Learn How to Stain Your Deck: Our 5 Favorite Sprayers for Deck Stain
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Want to refresh your existing deck, and make it look brand new? Or add final touches to your existing deck? Staining your home’s deck is a great way to accomplish both!
In fact, experts recommend that you stain your deck every few years, to help protect it from the sun, wind, and rain.
But, as we all know, painting is a BIG job. And, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend my entire day (or weekend!) painting a deck.
Luckily, there’s a tool that can help you save time: A paint or stain sprayer.
But, which sprayers tackle staining jobs the best? With lots of models available to choose from, making a final decision can be difficult. To help you choose a paint sprayer that’s going to get the job done right, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to staining your deck. Discover the basics of paint and stain sprayers, our top-five product picks, and important how-to tips to consider, before you start your job.
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Our Top Picks
If you are already familiar with paint sprayers, then here are our best sprayers for staining a deck. Otherwise, keep reading for tips on how to stain a deck, detailed reviews of our top sprayers and a
- Most Powerful One: Graco Magnum 262805 X7 Cart
- Easiest To Use: HomeRight C800971
- Professional Finish: Earlex HV5500
- Best For Large Decks: Wagner Spraytech 0518080
- Best For Small Deck Areas: Flexio 590
Image | Product Name | Features | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Most Powerful | Graco Magnum 262805 X7 Cart Airless Paint Sprayer, Gray
| 9.7 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Pittsburgh Spray Corp |
Easiest to Use |
| 9.5 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Northern Tool |
Professional Finish |
| 9.1 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Acme Tools |
Best for Large Decks |
| 8.8 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Hardware World |
Best for Small Deck Areas |
| 8.6 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Hardware World |
What Is a Stain or Paint Sprayer?
A stain or paint sprayer is a tool that can be used to apply a variety of different types of stains and finishes to wood surfaces. Sprayers are available in multiple sizes and styles and can be used for both indoor and outdoor applications. Not every sprayer can be used to apply wood stains, though; so, knowing which models do can save you both valuable time and money.
When choosing a sprayer for stains, it is important to consider the type of finish you want to achieve, as well as the size of the area you need to cover.
Types of Stain and Paint Sprayers
There are two main types of stain and paint sprayers on the market: Airless sprayers and high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) sprayers.
Airless sprayers are designed for heavier-duty use, making them ideal for large projects or for those who plan on using their stain sprayer frequently.
HVLP sprayers, on the other hand, are better suited for smaller jobs or occasional use.
The Differences Between Airless and HVLP Stain Sprayers
Wondering what the differences are between airless and HVLP stain sprayers? Use our helpful chart to compare the two across several key features.
Feature | Air Sprayer | HVLP Sprayer | |
Stain Consistency | Better with thicker stainers | Better with thinner stains | |
Pump Pressure | Uses a high-pressure pump | Uses a low-pressure pump | |
Price | More expensive | Less expensive | |
Clean-up | Requires more attention to properly clean | Easier to clean | |
Noise Level | Louder | Quieter | |
Control | Can be difficult to control | More precision available | |
Project size | Great for larger projects | Better for small projects |
Buyers Guide: The Best Paint Sprayers For Deck Stain
With so many paint and stain sprayer models available, you’ll have a lot to consider before making a purchase. Our buying guide can help you learn more about available options and what to look for before you shop.
Brand
There are a wealth of paint and stain sprayer brands to choose from and at a wide variety of price points. But, if you opt for a lower price, will you get a lesser quality product?
If you decide to invest in a sprayer, we recommend sticking with a trusted brand that’s known to produce high-quality products. Wagner, HomeRight, and Graco are just a few popular brands that we recommend.
Read More—Best Professional Paint Sprayers
Hose
A very important part of stain spraying any deck is being able to move freely. If you’re getting ready to work on a larger deck, you’ll need enough hose to move around quite a bit.
Keep in mind that most paint and stain sprayers are heavy, too. So, moving the whole unit as you work can be both inconvenient and exhausting. That’s why we suggest buying sprayers that support longer hoses—look for models offering 100 feet of hose or more.
If you have trouble finding a sprayer with adequate hose length, a lighter-weight sprayer can be a good alternative to help ensure you don’t get tired from carrying the unit while you work.
Read More— Best Paint Sprayers For Plasti Dip
Power
The more power a deck sprayer has, the faster you’ll be able to complete the project. But, keep in mind the price will go up with the level of power a sprayer offers.
A few other important factors to consider when researching the power of specific sprayers include:
- Weight: Powerful motors are also known to be very heavy.
- Overspraying: Powerful sprayers can often introduce serious issues with over spraying.
- Speed: Pay attention to the PSI rating, HP, and how fast a paint sprayer is before buying it.
- Pump: Sprayers that come with a piston pump can spray unthinned paint (such as latex) and water-based paints—in addition to traditional wood stains.
Read More—Best Ceiling Paint Sprayer
Adjustments
Having an adjustable paint or stain sprayer is essential. With adjustments, you can minimize the tendency for some models to overspray. Plus, you’ll have better control of the paint and stain flow with the ability to slow down the material flow or speed up, when you need it.
Adjustable options make any sprayer more versatile and allow you to modify it accordingly for multiple project types and sizes.
Read More—Chalk Paint Sprayers Review
Tips
Stains are a thinner material than paint, so your sprayer needs to have a smaller tip size to accommodate the difference in consistency. When shopping for a sprayer, look for a size A 0.11-0.13 tip—they’re perfect for managing most stains.
Some sprayer models may come with several tips. But, if the sprayer you’re considering doesn’t include this size tip—you can sometimes buy the accessory separately. Just be sure the sprayer brand offers one.
If the smaller stain-friendly tip sizes aren’t available with the model of sprayer you’re considering—or the additional accessory cost is too expensive for your budget—you’ll want to be extra careful with your purchase.
Be aware, this can be a real deal-breaker: If the correct tip sizes aren’t available for the sprayer you’re considering, you’ll want to shop for a different sprayer for your deck staining job.
Stain Capacity
The size of the tank on your stain sprayer will determine how much stain you can apply before needing to stop and refill. For larger projects, you’ll want a model with a higher-capacity tank. A good baseline is to look for a 28-oz cup tank capacity.
Price
Of course, price is always a consideration when choosing any type of tool or appliance. In general, you’ll get what you pay for. And the same holds true when shopping for stain sprayers. So, be sure to select a model that’s well-made and sold by a reputable brand that you trust.
These are just a few of the things you need to keep in mind when shopping for a stain sprayer. By taking the time to consider your needs and compare different models, you can be sure to find the perfect one for your next project.
How to Stain a Deck
Staining your deck is relatively easy. In fact, we think it’s easier than prepping the deck materials, shopping for a sprayer, and picking out a stain color!
Once you’ve got the hard parts behind you, and have your deck prepped and supplies ready, use the following step-by-step guide. From prep-work to the actual staining, to managing your final clean-up—we’re here to help you learn how to get the job done right.
Step One: What to Do Before You Spray
To kick off your deck-staining project, first, remove everything that is on the deck, and clean the deck surface. We recommend thorough sweeping or vacuuming and a good hose-down. After the surface has dried, look for flaking, splinters, or debris on and in between the deck boards. You can use a long, thin blade or even a paint can opener to dislodge or gently scrape away rough and lose pieces of wood. Clearing debris during this early stage can help your stain better adhere to all surfaces.
If your deck boards or railings are in particularly rough shape, you may want to do some light sanding to clean up the rough spots. Use 80-grit sandpaper and a handheld orbital sander to tackle the job. If your deck surface is relatively smooth already, no need to take on this extra step. If you do have to sand, you’ll want to repeat your sweeping, vacuuming, and washing before you start staining.
Additionally, if the wood is still dirty or has any mold, use a wood cleaner and/or a pressure washer to scrub the entire deck. Keep in mind, if you’re using water-based liquid cleaners, you’ll need to wait a few hours or a day after you finish cleaning, to allow the deck wood to dry before staining.
When the deck is dry, cover any nearby objects—like metal railings, windows and doors, house siding, and outdoor appliances—using painter’s tape and plastic sheeting. This will protect the nearby objects from over-spray and the occasional wind gusts that can cause additional stain splatter.
Read More—Best Sprayer for Staining a Fence
Step Two: Spraying the Stain
Now that you’ve completed your prep work, let’s focus on your sprayer. Fill the sprayer’s paint cup with the stain material you’ve selected and make a few spray tests before starting to spray your deck, to confirm your sprayer is functioning correctly and the spray coverage matches your expectations. If everything looks good, it’s time to dive into staining your deck!
As you move over the surface of your deck, be sure to stay roughly 6 to 12 inches from the boards while you spray in steady, even strokes. To avoid overspray, make sure to be continuously moving.
Now that you’ve completed staining the whole deck, you’ll need to wait a few hours or days (depending on the size of your deck) for the surface to completely dry. After your stain is dry, you can apply another coat if needed (using the same instructions as above).
After you’ve achieved the desired stain coverage, you can seal it with a clear coat of paint. We recommend using latex-based paint for a top coat.
Your Final Step: Cleaning Up
You’re nearly done with your deck staining project! Although you may be ready to put your feet up and enjoy your freshly updated deck, don’t sit down just yet. Clean-up is essential to keeping your stain sprayer free from clogs and functioning correctly for years to come.
Start the clean-up process by first focusing your attention on your paint sprayer. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, disassemble the sprayer and clean the paint container or bucket, hose, extension pieces, and spray tip.
Don’t forget to remove any plastic sheeting from the nearby objects and check their condition. Once the deck dries, then replace all the furniture, kick back, and enjoy your new deck!
Best Sprayers For Deck Stain
Ready to shop for stain sprayers? Let’s review our top picks for the best sprayers for staining your deck.
1. Graco Magnum 262805 X7 Cart
Best Features
- Powerful
- Stainless-steel pistol
- Fast
More detailed review ↴
If you’re planning to use a paint sprayer for staining your deck, the Graco Magnum X7 is one of our favorite options.
This airless paint sprayer comes with a powerful 5/8 HP motor that can deliver up to 3000 PSI. The Magnum also features a stainless steel piston, lending even more power to manage to spray unthinned paint at very high pressure.
Another bonus: This sprayer is fast. It can spray up to 0.31/gallons per minute (but we don’t recommend doing that). When we tested this model, the finish quality at high speed wasn’t quite as good as using a low-speed setting.
What we like most about this sprayer is the ability to spray directly from the paint bucket. You don’t have to fill or thin the paint or stain, you just put the tube in the stain or paint bucket and start spraying (use a 1- or 5-gallon bucket only).
This model also supports a 100-foot hose, so if you have to move around a lot you can attach the hose and be mobile without needing to take the base of the sprayer with you. Although this is a great option for outdoors, the hose does more harm than good, when used indoors.
A big bonus: The Magnum offers an adjustable pressure and material flow rate, and a TrueAirless spray tip that reduces over-spray.
On the downside, this sprayer is heavy (it weighs 23 pounds). Luckily in addition to the long hose, it also comes with wheels and a handle.
What We Liked:
- Powerful – Features a 5/8 HP motor that delivers up to 3000 PSI.
- Fast – It can spray up to 0.31 gallons per minute.
- Steel piston – Gives the airless paint sprayer enough power to spray unthinned paint.
- Hose – Up to 100-foot long
- Easy-to-clean – Comes with a power flush adapter that connects to the garden hose, making the cleaning process even easier and faster.
What We Didn’t Like:
- Heavy – This model weighs 23 pounds
2. HomeRight C800971
- Easy-to-use
- Professional finish
- Adjustable options
More detailed review ↴
If you’re a beginner and never used a paint or stain sprayer before, the HomeRight C800971 is a good place to start.
The HomeRight sprayer unit is easy to use, and still has a lot of power: 450W, to be exact. You can adjust the material flow, and also modify the air cap to be horizontal, vertical, or round. To make adjustments even easier, all of the buttons are located near your hands.
This unit also comes with several different spraying tips (1.5mm, 2.0mm, and 4.0mm) and cleaning brushes.
On the downside, this is a handheld sprayer; you’ll need to carry the whole sprayer including the bucket, whenever in use. Plus, it’s not as fast as our first pick.
What We Liked:
- Easy-to-use – It’s made for hobbyists and homeowners, so it’s easy to set up and use.
- Powerful – It can spray unthinned paint and stain, thanks to its 450W power.
- Adjustable – You can adjust the material flow and air cap.
- Easy-to-clean – It comes with cleaning brushes.
What We Didn’t Like:
- Handheld – You’ll need to hold the entire unit, whenever in use.
- Speed – This model can’t operate as quickly as our top choice.
3. Earlex HV5500
Best Features
- Semi-pro
- Push-and-click options
- Powerful
More detailed review ↴
If you are thinking about opening your own painting shop or using a paint or stain sprayer for more than staining decks, then this Earlex HV5500 is the right choice for you. It comes with 650W of power and gives surfaces a smooth and professional finish.
What we like most about this sprayer is that it comes with a push-and-click button that changes the spray pattern system from horizontal to vertical, or round. You can also adjust the material flow to match the project’s specific needs.
The Earlex offers a great design. The hose fits neatly inside the model’s body and comes with a carry handle, making it super portable. Plus, the Earlex is equipped with onboard hose storage to help you clean the sprayer faster.
This unit comes with a metal spray gun that has a 2.0mm stainless needle, as well as a 1-quart container.
On the downside, the Earlex has a shorter power cord (only 6.6 feet long). But the hose is 13 feet long, which does help you move about without having to carry the full unit for short distances.
What We Liked:
- Semi-pro – This is a semi-pro paint sprayer and can be used for small- to medium-sized projects.
- Push-and-click – It comes with a button that changes the spray pattern in seconds.
- Adjustable – You can adjust the paint flow.
- Design – Great design, including a handy carry holder.
- Spray gun – It also comes with a metal spray gun that has a 2.0mm needle tip.
What We Didn’t Like:
- Cord – The cord is only 6.6 feet long.
4. Wagner Spraytech 0518080
- Stationary
- 1-quart paint capacity
- Powerful
More detailed review ↴
The Wagner 0518080 sprayer is one that I’ve personally used a lot, especially when I’ve stained decks. What the team and I like most about this unit is that it’s a stationary sprayer, which means the weight stays on the ground and you only have to carry the spray gun. This is particularly helpful if you have to spray a very large deck.
The spray gun has a 1-quart paint capacity and it’s connected to the base with a 20-foot hose. The hose allows you to move freely around your workspace without having to move the base, and the paint cup lets you work longer without having to stop to refill paint.
The Wagner 0518080 comes with a powerful two-stage motor that can deal with materials such as latex or stains. The sprayer is adjustable too, you can change the material flow and you can also adjust the spray patterns from ½-inch to 1 foot.
On the downside, this sprayer uses an HVLP technology, which is prone to overspray. But, the adjustable settings help a lot to reduce that.
What We Liked:
- Stationary – The whole weight stays on the ground.
- Spray gun – It’s nice to have a spray gun with a 1-quart paint capacity.
- Adjustable – You can adjust the spray pattern from ½-inch to 1 foot.
- Hose – It comes with a 20-foot hose.
What We Didn’t Like:
- HVLP – If you’re not careful, you can easily overspray surfaces.
5. Flexio 590
- An iSpray nozzle
- X-BOOST turbine
- 10-speed settings
More detailed review ↴
Another great deck paint sprayer is the Flexio 590. We’ve used this sprayer for many projects, in addition to decks (like spraying cabinets, furniture, decks, and more).
What we like most about this paint sprayer is the X-BOOST turbine, which gives the sprayer enough power to manage unthinned paint.
Another thing that we like is the collection of two specialized nozzles: The iSpray and the detail nozzle. (We use the iSpray nozzle for larger projects and the detail nozzle for smaller projects.)
You can adjust the speed, it comes with 10 different speed settings that you can choose from. And once you are done the cleaning process takes less than 5 minutes.
On the downside, just like our second pick, the Flexio is a handheld paint sprayer, so you’ll need to support the sprayer and paint weight throughout your job.
The manufacturer claims that the Flexio can spray up to 8 gallons per hour. While that is true, you still need to stop to refill your paint. Plus, spraying at full speed isn’t recommended, if you want a good finish quality.
What We Liked:
- X-BOOST – Gives the turbine enough power to deal with unthinned paint.
- Nozzle – iSpray and detail Nozzle.
- Adjustable – It comes with 10 different speed settings.
- Easy to clean – It takes less than 5 minutes to clean.
What We Didn’t Like:
- Handheld – You’ll need to support the paint and sprayer weight the whole time.
Fuji Spray 2203G Semi-PRO 2-Gravity HVLP Spray System
Best Features
- Professional, non-bleed spray gun
- Quick-connect coupling
- 25-foot hose, with air control
More detailed review ↴
If you’re looking for the best DIY spray paint gun, look no further than the Fuji Spray model!
The most powerful two-stage system on the market, the Fuji offers better features than other options in this price range. With professional-grade equipment, including a non-bleed spray gun and fan control knobs, you can fine-tune your stain and paint coverage from small circular patterns to wide spray widths.
The Fuji’s high-quality, gunmetal turbine case contains a super 1400-watt motor. Plus, the Fuji comes with handy holder accessories, so it can be easily used while standing or sitting, whichever works best for you.
HVLP systems are not ideal for most coatings, but Fuji’s 2-stage version can handle any type of spray job. The low-power requirements can help you conserve energy while still getting good results, too.
What We Liked:
- Quick coupling – Air control valve with quick connect coupling.
- Lightweight and portable – 400cc gravity cup that is portable and lightweight.
- Handy holder – A metal turbine case with a convenient spray gun holder.
- Usage – Easy to operate and easy to clean.
What We Didn’t Like:
- Pressure – This item doesn’t offer much pressure and may be best for smaller jobs.
- It’s too loud – Overall, the Fuji is an excellent sprayer. But, the volume was much higher than we expected.
Check out the below video for even more tips:
Frequently Asked Questions about Deck Stain Sprayers
What spray size tip should I use to stain my deck?
It depends on the sprayer model and brand you’re using (and your best bet may be to read the manual). But, as a rule of thumb, the best size tip for most deck staining projects is a 410, 8-inch spray fan. We don’t recommend choosing a larger spray tip than 410.
What’s the best sprayer for oil-based deck stains?
There are several good sprayers for oil deck stains. But, we recommend the Graco Magnum 262805 X7 Cart.
What’s the best sprayer for solid deck stain?
For a solid deck stain, we like the Earlex HV5500.
What type of sprayer do you like most for staining a deck?
It depends on how large the deck is. If it’s a medium-large deck, then we recommend using an HVLP sprayer. For a large deck, we prefer airless sprayer options. For smaller decks, you can use handheld paint sprayers.
Do I need to thin the stain before using it in a sprayer?
It isn’t recommended to thin a stain before spraying, it will give you bad finish quality. But, if the stain is too thick for your sprayer then you need to thin it.
Final Words
We hope our how-to and buyer’s guide help you better understand not just how to stain your deck, but how to find and use the best sprayer for your particular job.
Image | Product Name | Features | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Most Powerful | Graco Magnum 262805 X7 Cart Airless Paint Sprayer, Gray
| 9.7 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Pittsburgh Spray Corp |
Easiest to Use |
| 9.5 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Northern Tool |
Professional Finish |
| 9.1 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Acme Tools |
Best for Large Decks |
| 8.8 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Hardware World |
Best for Small Deck Areas |
| 8.6 | Buy on AmazonBuy on Hardware World |
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