Was my staining job bad?

I cleaned and sanded my deck about 5 days ago. I did that well, but yesterday night I decided to stain the deck. I live in Bothell,WA. It was Sunny Saturday, Sunday and Yesterday. I started the staining around 8PM and the temperature was around 54 degrees and dew was 49. I finished around 11PM and the temperature was 50 and dew was 47. Between midnight and morning, the temperature was between 46 and 49.

Morning around 8AM I saw still deck is not dried completely yet due to the night time condensation. If I touch the wood, it doesn't stick on my hand, but if I slightly rub it, I could see little stain in my hand. I used transparent stain. The instruction says don't stain if weather is below 40 degrees. Recommends to stain when temperature is between 50 and 90. I didn't stain it below 40 degrees, but I didn't think about the condensation.

Was my staining job bad? Do I need to clean again and stain again? Or do I need to re-coat later when temperature is between 50 and 80? Or what I did is okay. Or it may be okay for a year and next year, do I need stain it again? What should I do now? Please help me. I'm so confused now.

 

Hi, Anand. Welcome to the best DIY forum on the Internet.

I also live in Bothell, Camden Highlands, just north of the county line. When I took my garbage out this morning at about 2AM my car was covered with dew. My deck, at 9 AM and about 60 degrees temperature looks damp.

I think you made a mistake in doing the stain after dark but it MIGHT be okay if you let it dry out for several days. Unfortunately there is a high chance of rain tomorrow as well as a lesser chance on Friday and then high chance from Saturday through Monday. Bothell, WA (98021) Forecast | Weather Underground

Personally, I wouldn't have done the stain job unless I could have completed it with a few hours of daylight after completion AND another couple of days of dry weather. Others may have a better outlook for you.

 

Ya, you really don't want to apply any coating when the dew can lay on it before it has had time to dry. It should dry today if it's sunny [breezy with no sun is ok] As long as it dries before the rain comes you should be ok. Some stains have a specific recoat window so be sure to check the label if you decide to apply another coat.

 

The instruction doesn't say anything about re-coat. This is the one I used. It says, one coat protection. Okay, now I realized I made a mistake. What should I do now? Will the stain peel off?

 

As long as the wood was dry before the oil base stain was applied there shouldn't be any issues with it not adhering. Moisture that gets on wet/tacky oil base stain can affect how it looks. Mostly just a splotchy looking finish and rarely affects how it will wear. That stain can be recoated at any time [assuming the previous coat has dried] I'd be inclined to leave it as is and if needed, recoat in the spring.

Sikkens has a great reputation although I can't remember having used that stain.