Deck stains come in two main types: oil-based (alkyd) and acrylic-based (water).

How do you tell if deck stain is oil or water based?

Oil based stains are somewhat more water resistant than the water based finishes. Due to this, by sprinkling a little water onto the stained area you can tell if the stain is water or oil based. Simply wait for a minute and see if the water beads up. If it does, then you have an oil based stain.

Can you still buy oil based deck stain?

Many brands have gone away from oil-based stains to water-based, but you are still able to use oil-based stains in all US States and Canada. We currently restore about 300-400 decks annually, and our favorites are the penetrating semi-transparent and semi-solids.