Manufacturer Description: Accent and enhance your wood’s natural patterns, while providing increased protection from the elements with BEHR’s Semi-Transparent Waterproofing Wood Stain. This 100% acrylic formula seals out water and blocks the sun’s harmful UV rays for up to three years on decks and up to five years on fences and siding, and is available in 60 custom colors to help you create a look that’s as beautiful as it is durable.
Product applies like paint and has a strong odor. The stain doesn’t soak into the wood very well. Almost looks like orange paint. Not really a semi-transparent finish but rather more of a semi-opaque…hides the grain a little more than a semi-transparent should. 14 month weathering showed good color retention and resistance to fading but there was a good amount of peeling of the film over areas of the denser, winter growth rings on the board. The product has a 3 year warranty on decks, but in our test, it failed a third of the way through the warranted lifespan. 
- Good color retention
- Resists fading
- Strong odor
- Difficult to apply
- Doesn't penetrate well
- Peeled in areas
- Mold & mildew growth
Stained my deck with Behr stain last year.It wore off in 3 months.The main deck was over a year old,other deck was 3 years old.Now deck doesn’t even look like it was stained.I can send pictures
Dominic Lonia General Contractor
I’ve been using deck stains of all brands and finishes since I was a child, I’ve never seen a more uneven finish from a semi-transparent and transparent deck stain.
I don’t usually use behr because of the price and lack of quality but my customer bought it beforehand.
My father and the customers son built the decks 25+ years ago and sealed them, I powerwashed and cleaned them myself so I know the prep was done right.
I applied the semi transparent natural tone stock color they bought with a deck stain sprayer like I’ve always done and it was a disaster, the amount of garbage in the can was astonishing destroyed the tip and filter, plus was ridiculous to try and clean with dishsoap and water.
I screened it for chunks and tried again,this time the stain froffed in the sprayer and came out like foam, so I went with a brush and roll method, pushing the stain into the surfaces with the roller and brushing in the grain, old school method.
The semi looked like solid orange paint and the customer was not happy
I convinced him to use the transparent and I evened out the finish but the transparent is like a poly shade and it took uneven on all the spindles, you have to do each one quickly with a roller and brush or it looks like you did it a week later, the overlaps are ridiculous.
This product from behr is absurd and I can’t believe it’s geared towards a homeowner to DIY if I had such a hard time with it, I used 5 gallons and boxed all the cans together when I started each individual deck and it still looks uneven
The customer was satisfied but I am not and it’s my name on the job when someone looks at it and asks who did your decks I don’t want him to say I did that’s how bad it looks to me.