Dear Ken: I love my brand new deck, and I want to keep that pretty redwood color. Can I use a clear stain? Brad
I don’t blame you. The reddish-blonde color of new redwood is gorgeous. The color components in most tinted deck stains help to reflect UV light from the sun, but in your case, you’ll want the clear version to let the natural redwood tones show through. That’s OK for water and mildew protection, but it will deteriorate faster than its...