This is common. Sometimes I am able to find out exactly why something like this has happened, and sometimes I am not. The remedies are numerous and it usually doesn’t involve doing too much about it immediately. The reason something like this happens are also numerous and usually involve some combination of improper application and/or over application of a transparent stain. Transparent stains can easily be built up over time. Building up the coats on a single application can easily encourage the stain to peel. A transparent stain that peels doesn’t make any homeowner happy. It’s just awful, and in many cases very orange. Double Awful. If this is your deck, let’s talk. Deck staining and maintenance in Santa Cruz County has been a specialty of ours since 2001.