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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: CA
Posts: 5,856
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Any fence stain experts ?
A few years ago I had a redwood fence built, horizontal layout, kinda like this (don't have a pic with me right now) :
 I immediately treated it with a top quality sealer that had a small red tint but very light. Looked like the above.. all good... for a while... FFWD a year later, it's *dark brown* and dirty looking. Pressure washed it which restored the light tint, let dry, reseal, more or less OK... another year later, dark brown again... Enough... I was under the clearly misguided impression this was a 5 y plan on the sealer. I see houses nearby (modern concrete/wood siding) with similar wood and I don't see those guys even close to my re-staining schedule - their siding seems to endure, house and fencing. Example below, not my house:  Where am I going wrong? My deck is built with the same wood and doesn't change color this quick... Is there a specific stain I should use to keep the wood clearer ? An epoxy coating ? The fence faces the sun 1/2 the day if it matters... Should I sand it down at this point and start over? Curious if I'm missing any tricks here.. The wood is 3y old and not cracking or rotting.... Just almost black, except where deer scratch it to steal fruit ;-) Last edited by Deschodt; 04-22-2019 at 12:29 PM.. |
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04-22-2019, 12:25 PM
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AutoBahned
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almost black... is it all in an area/orientation that gets a lot of sun? or is there any spot that gets less than 1/2 day? - if so, compare the shades between the two areas
maybe there is a chemical to treat it before using the sealer? many use bleach but you aren't supposed to do that; you let the wood weather a year and then use a so-called cleaner before staining - I am not sure if that applies for a sealer IIRC, redwood will turn black if left untreated... I also have a redwood deck - I use TWP on it (having tried almost everything else) but it is not as pretty as your fence. There is a redwood forest products manf.s site on the www somewhere - and they have advise on what to use; also a place that sells a lot of redwood has a stain they like |
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04-22-2019, 01:14 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
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Your resawn fence boards are no match for milled siding that gets wet on one side only.
Many sealers don't have much of a rep. If you want a really good coating with some color, you will have to shell out for that. There are many that are good. I like Penofin myself but I've not tried them all. Far from it. And they say spray it, forget it. I don't believe in that. Spray it on but back brush it in until the wood won't take anymore. |
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04-22-2019, 03:19 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 30,438
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I'm certainly no expert....but that's never stopped me before
 Mebbe search on non-clorine bleach (Oxyclean methinks is one) for cleaning/treating cedar siding etc....I did some brief looking awhile back for my uncle. That might be my expert advice....it's all downhill now so I'm done....hth. |
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04-22-2019, 04:38 PM
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Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
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04-22-2019, 04:42 PM
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Team California
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Redwood is an outdoor wood, (does not need any type of sealant), and it will definitely weather in the elements. It is not possible to keep it looking like it does when it comes from the lumber yard. Power washing does wonders, though.
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Denis When hats and t-shirts are being sold at a funeral, it's a cult. |
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04-22-2019, 04:44 PM
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Location: New Jersey
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So first thing is you don't say what type of wood your fence is made of? The fence shown and the siding are two different woods. The fence appears to be cedar and the siding looks like it could be a Mahogany or Ipe. Mahogany/Ipe are very hard dense woods and react to the elements very differently than Cedar.
The siding appears to be oiled. As Milt said the sealers aren't very good. Before anyone can give any solid advice we need to know what wood your fence is made from? Edit: sorry you did say redwood. Redwood responds to the elements very similarly as Cedar it collects dirt and silvers Last edited by drcoastline; 04-22-2019 at 04:48 PM.. Reason: I'm stupid |
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04-22-2019, 04:44 PM
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04-22-2019, 04:48 PM
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Registered
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04-22-2019, 04:52 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
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Quote:
25 years ago we had Olympic Stain, an oil based stain that could be had in 50 or more colors both semi and solid. I did a whole house in that stuff when I was in the painting contracting business. The house stayed in pristine condition for 10 years. CA was the first to ban that stuff and we have suffered ever since. I'd say these days we use 3 times as much product (along with the clean up) and I don't see any environmental gains whatsoever. |
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04-22-2019, 05:01 PM
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Team California
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Here is a nice photo of some cedar, just for the heck of it
My cousin built an amazing cabin in Wisconsin on the lake where our cabin is, (we sold him the land). He's a great builder and used several interesting and beautiful materials including iron that is naturally rusting/oxidising, African hardwoods for the decks and this cedar for the kitchen and bathrooms.
This is a favorite family picture, my mom is on the phone w Miele trying to unlock the fancy self-cleaning oven that locked itself w a turkey inside one week before. Cousins had to abandon it and go back to the city, we were trying to help out. 
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Denis When hats and t-shirts are being sold at a funeral, it's a cult. |
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04-22-2019, 05:05 PM
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Team California
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Quote:
 It's one of the reasons I got out of that part of the business, I was an old house restoration guy and worked extensively in oils.
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Denis When hats and t-shirts are being sold at a funeral, it's a cult. |
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04-22-2019, 05:08 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 17,363
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All redwood turn brown then gray over time. I use Penofin on many projects as well as my own house.
I have to say, the water base finish have come a long way still no match for the toxic oil base finishes which I like. We use only two brands of water base lacquer. General Finish, and Chemcraft. Durable and really water resistant. |
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04-22-2019, 05:57 PM
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AutoBahned
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I used Penofin on my Redwood deck - beautiful.
But.... doesn't last. The TWP & (apparently) Armstrong stains do last. None of the water-based stuff lasts. Luckily Orygun doesn't have the air pollution (yet) to get rid of oil based stains. More Possibly Illegal Recommendations: I hear Preserva is good. And the guy here who specializes in redwood lumber likes Sun Frog. Interesting guy - he used to fly jugs off of carriers then got into pot farming... |
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04-22-2019, 06:50 PM
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the more I think about it the black color relates to tannins in the redwood reacting with something...
I bet you can find out from USDA-FS - one of their missions is to develop and research new uses for wood products. |
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04-22-2019, 06:52 PM
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Location: So. Cal.
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From my experience with decks (a couple using prime redwood), I've recommended TWP on a couple (a few?) deck threads. If you can get oil based anything, it's a much better product. That's not saying it's better environmentally. I'd agree with Milt's comment about how many times you have to do applications with accompanying cleanups vs. a one time application of the old time products in terms of the environment.
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04-22-2019, 09:49 PM
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