I have two bids to solid stain my cedar sided house. One is 50% higher than the other, but includes two coats.
I probably should have done it last year (or the year before) so it is not in great shape; but would two coats be any better than one?
The single coat guy says two coats are only necessary when you want to go to a lighter color.
I'd think it would be more of a case of condition of the present siding and the quality of the stain. I did my deck with one coat with no problem.
A caveat from a former contractor: oft times the 2 coat guy will not actually apply 2 coats - esp. not with the recommended dry time between coats.
Sad but true.
My neighbor paid 2 coats, but I caught them doing one and lying. Depending on house 2 may be better but not for 50% more as spraying a second coat while you are set up is easy and second coat may only take
20% -30% more stain, if first coat is done heavy. One heavy coat for most is enough. Even white over black if wood was bare and weathered. A recoat is different as are all houses. On my cedar house the south side only needs 2 coats .Solid color stain? I haven't used that in years. If I can't convince the homeowner to switch from stain to paint, I won't do it.
Switch to paint. Maybe you could do one coat of stain now and, in a couple years when it's going to need it again anyway, switch to paint.
The OP mentioned a "cedar-sided" house. If the siding is rough in texture, like shingles, wouldn't a non-film building finish be better? I have painted shingles, and where the paint is peeling, it seems impossible to scrape it off, since you can't get into the nooks and cranies. I'm probably going to end up residing the house, since the paint is leaded anyway.
For smooth textured siding, what is the advantage of a paint over a solid stain? For that matter, what is the difference, exactly?
Just a curious homeowner.
Cheers, Wayne
If you haven't used it years, it's about time to educate yourself on the advancements that have taken place. I feel for your customers since you're BSing them that you know anything. Shame on you!
Absolutely horrible advice since you have no clue about today's stains.
Rough cedar should be stained since stain does not peel. New cedar can be transparent, semi transparent or solid if a different color is desired, usualy old blackened cedar needs solid color. If a painter put paint on my cedar I would be real mad an not pay him. You can`t scrape peeling paint on rough sawn cedar, it is to rough.
My 70+ year old cedar shingled home had been coated with a succession of products ranging from some creosote stuff, to semi-trans, to solid oil, to solid latex and eventually paint. The film formers eventually peeled and you're right, it's virtually impossible to scrape. I ended up renting a sandblaster - donning the full getup and taking it back to raw cedar. I did my best to contain the 70 year buildup of coating debris - but I'll admit it was not an environmentally friendly process. Stuff flies everywhere and it's damn hard, dirty work. Once the cedar was back to original (except for a little more pronounced grain) I coated it with a Cabot's oil-based semi-solid. It doesn't peel but can be prone to mildew as it is linseed oil based, so I added a mildew inhibitor. It looks good (although it's more prone to UV fading than an acrylic latex product) But when it's time to recoat - just brush on a new coat - no scrape or wire brush.
A quality acrylic latex paint will form a thicker film than a solid stain. Better resistance to erosion and water infiltration, I suppose.
As you said, paint is a film on the surface. Solid color stain soaks in, for the most part.
Many house are sided with rough-sawn cedar - I still use paint. I've done some that were in not-so-hot shape so I primed first. If the siding has been well maintained I've gone straight to paint without any problem. Occasionally there'll be a problem spot, where there's peeling. But that's the case with anything painted. With scrapers [putty knifes], coarse sandpaper, maybe a small wire brush, you can get it taken care of. I would prime those spots to help prevent future peeling
Basically I'm treating it as most any other siding. Some people want the texture of rough-sawn to show through, but it'll show through paint also.
Solid stain just doesn't hold up well. My experience is that the lifespan of the job is much less than that of paint. In order to make sure the wood doesn't deteriorate, you have to stain it every 2-3 years. People don't like that.
To me, that's the main thing. The wood ends up drying out, shrinking, curling up. Then the homeowner wants it to look right , so we're re-nailing loose or curled boards -- then the caulk job starts. Lots of caulk, which will end up cracking eventually, given the size of some of the cracks. (I realize much of this little rant concerns homeowners who don't maintain the home properly, but there are a lot of homeowners like that).
The prep work before initial paint job may be a minor pain, but not as painful as staining twice as often. And far less painful than replacing a bunch of siding.
Don't worry Josh, my customers don't have to replace siding, or get it done every 2-3 years.
I don't have peeling problems.
"A caveat from a former contractor: oft times the 2 coat guy will not actually apply 2 coats - esp. not with the recommended dry time between
coats.
Sad but true."
Pretty hard to get away with that, isn't it? I mean most homeowners are gonna take a look at the work in progress, aren't they?
I have solid stain on my cedar siding. It was done 5 years ago and looks great just about everywhere, except the chimmney chase, which is looking weathered and dry. Gonna redo that area this summer. I'd always go with the stain, as once you start with paint, you always have the problem of eventual peeling. In fact, one section of my trim that was done at the same time is peeling right now for some reason.
Stain isn't a complete waste -- it just needs more attention and more diligent prep work and maintenance. And on the house I've done, I haven't seen the usual peeling that comes with smooth siding.
Sure, but when they come home from work and the crew leader tells them the back and sides have been double coated - why would they question? Maybe they were and maybe they weren't.
Hi! We recently hired a company to paint our house. It was built in the early 1990s and is brick and wood. My neighbor told me that it is currently a solid color stain and I shouldn't have them paint over it because it will just peel! I never asked the company if the house is stained or painted. How can I tell solid color stain from paint? Is it okay to paint over solid color stain? The company is going to powerwash, caulk, spray zinc oxide on the some nail heads, two coats of Sherwin Williams and a hardener. Any advice? Thanks!
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