Thanks for all the input everyone. I ultimately decided on Cabot's Deck Stain in Rosewood. Consumer Reports ranks it number one, but that was only one factor in the decision. I'll post some before and after pictures soon, but the deck came out great. What a difference from looking worn and grey to almost new and well . . . red.
The wood really soaked up the stain; it took 22 gallons (told y'all it was a big deck). I'm glad I had someone do the work because it was a really big project. My stainer (he also did the stain/poly on my new handrail and balusters on my staircase) used two guys for one day and four guys for the better part of another day. That's a lot of man hours, mostly because of how much vertical surface I needed stained (the railing and balusters). If anyone on Long Island needs a recommendation for a painter/stainer, let me know as my guy is top notch and fairly priced.
And to uc113, thanks for the recommendation of onetime. I strongly considered it, but it would have added $1250 to the project and I couldn't justify the cost. I don't need to get seven years out of the stain, as I plan to do an addition to the kitchen and dining room of my home in 3-5 years, which will cause me to change the layout of my deck. When I redo the deck, I'm going to do it with TimberTek or the like.
Thanks again to all and I'll post pictures soon.
This message was modified Aug 4, 2005 by NYCGator