Homeowner Forum / Construction / March 2005

Consumer Reports has an ongoing test of stains and sealers, go online a
good read. Look into what log cabin manufacturers recommend. Wall Mart
demands cheaper prices of suppliers.  It is just found out Ilford is
suplying an inferior copy paper product packaged the same to walmart.
The thread is in alt rec digital photography.  For needing the longest
lasting product on my house, 9$ a gallon would not be my first choise.
Clear last the least long time, Semi transparent stain would be my
choise. Yes my house is Cedar shake, Now it has darkend so much solid
color is all I use. Clear finish is a pain in the A , as cedar darkens.
Research your options.

     I'm getting ready to side a house I'm building in Washington
State.  We're using Clear VG Western Red Cedar for both the 8in bevel
siding and the exterior trim.  For the siding I'm having Cabot
semi-transparent oil applied by a pre-stainer.  I worked with my local
Cabot dealer to arrive at a custom sage green color that I had in mind.
For the trim, I'll be applying my own stain, and like you I wanted a
fairly natural-looking finish here.  I chose Superdeck brand oil-based
transparent stain.  The wood absoulutely glows with this finish.  This
product line came on the recomendation of my local cedar supplier who
has twenty plus years in the business.  His opinion is that Cabot and
Superdeck are two of the best choices out there.  Keep in mind, that a
transparent stain lacks much of the pigment that helps block UV rays.
In other words, a good semi-trans is going last longer than a good
transparent (and a good paint will last even longer...).  Nonetheless,
I just didn't like the muddy look that you get with a semi-trans.
     Look into Superdeck - it's good stuff.  Cabot has some other
products (Australian Timber Oil, etc) that may be worth checking out as
well.  Cabot products have consistently come out on top in Consumer
Reports testing.  Unfortunately, their marketing dept does an awful job
of putting out decent technical info.  It's hard to tell from their
literature and website what half their products are supposed to do.
They do however have a top notch tech dept.  I'd give them a call and
tell them what you're trying to achieve.  They can suggest some
products and even overnight small sample cans for a nominal fee.  Great
service!
    As a final note, test whatever you're going to use on samples of
your actual siding and trim.  Don't choose from a color chip!  The
results can vary dramatically.  You're going to look at that house for
a long time, so put in some up front effort to get the color right.
Likewise, unless you like staining every couple years, don't skimp on
materials.  A good stain is going to run $30-40 a gallon.

    Best of luck.

Richard Johnson PE
Camano Island, WA