Defy Exterior Wood Brightener is an oxalic acid deck brightener for wood deck cleaning that removes dirt, grime, tannin, rust, and fungi stains from wood surfaces. Find out how to clean your wood deck for the best results to restore the wood’s natural beauty. Defy Wood Brightener is a liquid concentrate that is mixed 5:1 with water to brighten and restore the natural beauty of exterior wood.
- Restores the rich look of new wood
- Won’t harm most plants or shrubbery
- Removes tannin and rust stains
- Biodegradable
- Neutralizes strippers
- Helps stains penetrate
Defy Wood Brightener removes tannin and rust stains and is recommended for use on all species of wood, including redwood. Defy Wood Brightener will not harm wood fibers, grass or most plants when used properly.
Defy Wood Brightener is recommended for surface preparation prior to the initial application of clear finishes and stains. It is used as a neutralizer and brightener for all wood species that have been cleaned with Defy Wood Cleaner. For best results, use Defy water repellent wood finishes.
How to clean your wood deck with an oxalic acid deck brightener
Even new wood needs cleaning to remove mill scale, making the surface more porous to easily absorb deck stains. Defy Wood Brightener is the 2nd step in a 3 step system to maintain your deck and keep it looking like new. The 3 steps are:
- Clean or strip using Defy Wood Cleaner or Defy Exterior Stain Stripper
- Brighten using Defy Wood Brightener
- Apply Defy water repellent wood stains
Defy Wood Brightener is a liquid concentrate sold in 1 gallon containers. 1 gallon of Defy oxalic acid deck brightener makes 5 gallons of solution and will clean approximately 500-1,000 total square feet (or 100-200 square feet per gallon). Defy Wood Brightener is not formulated to remove intact paint, stain, or clear finishes and may dull painted and metal surfaces if not quickly rinsed.
WARNING: This product can expose you to Ethylene oxide, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm, and Cumene, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information, go to www.p65Warnings.ca.gov.
We have a Trex composite deck. Would we be able to use this product on our deck?
Teh Defy Brightener will not work on Trex or composite decks.
I have a glass railing with metal posts. Is this product safe to use with the glass railing?
Yes but rinse the glass when done to remove any soap suds and dirt.
After using your deck stripper to remove Olympic maximum clear sealer (yellowish tint), will I need to use your deck brightener before applying a clear coat sealer waterproofer?
You must use the Defy Brightener after using the Stripper.
Sanded down pine deck, looks good. do I need to clean and brighten before using stain, using defy clear. thanks
Yes.
Hi, I just used the cleaner on exterior red cedar planks on my house that were suffering from dark mold. The cleaner worked great! I am now going to use the brightener and then the stain but I was concerned about damage to the plants close to the house. Is the brightener harmful to outdoor plants in New England (lilac, blueberry bushes, forsythia…) ? Thanks
No, but rinse the plants with water when done.
Hi. We just finished a Western red cedar deck the end of August, some of the boards are showing black mold? How long do we wait to clean, brighten and stain for the first time? We are in the northeast and hopefully weather will permit staining, what’s the lowest temp can we stain inwithout ruining? Thanks
See here about new wood: https://www.defystainhelp.com/prep-new-wood-for-defy-stains/
Hi, I used cleaner & power washed old neglected deck about a week ago….looks really good and better than I thought. I’m waiting for brightener to arrive so this step hasn’t been done yet. It has been raining almost daily and I still need to sand a few areas. Looks like rain is still in forecast for another week or two so stain will be delayed. I’m not sure if I should sand before using brightener or after? Will I need to redo cleaning process again due to rain delays before I stain? Thank you.
No need to sand. Just brighten and then wait 48 hours to stain.
We have a new Ipe deck installed about 6 months ago and now need to seal – do we need to use brightener first, and if yes is it safe for Ipe?
You will need both the Defy Cleaner and then the Defy Brightener.
I stained my dock with 2 coats of Defy Extreme last year. Do you recommend coming back this year with another coat. If so, should I use your Brightener before applying stain.
Only coat if needed. Prep with the Defy Wood Cleaner.
Follow up to this question, I stained my new deck last year with 2 coats of Defy Extreme last year. I plan on putting on a maintenance coat. I’ve ordered the brightener but I’m not 100% clear on whether or not I need to use the brightener over two coats of stain a year old. Would rather not if I don’t have to but will if it is necessary. Your advice?
You need the cleaner for prep when recoating, not the brightener.
I finished my pressure treated deck in late July. Is it too early to apply deck stain? I live in Chicago and if I do not stain it before December, I may have to wait till April 2021.
Wait at least 3 months. If timing does not work, then to in the Spring.
For a new pressure treated deck, aged 6 months (installed March 2020)….do I need to use both the Cleaner and Brightener before staining with Extreme…..or is either one enough by itself for new wood?
Both Cleaner and Brightener.
Will brightener harm paint on house?
No, it should not.
Can I paint over DEF plastic wood filler and will the color look very different?
The Defy Stains will not “stain” wood filler to blend. Unfortunately, you should not have used wood filler on exterior wood, it will not work or blend.
After stripping the deck, do I have to brighten? May I just stain?
Yes, you have to brighten.
I am staining my dock over a freshwater lake. Is the wood cleaner and wood brightener safe for fish?
Yes.
I purchased a gallon of Defy Wood Brightener online. The label on the front of the jug says Wood Brightener but the label on the back says it’s Defy Exterior Stain Stripper and gives directions for the use of a stain stripper. Which is it? How can I tell if it’s the Brightener and not the stripper?
Did you order this from us? We do not see an order in your email address?
We have a large house and choose to side with white cedar. We thought we did our research, however we applied a stain that contained grape seed oil. Thankfully we only got 1/2 the house done but 1/2 of that is black now. We are going to do the thankless job of stripping and redoing it all. My gut is telling me To pull the boards, as they are tongue and groove and we stained behind them, and redo them all too. My questions, it’s is totally recommend to do all 3 steps? We also stained both sides we should take the boards off and redo both sides? This is going to be a long process but we want it right and the rest of the boards we have for the other 1/2 right the first time. Thanks
You will only need to strip and brighten the exposed wood, not the underside.
We need to replace a few boards (pine or fir) before we finish the top.
If we sand them with 80 grit and use the brightener on all of the deck can we then stain it?
Yes, but those new boards will need another coat in 12 months or so.
How long is the Brightener good for once diluted & mixed?
It does not go bad.
I’m staining the inside of a Gazebo roof (cedar planks), since there is a lot of trim boards, I was thinking about using a sprayer to apply the stain. Will this apply the stain evenly or do you recommend
applying the stain with a brush?
Brush or stain pad for an even application is best.
I have a new redwood deck that was installed just 8 weeks ago. Is it necessary to use the brightener or just cleaner before treating with Extreme?
See this about new wood: https://www.defystainhelp.com/prep-new-wood-for-defy-stains/
I recently purchased a home on a freshwater lake and the deck and dock have been treated/stained with TWP Total Wood Preservative. If I strip and brighten the surfaces, will Defy Marine or Extreme produce good results. I noticed in an earlier Q&A that application over Cabot’s will not work well, so I wondered if the same is true of application over TWP.
Thanks,
Ancel – Columbia, SC
As long as you remove the TWP bt stripping and brightening, you can use the Defy Marine or Extreme. Most would use the Extreme for this.
Can I use your products on teak wood?
Yes, you can use the prep products for teak. For the stain, you would want the Defy Hardwood stain:
https://www.defystain.com/defy-hardwood-stain.html
[quote name=”Phil Mangan”]I have a TREX accent deck with some areas that are discolored. Are the following products recommended by Defy to use safely on my TREX deck?
1. Defy Wood Cleaner
2. Defy Exterior Wood Cleaner?
Thanks, Phil Mangan[/quote]
You can clean the Trex with the Defy Wood cleaner to remove dirt, mold etc. Not sure what you mean by discoloration as you cannot fix “fading” of the Trex.
I have a TREX accent deck with some areas that are discolored. Are the following products recommended by Defy to use safely on my TREX deck?
1. Defy Wood Cleaner
2. Defy Exterior Wood Cleaner?
Thanks, Phil Mangan
[quote name=”dick burns”]where can I buy just the defy brightener product in Mpls, MN[/quote]
We only ship online to your areas as we are a dealer.
where can I buy just the defy brightener product in Mpls, MN
[quote name=”Susan”]We just spent the weekend stripping old solid stain from our deck and we are now down to the natural wood. How long should we wait after the stripping is done to apply the wood brightener and after the brightener how long should we wait to apply a stain.[/quote]
You should brighten right after the stripping, while wood is wet. Stain 48 hours after brightening to let wood dry.
We just spent the weekend stripping old solid stain from our deck and we are now down to the natural wood. How long should we wait after the stripping is done to apply the wood brightener and after the brightener how long should we wait to apply a stain.
The Defy Brightener will not harm the
Azek nor will the Defy Wood Cleaner. If you are going to stain the natural wood, then you must not get any of the Defy Stain on the Azek as it will stain it.
I have a new deck. It is Azek Deck with cedar railings and risers, with pressure treated wood supports. What products do you recommend for the railings, risers and pressure treated wood supports? Will any of them discolor the Azek Deck? Do I need to take any special precautions for this?
The Defy Hardwood Stain penetrates new wood the best. I would suggest this.
I am building, and sell, wood display boxes and wagons. While some are inside displays, many are used to as plant displays I people yards. I use only new wood both cedar and pine. Some of these boxes sit out in the sun and rain year round. Since it is new would, what would be the best product?
Without knowing what the black stains are it is hard to give a correct answer. I am guessing it is water damage since it is close to the ground. If so, the balck water stain will be deep in the wood and cannot be removed with a cleaner or sanding. The wood would need to be replaced.
I am trying to restore my redwood deck, it has black stains on the vertical surfaces close to the ground. I tried several products but can’t get those black stains. I am planning to keep the natural wood grains of the deck. Do I need scrap it, sand it or do you have a cleaner that can work well.
Roberto,
I would use the Defy Extreme in the Redwood after prepping with the Defy Wood Cleaner and Wood Brightener.
I just purchased a home that has a dock on the river. I would like to know what would you recommend for the dock. Its has been abandon for a few years. I would like to stain it Redwood.
Thanks
The cleaner can raise the pH balance of the wood which darkens it. The brightener will lower this and give the wood a more even appearance.
I have treated my deck several times with the Defy Wood Cleaner and I was planning to apply the Oil without using the Brightener. The Wood Cleaner worked great and all of the mildew is gone, but the deck is now many different shades ranging from very light in some areas to very dark in others. The deck used to be very evenly colored and on the dark side but now it’s a variety of shades. Will the Brightener help to even out the color of the deck or is it supposed to be a variety of shades? Thanks.
For vertical newer wood we would suggest two light coats wet on wet.
I will be applying defy extreme to new cedar siding, do you recommend one or two coats for vertical surfaces?
For IPE you do not have to use the Defy Brightener
I plan to use the Defy cleaner on my 2 year old IPE deck; deck is grey because never finished. if I DON’T plan to finish the deck with UV or stain should or could I still use the Defy Brightner?
Is there a quantity estimator on your website so I can calculate how much product I require?
You cannot use the Defy Extreme on top of the Cabot semi-solid. It will not properly work. It needs to be able to penetrate into the wood and the old Cabot would prevent this.
We have just stripped a “semi-solid” cabot stain from all horizantal surfaces of a very big deck in prep for a new stain. The railings and apron around the deck (that are also cedar) held the old semi-solid stain better and were not stripped completely to the bare wood. Can/Should the Extreme product (being a semi-transparent) be applied on the railings and apron, or does all wood need to be stripped down to the bare wood?
Thanks!
Steve and Michele
Most likely you will not have an issue but best to always do a test spot first as all surfaces may react differently.
Hello. I plan on using the deck stripper & brightener soon. Are there precautions that need to be taken with vinyl siding or the aluminum ballisters with the baked on metal finish? Thank you! 🙂
Jon, I would use the Defy Hardwood stain for both. It will not match exactly but it should be close in color.