How long can a freshly sanded deck wait before sealing without do overs?

Question

I just had a composite covered deck installed with wood railings. Part will be screened and rest open. The contractor is ready to frame for screened portion and advised me to stain before he frames.

I'm using Cabot Australian Oil. Instructions state avg. min temp should be 50 for 48 hrs before applying. The avg. temp now is 34 & I've already sanded rails, rafters, & steps. It wont warm up for another 2 months to the 50 degree requirement.

How long can I wait without resanding for stain? Or will I need to resand? What do I do?

Answer 1

How quickly the pores will close depends on ambient humidity, but I'm having trouble even finding a ballpark. I'd never heard of 'water popping' before. Personally, I wouldn't stain anything that's left my chain of custody after having sanded it, without arbitrarily resanding it.

I think they told you to stain it because they saw you sanding. The wait time after which should be as little as possible. You can either build a tent and heat it, or cover everything so that their greasy hands don't make stains. And then you get to resand it anyway in two months.

At least you didn't do the floor. If you're going to open up pores, then you should coat them immediately, as per the specifications of the product.