Thanks guys -- and especially drivesitfar.
On the other side, #3 contains a piece that I haven't done well. Or maybe it falls into the 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me every April in the same way, shame on me' category.
I built a deck for our place four years ago. I splurged for Brazilian hardwood for it, and in almost every way, I've been very happy with that decision. I've never even had to sand the stuff, and the kids can run around on it barefoot all day and never get a sliver.
But the Penofin (rosewood oil) I stained it with has the annoying problem of going to a flat, dark color after maybe six months of exposure to the rain and sun. I oiled the wood in 2013, and then have repeated that every April since then. It's not a huge amount of work -- I just move the furniture off, mop it with an oxalic acid wash, and re-apply a coat of the Penofin stuff. This is what it looked like when I finished it.
Eventually, it got a little darker, which I was fine with.
But here's a snapshot of every April's ugliness and subsequent 'refresh.'
But after year four, I've decided it's time to try something other than Penofin. So today I tested a new stain made by TWP on an old cut-off. Here it is sitting on the currently-grayed deck, which suffered even more this year (I think) because of our record rains.
My question: does anyone out there have experience with TWP's stains? I don't figure things can get any worse than with the Penofin. And I understand that outdoor wood will need a freshening up once a year -- but I'd like it to look good for a longer piece of that year if it's at all do-able.
Advice?