Was the product you used a good one? Did you use a stain specifically for decks? I like to use Consumer's Reports to pick out products because they do the testing on it . Did it have UV protection and water repellancy built in?
The only fully tested Ace stain I see in the July '07 test had "fair" results. That was semi-tranparent. The opaque stain still being tested has a "very good" rating after 3 years.
Ron

This was my first attempt ever at staining a deck, so I trusted the helpful Ace Hardware man when he told me that the Ace product was just as good as a Cabot's or Deckscapes. So much for that! The can insists that it provides UV protection as well as water protection, but I won't buy it again! Good suggestion about consumer reports; I always get so excited about starting a project like this that I tend not to do the research I really should.

Thanks, Ron!

Not to rain on your parade Ron, but believing CR is just about as good as believing the trusty Ace Hardware man. They are biased!

babs, you came here a bit late, should have done your research first. What to do now? Get with Ken & use his RAD to take the Ace crap off then apply a real deck stain like his woodzotic, twp, or even readyseal. Whatever you do don't use Thompson's.

Al