Our home has a beautiful front porch that was in much need of restraining after the harsh Midwest winter. So washed it, hand sanded it, tack clothed it, then staining it with 2 coats. I did give several weeks and fine sanding before coats.
Here is the before:
And here is the after. I used Olympic Semi-Transparent Cedar Natural tone. I did not sand down to complete bare wood because I wanted a more rustic look. I find that imperfect wood looks better after wear and tear then perfect wood. This is half the deck, and 1 galloon was enough.
