My house is 20 years old with cedar siding. We had the house pressure washed about a year & a half ago & the wood looked so good that we decided to leave it natuaral & put a clear finish on it. Well now its molded & darkened again already. Today it getting pressure washed again & I want to try the natural look one more time. If it doesn't work I'm just going to go with a solid stain. Any suggestions on what product to use etc..
Gary
I use Behr solid stain from HD. They can mix it to any color you want. They have a color chart you can take home and study. I am very happy with Behr and have used it on my cedar siding for 10 years.
Thanks for the reply. I should have been more clear about what I'm looking for. I really want to try another clear sealer first because I want to keep the natural wood look. The painters used Thompsons water seal last time & sprayed it on so I was hoping to find a better product. From everyone I've talked to it seems like I can only count on a year or two with a clear sealer. It's really only for the front of the house. The back & sides already have a solid stain on them that has held pretty well but nothing looks as good as natural cedar when it's clean.
Gary
There are more durable clear finishes out there, but they're relatively expensive. Cabot makes a product called Cabothane that should be just what you're looking for. Go talk to one of your local Cabot dealers, or even a local Sherwin-Williams.
>On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 02:43:36 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Gary E" quickly quoth:
Most everything on the market IS better. Penofin gets good marks locally. (PNW)
Yes, I hate the gray weathered look on exterior wood, too. If you're into extreme pricing and lots of work, try Sikkens Cetol. Otherwise, give Flood's CWF (clear wood finish) a try. I've heard good things about it. (I use redwood and paint or stain other woods so I haven't tried either.)
-- Vidi, Vici, Veni ---
I hope you are using a good cleaner, that is the key to getting old cedar its best. If its not to late and you have Shrewin Williams nearby get their cleaner, Ive seen jobs that only SW cleaned best. For the mold it depends on what your cleaner contains or household bleach kills it and its cheap, I just use Bleach.
Thompsons is one of the worst products, Consumer Reports has an ongoing test of stains and sealers, and dropped Thompsons because it cant compete, get their article before you decide, a natural colored Transparent stain will get you many more years then clear. Spend time cleaning it right and picking your finish, Cabots is always good but a clear finish is yearly maintenance.
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