It will take longer to dry this way but does not affect overall performance. Make sure that it id does not drop below freezing at night. Also when applying, take care to not over apply. You want the stain to absorb into the wood grain.
Most of the answers can be found here: https://www.twpstainhelp.com/prepping-new-wood-for-twp-stains/
Honeytone is the lightest color. Prep both new and older wood the same next Spring.
Read the article. This clears everything up. Thank you.
Welcome. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
I’ve already stained a fence with much success and now on to the deck. The last time I did something with the deck was well over two years ago with a Thompson’s water seal. I’m noticing in a couple areas including the railing that water still beads up a little bit. Knowing this I did a couple spot tests where the water beaded up and the stain took. Should I just go for it or use a stripper just in case?
Stripper and brightener to be safe.
There are only certain areas that the stripper would need to be applied. Do I need to use a cleaner between the stripper and brightener? Lastly, I picked a California Redwood for my cedar fence and it looks great. If I use the same California Redwood for my treated wood deck I can only imagine that the color is going to be significantly different. Should I go with the Redwood color if I want to get a closer match?
Not sure how to answer the color question as it will vary based on the wood age and type.
I already have the cleaner and brighter ready to go. Do I strip it before I clean it and then brighten as a last step?
You strip instead of cleaning then brighten.
What’s the maintence coat coverage rate for a year old original coat.
About 200-250 Sq. feet
I just stained my deck with TWP 1500. Did one coat last year. This year I cleaned it with defy and used the brightened. Applied 2 layers this year and apparently applied a bit too much. 4 days now and there are still spots that have not dried. Areas are glossy and peeling off. Is this fixable?
Try wiping off the excess stain with rags and mineral spirits. Saturate oily rags in water and lay flat to dry to avoid accidental spontaneous combustion.
Stained my deck in 2008 with Cabot semi solid oil base stain it’s now 8/2015 and lots of fading and worn off stain. Can I use twp 1500 cedar tone over a very fade redish color ?
No you cannot apply the TWP over the Cabot unless you remove the Cabot 100% first.
Just applied stain to horizontal and vertical rails today. It was not supposed to rain, but it did, about 3 hours after application. It is a slow steady rain. I wiped the standing water with a towel. Is there anything else that I can do to make sure it is not ruined?
Nothing you can do now. Leave alone until the rain water dries off. Hopefully you had enough time and the TWP was not harmed. You will be able to tel by looking for water spots.
Only way would be to strip it off and start over.
I just applied TWP 1500 stain to a deck for the second time after one year. I made the mistake of applying it in direct sunlight at 97 degrees. It may have been applied a bit too thick and seems a bit splotchy, as if it did not penetrate properly. Is there a way to remedy this? It’s only been one day.