what is the vest way to apply stain to siding

Bound heralds the inflow of weather warm plenty for us to finally go outside and start undoing the damage winter has wrought on woodwork. Refreshing the stop on decks, fences, and siding tops the to-do list because without renewed protection against Mother Nature, wood will start to decay.

In a one-2 punch, sunlight breaks downwards the lignin that holds wood fibers together, leaving a gray surface that tin can't concord a finish. Then water gets in, rotting boards and shingles and, worse, potentially compromising the structures that prevarication below them.

Yous tin can safeguard wood in one of two means: either with paint, which seals information technology under an opaque flick, or, perhaps better, with outside stain. The beauty of stain is that it's like shooting fish in a barrel to apply, resistant to peeling, and brings out wood's texture or grain. But stain comes in a bewildering number of types. Some are every bit articulate as bourbon; others are equally milky as paint. Some grade a film on superlative of the wood; others leave backside naught but a hint of surface color.

Renew and Refinish

Rather than waste time—or coin—with trial and error in pursuit of the right stain for your job, take a look at the following pages. We translate the confusing labels, show you some of the many places stains are used, and offer tips on how to employ and maintain a terminate for maximum immovability. Once y'all brand your choice and lay it on, you can rest piece of cake, knowing that your wood is taken care of. Well, at to the lowest degree until side by side spring.

Shown: A knock-out deck starts with great forest—in this case, articulate redwood protected with a burgundy-tinted penetrating stain. Behr Premium Semi-Transparent Weatherproofing Woods Stain; behr.com

What'south in a Stain?

These are the ingredients found in oil-based semi-transparents, the most widely used stain type.

Resins and oils carry the pigments and additives into the forest fibers and shield them from h2o.
Pigments add color to wood and baby-sit it from the dominicus'southward ultraviolet rays.
Additives improve cease functioning and make the stain easier to apply.
Solvents thin the oils and resins so that they tin can easily penetrate the woods.

Vitals

Oil- or Water- Based, or Both?

Waterborne acrylic stains stand best to the sunday. Oil stains penetrate deeply, fifty-fifty in tropical hardwoods. New, hybrid blends do both and are low in VOCs.

What Do They Cost?

Look to pay $25 to $48 per gallon. Nontoxic "green" stains typically run from $40 to $75.

How Long Will the Finish Last?

Information technology depends on the type. Those with more paint terminal the longest: upwards to 7 years for a solid-color stain. Clear toners, which accept the least corporeality of pigment, need to be reapplied annually.

When to Utilise it?

Earlier installation, ideally, or soon afterwards, to limit exposure to the elements. Reapply every bit needed, preferably in the spring.

DIY or Hire a Pro?

Nigh homeowners tin can hands apply stains using a castor or pump sprayer. For big projects that demand lots of prep, consider hiring it out.

The Four Major Types of Stain

Semisolid

Has less pigment than a solid-color stain, so it merely partially obscures the wood's grain. Leaves no surface film; tin can't peel. Recoat every 2 to 4 years.

Clear Toner

Finely ground atomic number 26 pigments called transoxides block the sun without obscuring the wood's grain and impart a warm tint. Leaves no surface movie; tin't peel. Recoat annually.

Solid Color

Looks similar a apartment pigment; hides the woods's grain but not its texture. Forms a picture show that can peel if non properly applied. Recoat every five to vii years.

Semitransparent

Contains enough pigment to alter the wood'due south color but non enough to obscure its grain. Leaves no surface motion picture; can't peel. Recoat every 2 to 3 years.

Bare Forest

Destined to plough gray and rot unless you cover it with stain.

Shown: Cabot solid color, semisolid, and semitransparent in New Redwood; Clear Solution Wood Toner in Cedar; cabot.com

Which Stain is Right For You?

Before you purchase, ask yourself these questions.

What's the wood coated with now?

If it's bare, chose whichever stain you desire. But if it has a picture show finish, it's easiest to stick with that; penetrating stains tin can't go over a moving picture. Also, h2o-based stains will encompass oil-based ones, only not the other fashion around.

What kind of woods practise you have?

Soft woods, similar pine and cedar, easily take any penetrating stain. Simply only certain kinds of seed oils, such as tung or linseed, will soak into ultradense hardwoods like ipe and mahogany. Always exam these woods commencement to brand certain the finish will penetrate and dry.

How worn is information technology?

On older decks, unless yous can sand off the elevation layer you'll get the best protection from a penetrating finish: a clear toner, a semitransparent, or a semisolid. Solid-color stains are best on new wood.

How much grain do you want to encounter?

The less pigment a stain has, the more than grain you'll meet, as shown on the stack of blocks at left. Only the more pigment, the longer you tin go before recoating.

Where is information technology located?

Stain on horizontal or south-facing surfaces gets more punishing UV rays than on vertical surfaces or shady north sides. To minimize maintenance, consider stains with more pigment.

Waterproofers

These penetrating liquids seal the woods so that it won't shrink, crevice, or rot. But they comprise little if whatever paint that prevents surface graying.

One type, which typically contains wax or silicone, makes water bead up on the surface; another allows water to spread out in sheets. "Beaders" dethrone quickly, usually in a matter of months; you lot know it's fourth dimension for a fresh coat when the beading stops.

"Sheeters" can last a few years. Water dries faster on sheeters and doesn't leave behind spots like a beader does, simply in that location's no tell-tale sign that it'south time for a new coat.

Eco-Safe Stains

These finishes are friendly to the surround—and your lungs. Stains are packed with solvents to ensure that their resins and pigments penetrate wood fibers. Problem is, the solvents in most oil-based stains contain VOCs, which pollute the air and are unhealthy to breathe.

Many so-called "greenish" stains—those containing less than 100 grams of VOCs per liter—rely on waterborne resins and pigments that behave differently than traditional oils.

Here'south what to expect.

Faster Dry Time

Waterborne resins dry faster than oils, and then yous can get out on your deck sooner. But greater care is required during application to forbid lap marks; castor the terminate on no more than two boards at a fourth dimension, and be sure to cover their lengths in 1 laissez passer. As well, stains should be applied in the shade when surface temperatures are above 50 degrees.

Slower to Soak In

The new formulas are more than durable and abrasion resistant but don't penetrate as deeply or chop-chop equally oil, so information technology's easy to overapply them and go out shiny spots. To avoid this, brush out the terminate to a thin, even film. Wipe off any excess immediately.

Potentially Prone to Mildew

Nontoxic stains may not incorporate chemicals that prevent mildew. If these fungi are a problem where you live, you'll have to add mildewcide to the stain earlier awarding.

Shown: Messmer's depression-VOC penetrating oil works on dense exotic hardwoods; messmers.com. Vermont Natural Coatings is made with nontoxic ingredients, such equally milk whey; vermontnaturalcoatings.com. BioShield contains no VOCs or toxic chemicals. Comes in 17 colors; bioshieldpaints.com. SafeCoat offers woods-tone colors with low odour; afmsafecoat.com

Stains in Colour

Semitransparent and solid-color stains come in scores of hues, giving your home a painted wait that's a cinch to maintain. Follow along for a gallery of vibrantly stained, adjourn-entreatment-boosting clapboards, shingles, and trim.

Hunter Dark-green

From a distance, this Craftsman-influenced house looks painted, but closer inspection reveals a penetrating semitransparent stain on its cedar clapboards. This no-peel finish gives wood the advent of being dyed, a rustic look in keeping with its woodland setting. Care is minimal; just launder and a recoat every few years. Clapboard stain, similar to shown, Inundation TWF-Semi in Blue Shale; alluvion.com

Rich Blood-red

A bold trim color can highlight a firm's best features. Here, a solid-colour acrylic stain accents this contemporary dwelling house'due south intersecting walls of windows and dramatically soaring roofline. Sherwin-Williams'southward WoodScapes Solid-Colour Stain in Cape Cod Ruby-red on trim, and DeckScapes Waterborne Semi-Transparent Stain in Cider Manufacturing plant on decking and siding; sherwin-williams.com

Gray Moss

Solid-color stains mimic the appearance of the flat, oil-based paints used since colonial times. These days, however, the best solid-color stains are made with h2o-based, 100 percent acrylic resins, which don't turn chalky and harden with age as oils will. They're also more than permeable to water vapor, making them less likely to pare. The clapboards on this Colonial Revival–mode house are finished with Cabot Pro Five.T. Solid Acrylic Stain in Gray Moss; the trim is Ultra White; cabot.com

Dusky Blue

Having two types of siding offers an opportunity to use two different stains. Here, the shingles show off their russet hue nether a clear toner, while the boards and battens get a low-maintenance solid-color stain. Olympic Maximum Waterproofing Sealant in Cedar Naturaltone on shingles, and Maximum Solid Color acrylic stain in Wedgwood on the vertical boards; olympic.com

Get Greyness Without Decay

Uncoated siding in coastal areas naturally turns a soft driftwood color after years of exposure to the sun and salt air. To accelerate this process without leaving siding susceptible to rot, Cabot adult a product called Bleaching Oil back in the late 1800s.

Basically information technology'southward a lightly pigmented, semitransparent oil-based stain that contains a special bleaching agent. Once it's brushed onto new, uncoated softwood siding, such every bit cedar, fir, or cypress, the surface changes to a light grayness in virtually half dozen months to a yr. Recoat every 3 to 5 years.

Staining Blended Boards

The forest particles in forest-and-plastic composite decking are simply as vulnerable to the sun every bit solid wood and volition turn dingy over time. Specialized semitransparent stains for composites allow you to restore or change the color of weatherbeaten decking. These terminal a year or ii. Yous can also use a standard solid-color acrylic deck finish and go 3 to v years of service. Loftier-traffic areas may need more frequent attending.

Shown: Messmer'south Composite Deck Cease in Navajo Blood-red; messmers.com

Going for Smooth

For a luster worthy of a fine yacht, choose a translucent film-forming finish. Spar varnish has been the traditional choice for this outcome, merely information technology'due south a behave to use and maintain. Sikkens's two-coat Cetol Dek End (sikkens.com), shown at left, offers the same look but with a picture that's more than breathable and flexible, and information technology has more dominicus-blocking pigments than a varnish. Brushing on a refresher coat is easier, too. Merely wash it, and apply the new finish when it dries.

Maintaining Stain

Equally with any coating, longevity depends on proficient preparation and application. Professional painter Rich O'Neil offers his advice for putting penetrating stains on decks and siding.

Don't Delay

If you see a spot of bare woods or notice fading, get correct to work. If y'all wait too long, you'll have to sand out the gray discoloration before you start.

Clean

Wet the woods with a hose, then apply a cleaner similar Jomax. Allow it sit a few minutes, then scrub with a stiff-bristle brush to loosen the clay. Hose off the debris; don't use a pressure washer, which tin can gouge wood. Pull out whatever gunk between boards with a v-in-1 tool. On vertical surfaces, work from the bottom up.

Sand

When the wood is dry, rough upward the surface with a random-orbit or pole sander fitted with 60-grit newspaper. Employ a leaf blower to blast off the dust.

Utilize

O'Neil favors a thick, 4- to 6-inch cake stain brush, like the one here, which gives him better command than a sprayer. To forbid lap marks, work on simply ii or three boards or courses at a time and become from ane end to the other. If spraying or rolling on the finish, always go back and brush the surface.

Wipe

Later xx minutes, mop up any stain that hasn't penetrated. To avoid spontaneous combustion, put stain-soaked rags in a sealed tin filled with h2o. Dispose of the container at a chancy-waste material eye.

Common Staining Problems

Mildewing

Dilute a quart of laundry bleach in a gallon of h2o mixed with a cup of TSP substitute. (Used full force, bleach tin chemically burn the wood.) Brush onto the deck surface, and rinse earlier the solution has a chance to dry.

Peeling

This occurs only on finishes that form a movie, such as solid-color stains; penetrating stains don't skin. At that place are many causes of peeling—poor prep work, wood decay from rot or sun, water vapor getting underneath the flick and lifting it, UV damage to the terminate itself—but the but cure is to remove the peeling stain and start over on a sound, clean surface.

Fading

It's the inevitable result of the sun and human foot traffic, but information technology's likewise a proficient indicator that it's time for a new coat of penetrating stain or waterproofer. To find out, test the wood by pouring some water on a shady spot of your deck and seeing how long it takes to soak in. If the h2o disappears in less than 5 minutes, the wood is ready for a new coat. If a end seems to be fading likewise apace, apply a stain with more pigment.

Where to Utilize Stain: Doors and Trim

If you desire to show off a distinctive grain, such every bit the knots in this rustic alder door, use a clear toner that brings out the rich colors and blocks UV. Ultra Premium Penofin Penetrating Oil in Transparent Chestnut, similar to shown; penofin.com

Where to Employ Stain: Furniture

Even rot-resistant cedar tables and chairs tin do good from a stain to repel h2o. Spraying on the finish makes it easier to glaze hard-to-reach surfaces. Krylon Semi-Transparent Woods Stain; krylon.com

Where to Use Stain: Decks

Clear toner is great for new, high-end redwood or cedar decking, but on weatherbeaten or inexpensive decking, like this pressure-treated pino, semitransparent stain is the ticket to an upscale look. Inundation TWF-Semi in Dusty Trail; flood.com

Where to Use Stain: Siding

About any stain fabricated for decking can also be used on siding. Plus, it'll concluding longer than the same cease on a deck because vertical surfaces take less of a chirapsia. On clapboards, Arborcoat solid-color stain in Barn Ruby; benjaminmoore.com

Where to Use Stain: Fences

Semitransparent stains emphasize a fence'due south pattern, while articulate toners show off its forest grain. Utilise either type with a pump sprayer, the platonic tool for coating the long runs and numerous nooks and crannies of a debate. Wolman DuraStain Semi-Transparent in Chestnut Brown, similar to shown; wolman.com

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Source: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/painting/21018900/all-about-exterior-stain