I am building a deck with cedar deck boards. I have 2 problems. First, I am in the North East and it has rained all summer. I got a number of muddy footprints on the cedar while installing the boards and am having a very hard time getting the muddy prints off the wood.

Additionally my good intentioned father was cutting metal for a electical box an the metal dust and shavings all were concentrated in one area on the deck and have now left a large black/grey stain. I want to put a transparent stain on the deck but am worried about removing these stains first.

Any ideas??