I had a new cedar deck installed (around 350 sq feet) last year. I sealed it with a semi-transparent stain about 2 weeks after the install. I read 2 weeks is adequate time to wait for cedar. I used a sealer that was recommended in Consumer Reports (Behr Premium Semi-Trans) not some cheap stuff. CR said after 2 years on their roof (on wood panels) the stain held up.

I went with semi-transparent as it gets a lot of sun and read that clear would not protect well.

After less than 1 year, it is peeling and looks terrible.

Do I reapply the same stain or strip the deck and start over? I really prefer clear as at least that doesn't look terrible when it starts to fail. But stripping is a pain. I guess I am looking for whatever long term is easier to maintain.

 

That would have been composite decking. Based on weather and sun exposure, you may need to seal the deck every year.

I would clean the deck and apply new stain.

 

If the cedar was kiln dried you can stain it immediately but if it was air dried it depends on when it was milled and the environment it's exposed to.

I don't know a lot about Behr coatings other than they don't have a great reputation. I'd strip the deck and restain with a different brand of stain and see how that does. SuperDeck, Silkens and Cabot are a few of the ones with a good reputation. I've had good results with DeckScapes although I've heard it has had some bad reviews. How long a stain will last depends both on the quality of the stain and the weather it's exposed to.

 

Huh. I didn't notice the first read-through that you'd used Behr. Yeah, I'd try a different brand as well.