Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My husband and I researched this product to death. We knew we would need between 8-10 boxes (16-20 gallons) of this product. We discussed adding water to the paint as another reviewer suggested....but we didn't want to take the chance of wasting all this money and it looking like crap. We decided to pretty much follow the directions. Plus this stuff looks like it would be a pain to remove if you mess up. It's best to paint the railings and other pieces before you put this product on. You can buy RESTORE stain....or just get another stain brand with the color you plan to use. We used "saddle" color stain and "saddle" RESTORE color. First off, as other have said, this stuff can be a pain to work with. It's thick. I was tempted at times to add water but we pretty much kept the drill with the paint and stirred a LOT. I rolled the paint on with the honeycomb roller. Then I came back over it with a paint brush. Then I lightly rolled the honeycomb roller on again to give it it's texture. One coat down. As it started to dry, you could def. see why it needed a second coat. So I started again. Rolled on with honeycomb roller, then smoothed out with paintbrush. Then came back lightly with honeycomb roller to give it that textured look. One thing I didn't do....I didn't use an extension roller. I sat on my deck and worked in small sections. When the paint can would be almost empty....I added a little water at this time. Maybe 1/4 cup of water, stirred like crazy, and used it in places that were not as noticeable...like between and under the railing and corner pieces. I had to use 3 coats on those areas to make them blend in with the other area. Our deck looks very nice. My hubby said it's almost just like a bedliner that you put in trucks....except it's a bedliner for your deck. LOL He used some of the leftover paint to do a small concrete area...and it's looks very nice. He also did a garage work table and that also looks very good. One thing that we did figure out. Don't buy expensive paint brushes. Any paintbrush you use is pretty much ruined with this paint. We bought cheap utility brushes and threw them away. Also, we used disposable tray liners. You should also know....if your deck is in pretty worn shape...like knotty boards, splinters, cracks, etc....you will use more paint. My dogs use to slip and slide when it would rain on the deck. It rained a week after I got finished. No slipping for the dogs anymore. It also seems to get the mud off their feet when they are coming in. I would recommend this product. UPDATE: 12-17-11....I absolutely LOVE this product. It's now winter here and it is holding up very well. Still looks new. It really is worth it's money when it basically cleans my dog's feet off before they make it inside. So far, we had one small icing event around here....and it didn't stick to the restore deck. When the dog's take off for outside, they don't slip running down the steps. Oh, the rain usually cleans it off....but if it gets muddy from the dogs....I just get a water hose and rinse it off. Easy to clean so far. UPDATE: 6-10-12...I did have this product at 4 stars but I am upgrading it to 5. This product is amazing! It is summer around here now...and my deck still looks fabulous. Our winter was pretty mild, and when summer came...our deck was a little muddy looking. My hubby just washed it off and it was as good as new again. There was 3 steps that I only put one coat of paint on. It was an accident. I meant to come back and put a second coat on, but...well, I just forgot. That paint has worn off on those steps. We plan on doing our other deck closer to fall...so I will redo those then. Update: 6-17-13.....its been 2 years. The deck still looks nice. Here is a picture that I took this morning. [IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/dxgqxu.jpg[/IMG]