Sealing/staining a new cedar gate

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chickadee
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Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:13 pm

Sealing/staining a new cedar gate

Post by chickadee »

Just got new fence gates and surrounding pickets. Replaced about 20 pickets on one side of fence, and am going to replace entire back fence next month. Third side is different construction (shadowbox) that that neighbor claims he is going to replace in September (sigh).

If I want to keep the "new cedar" look of the new gates, I would stain / seal these. I've read that I should let the wood "cure" for a few months to release some of its oils.

I suppose I could power wash the old fence that got 20 new pickets. But it wouldn't take the stain the same as the new boards, so might be not worth it.

I'm just so pleased with how they look right now, as compared to the 25 year old grey husks they replaced.

So the question is: it weird to have stained gates/surrounds and grey fences?

If I stain/seal, any product recommendations?
FraggleRock
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Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 5:50 pm

Take the time

Post by FraggleRock »

Power wash everything.
Brush on 2-3 coats of oil-based stain. I used BEHR 1 gal. # 4001 Transparent Penetrating Oil Wood Finish Cedar Natural Tone Exterior Stain and am happy with it.
Oil-based penetrates much better than acrylic.
Transparent allows grain to show.
Brush puts on way more than roller and way more than spraying.
I follow with beer and naproxen. Never take Advil with booze.

Repeat every 3-4 years.
Last edited by FraggleRock on Sat Jun 24, 2017 4:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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chickadee
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Re: Sealing/staining a new cedar gate

Post by chickadee »

How long ago did you stain? How long do you think til you have to redo it?
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praxis
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Re: Sealing/staining a new cedar gate

Post by praxis »

We have a cabin with pine exterior walls, porch and railings. We seal it every few years. Our first product was an oil penetrating stain from Messmer's recommended strongly by our builder. After 8 years of regular upkeep, we switched to a very effective sealer called Sikkens. Our cabin is exposed to extreme weathering here at about 9000' elevation and I highly recommend this product. It comes in a limited variety of tints. We used "natural". We just pressure washed the previously oil-sealed finish and applied the Sikkens. That was 2 years ago. Last week, my wife and I put a second coat on our porch railings. Looks great. My experience was that the penetrating oil based finish did NOT protect the wood like I was told it would. It dried up and required more frequent applications to stay "healthy".

We have a 30 year old cedar fence with a coat of green paint that has lasted and lasted. Cedar is a great wood for exterior use in my experience.
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