Mr. Long Arm 0350 Woodmates 12-Inch Premier Stain Applicator

I purchased this online because Lowe’s was out and this was a tad cheaper. I really thought I could use this to do between the boards to get the sealer/stain on the sides of each one. Wrong, this is way too think to use on the quarter inch gap left for expansion. Great product for the flat areas.

I'm a trailer dealer. I stain a lot of trailers decks and I've used this applicator on probably 60 trailers. It works well. Its much faster and more consistent than a roller or brush. Some reviewers have complained about it not getting in between boards as advertised. It actually does fine, you just need to know how to use it, when turned sideways with enough stain on it, you can work it down into even small gaps. You need to turn the applicator sideways and hold the pole more perpendicular to the deck, but it does lock into place sideways. I used the same applicator all last summer until it finally broke. Even at that, it saved me lots of time and gave me better results. Well worth the money. Sure, it is just plastic, hence the 4 stars, but if you use it right you shouldn't have any trouble. You can't be some all-thumbs gorilla trying to bend it into submission. This is just like any other paint/stain job.You need to have a little finesse and it takes a little practice and patience, but ultimately you'll be glad you had it. UPDATE 8/17 I've stained probably 10,000 SF with it and I'm still using it and still loving it. It saves me a lot of time and makes a consistent finish. Must less messy than a roller and less likely to flick stain all over the place. For those who complained about it not fitting a paint tray: take a box cutter and trim the little plastic tabs off on either side and it fits just fine.

I thought this would make it easy to stain my patio and get in between the boards but was proven wrong. Drips a lot of stain through the boards, which was a problem as we have a two level patio. Hard to get it between the boards (connection point just flips back and forth). Switched to a roller instead and had to use a paintbrush between the boards.

Extremely difficult for this amateur to use. The head swivels without control or purpose. This made keeping the brush aligned with the wood grain very difficult. It was very tedious to use. Cleanup was a breeze as it just tears away from the base. I’d never buy this again and would recommend that you avoid it as well. Could be my inexperience talking, but it seemed to make it much harder than necessary (aka rollers).

Ive owned a deck restoration company for over 30 years. Completed over 3000 decks in Calif. Hands down the best. I have used them all SHUR-line slips off often, doesn't hold half the materials. Others tear. LongArm has velcro wear you wrap it around. Easy to change out.ONLY thing I don't like is how much the end swivels. It rotates too much when you just want to go up and down. I solved this by pre drilling a hole and putting in a small screw through the plastic and into the metal handle. See my picture to see the spot to do this (blue dots). Stops swivel completely.

This is a good idea but is a little too wide to function well. Plus, the head kept unscrewing from the handle and didn't turn easily. A better design is needed. I wouldn't use it again.

Did what it said it would do,

I bought the product to stain two decks. Have previously used rollers, but wanted to try this product as it looked to have the ability to stain the sides of each deck board better than a roller. The cheaply made plastic connector (where it attaches to a extension pole) snapped and broke on my FIRST pass with stain. I ended up doing one decks using what was left of the Longarm while on my hands and knees waiting for my wife to run out and buy some rollers. It did a nice job but there is no way I was going to stay on my hands and knees for the second, much larger deck. Product applies stain very well but I wouldn't recommend it due to the cheap connection to a pole so you can stand while applying the stain. Back to my trusty rollers.

Compared to being on my hands and knees to stain our deck this is awesome. What used to take days of work is now done quickly. The pads evenly spread the stain, got between the boards and washed up easily. I bought a replacement pad in case this one wore out on my huge deck but after a rinse it is like brand new.

works good

My wife is a brush only deck stain applicator. I hate it, it takes so long. So I got this. In the time she did 1 deck I did the other 2, with 2 coats. It goes on easier, and thicker, and even. The applicator washes out easily, and is durable. Awsome product.

Didn’t like this at all. Thought it would be useful for the floors of my deck. I ended up using my paint sprayer.The boards in the deck would have to be prefect to get in between them with the edge tool. But it does cover a lot of surface are when you do use it. Just not between the boards. And it’s does use up a lot of paint.

I thought this would be a fast way to seal my deck and while the sponge part is good, it’s super cheap plastic and the part that attached to the rod broke on first use (light use too). I just bought a second one to finish the job, so if you can find something like this but with a much stronger and durable attachment, go that route instead.