Can You Spray Deck Stain with a Garden Sprayer?

Keeping your deck looking brand-new (while protecting it from wind and weather) involves a whole lot more than regular cleaning and maintenance. You’re going to want to stay on top of staining and sealing your deck, too.

You don’t need special tools to spray your deck stain. The job can done with a run-of-the-mill garden sprayer – but you can use other tools to stain your deck as well. You are in the driver seat!

Below we run through practically everything you need to know about spraying your deck stain with a garden sprayer. We cover the basics, from soup to nuts, to help you hit the ground running with this backyard project.

Can You Spray Deck Stain with a Garden Sprayer?

Yes, you can absolute least spray your deck stain with a garden sprayer – one of those handheld pump spraying systems – without any real headache or hassle whatsoever.

You might be able to get the job done a little faster with an electronic or compressor-based system, to be fair. But if you don’t feel like spending any extra money or investing in specialized tools you might not use that often, a garden sprayer will get the job done just as well.

It’s critical that you prep your garden sprayer (and your deck) before you tackle this kind of project, though. We run through just about everything you need to know about staining your deck with a spring system in just a moment.

Spray or Roll Deck Stain?

Though you can spray your deck stain with a garden sprayer is it the right way to get this job done?

What about rolling your stain on?

Isn’t that the preferred method?

Well, we don’t know about rolling stain being the preferred method – professionals really like to use spraying systems (though they are often more powerful than a garden sprayer). But you can definitely get this job taking care of with little more than a roller, couple paintbrushes, and a bucket of stain.

Some people even prefer rolling stain out. The end result is a really durable, total coverage kind of stain that can be a little more challenging to get with a spraying system. Especially if you haven’t sprayed deck stain before.

Rolling can be pretty fast, too. All you really have to do is dip it in the stain, roll away, and then rinse and repeat the process until your deck is taken care of.

At the same time, rolling out deck stain might not be the easiest thing to pull off when it comes to total coverage.

Sure, the wide open spaces on your deck can be hit with a roller. But what about the little nooks and crannies? What about the little tucked away spots that the roller is too big for?

That doesn’t happen with a spray system!

How to Stain Your Deck – Step By Step

If you settled on spraying your deck stain (and it’s not a bad decision with the help of this detailed guide) here’s what you need to square away to get this job done right the first time out!

Prep Your Surface

If you want a professional level finish on your deck you absolutely must prep the surface first.

It doesn’t matter if you’re using a water-based product or an oil-based product, either.

Proper prep is essential if you’re going to get a smooth, even, consistent kind of finish from the stain that you are using.

This means you’re going to need to wash your deck down, getting rid of all the dirt, dust, and grime that may have accumulated on it. It might not even be a bad idea to pressure wash your deck just to make sure that everything is good to go.

After that, you’re going to want to give your deck plenty of time to dry completely. We don’t just mean surface dry, either.

Some of the water that you’ve sprayed is inevitably going to work its way into the decking material itself. Give the deck at least two or three days (maybe even longer) to dry out like a bone and you’ll be ready to rock ‘n’ roll.

Choose Stain Carefully

The next piece of the puzzle to square away is choosing the right stain this project.

First, you want to be certain that the stain you have selected is going to work with the wooden construction materials you have down on your deck right now.

Most water-based and most oil-based stains will work just as well, though depending on the application – and how frequently you want to handle maintenance – one might be better suited than the other.

As far as color is concerned it’s important that you test a little bit of stain on a scrap piece of decking. Make sure that the color on the can is closely matched to the color you end up with and that you are happy before you start kicking things off.

Mix Thoroughly

After the stain has been selected and the surface has been prepared you want to be sure that you mix up your stain thoroughly.

Some people sit and jiggle the can of stain a little bit before they dump it into their garden sprayer. That’s a recipe for disaster. If your stain compounds are perfectly mixed you’re not going to end up with that complete, consistent finish you are after.

You don’t necessarily have to take your can of stain down to the hardware store and asked them to shake it in their paint mixer for you. That would be a bad idea, though, if you’ve got the time!

Just be sure that you shake the can for a couple of minutes (at least) to get everything mixed up and ready to roll.

Cover for Overspray

After adding your stain to the pumping chamber of your garden sprayer it’s time to let everything settle a little bit.

This is the perfect opportunity to add cheap plastic or masking paper around the perimeter of your deck to make sure that overspray isn’t going to get on your siding, in your garden, or all over the vehicles in your driveway!

You don’t need to go crazy here except in particularly sensitive areas where overspray could be disastrous (and expensive to fix).

Take the time to make sure that your overspray coverage is dialed in, though. This is one of those problems you’d really rather not have to deal with when you’re staining your deck.

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

Now that the pumping system has been primed, your garden sprayers ready to rock and roll, and you have taken care of overspray coverage it’s time to actually begin spraying the deck stain itself.

Too many people (especially their first timeout) tackle this project like they are shaking a rattle can and spraying everything with paint.

That’s not the way to go.

No, instead you want to be slow, smooth, and really try to saturate your deck without going overboard. Remember, the stain is designed to penetrate deeper into the wood itself – and that means that a thin coat up top isn’t going to do the job as well as a thicker coat would.

Wipe Down Drips

Of course, if you are starting to see stain dripping off of your deck onto the ground you might want to wait things down with a rag or rollover the deck with a thick nap roller brush.

That’ll help take off any excess while still leaving plenty of stain behind for your deck to soak up.

Dry, Then Rinse and Repeat as Needed

All that’s really left to do is give your deck a couple of days to dry and cure before you either rinse and repeat the staining process to go a little darker (or to fix any spots you might have needed to touch up) or to seal your deck once and for all.

Closing Thoughts

Will that garden spray system work to get your deck stained up nice?

It sure well!

You don’t have to do any crazy modifications to it, either.

Just use the tips and tricks we highlighted above to get your deck stained right the first time around and you’ll be good to go.

Take a look at our other most recent blog posts below:

Can You Spray Deck Stain with a Garden Sprayer?