Step 1. Water Base vs Oil Base
Water Base is commonly used especially in Stone Martin neighborhoods. Water base stains form a film over the wood. This traps the moisture inside and leads to cracks and peeling.
Oil Base (Preferred Method) penetrates the wood and seals the wood from within. Oil base stain will soak into the wood and prevent cracking and peeling.
Step 2. Transparent, Semi Transparent, Semi- Solid, Solid
Transparent stains have no pigment and act as sealer for the wood structures. This type of stain will not change the color of the wood but only seal it. The major concern is it doesn’t have pigments so it will not protect the wood from UV rays. Over time the sun will turn the wood gray.
Semi-transparent stain is the most common used stain. It contains pigments which will protect your structure from UV Rays. This stain will preserve the natural wood grain while adding beautiful color to the structure. Semi Transparent has many great colors to choose from.
Semi-Solid stain are closer to paint in their appearance. They hide more of the grain than a semi-transparent stain These stains are great for older fences, that might have a few blemishes, or fences that might have new boards intermingled with older weather boards.
Solid stains are very similar to paint, in that they form a film over the wood. Solid stain only come in water base. Solid stain will hide all of the board but will lead to cracking and peeling.
Step 3 Color
Water Base: https://www.olympic.com/color/exterior
Oil Base: https://restorativewoodproducts.com/
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions regarding our stains.
Garrett Gibson
Owner Warrior Fence Stain
