There are two separate and distinct parts to the answer to this question. The first part is preservation of the wood itself, and the second part is the visual aesthetic you want to create and maintain.C2 Guard for Wood is designed first and foremost as a wood stabilizer and preservative. It accomplishes this through its combination of nanoparticle polymers that penetrate deeply into the surface and provide a remarkably long-lasting, water-shedding barrier, eliminating the single biggest enemy of all exterior woods—water. Therefore, from the standpoint of preservation of your investment in the wood, properly prepared and applied, you will not have to re-coat C2 Guard for at least 6 years on horizontal surfaces and 10 years on vertical surfaces.Regarding aesthetic issues, such as fading, rub-off or other disfiguration due to use or exposure, the solution is often to touch up or blend in a small amount of additional material onto the affected areas only. Resist reapplying to the entire substrate until the level of deterioration is widespread and an entire refresher coat is needed.The fact that you will eventually have to re-coat your stained area is inevitable. The significant benefit of the C2 Guard program is that C2 Guard will never peel, and you will not have to scrape and sand the worn surface; merely clean and re-coat.