I have a redwood deck that was stained with Cabot's Clear Solution two years ago and the stain in peeling and has rubbed off of the deck in many places. I have two questions:

First, what product or method is recommended to remove this particular stain? Is there a product that can reliably remove the stain or am I destined to sand?

Second, what stain would work well on my redwood deck. I live in Utah where we have hard winters and the deck also gets a lot of sun in the summer not to mention a lot of use during the summer as well.

Thanks in advance,

Keith

Any deck stripper should be able to remove the Cabot Clear Stain. The only issue would be if you over applied the Cabot requiring you to strip more then once. Make sure that you use a deck brightener after stripping. The Powersolve Hose-Connects are the easiest to apply.

We do not have a particular deck stain that is "best" for Redwood or your particular environment. Take in consideration that the better it penetrates the less likely it will peel. Some of the most popular products are:

TWP Deck Stains
Wood Tux
TheSealerStore TimberOil
Penofin
Messmers
Woodrick Stain and Seal

Thanks for the quick response and the suggestion regarding prepping my deck for staining. To know that I should not have to sand all of my deck was a pleasant surprise.

If you don't mind, I'll ask a follow-up question on the product choice. If you were staining a deck given my situation, would you provide any ranking among the list of products, perhaps on levels of how well they penetrate the wood or any other dimension you find relevant? I understand that all of these products are of high quality, just wondering if one (or a few of them) make more sense in my setting.

Thanks again.

How often do you plan doing this week? The Timberoil has by far the best penetration but it will require a maintenance coat every 12-24 months on the horizontal. You could use a product like the TWP 500 Series which would offer better UV protection since it is of high solids. Problem is that it can "wear" off in high traffic areas. There isn't a perfect product that can offer both. When you beef up the solids you lose penetration.