Anyone ever use a white stain?

I got a call yesterday to stain a fence white. They said they do not want it painted, but want it stained.

Can anyone recommend a good product to use? Can I expect to have to do two coats? Can I spray it on, and if so, with what type of sprayer (pump up, shur-flo, or airless)?

I have not seen the job yet, the fence is being built today, and it is to be cedar. I assume that since it is new cedar, it would have to be power washed prior to staining it.

Any help is appreciated, email if you want.



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Mike Hughes
Everclear
Souderton, PA

We had a customer who insisted on having her rails and spindles stained white and deck stained cedar. Weird combination, but it turned out pretty nice.

We used Cabot (I think White #10). It was very watery so we had to brush it on because it was dripping all over the place. Took some backbrushing, but overall coverage was good.

GOOD LUCK!

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Hi Mike I do not know anything about the white stain but was wondering how wood a acrylic stain/sealer work compared to a pentetrating oil? Has anyone experienced it yet? Also Mike you never did tell me about the details of your gutter vac. I am interested on how it works on small sticks does it plug up much?
Also recieved my certification in the mail today.
Should help with advertizing. Talk to you later Tim

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Tim Highfield
ALL-BRITE POWERWASHING

I just finished staining a deck with white spindles and cedartoned floor.I used Olympic solid deck stain it took three coats!the first coat went on and when it dried you couldn't even see it...the second coat was opaque and the third was ok but I still could have put a fourth coat on.I used an airless and it worked great.Its just a real pain masking everything off though.

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Couple things to improve on solid stains...

Olympic requires a primer base prior to the stain application (might as well be paint). Have the supplier tint the primer the same color as the stain and you can achieve a uniform finish with just one coat of primer and a coat of stain.

or

Use Flood Solid deck and siding stain. It has the E-bond additive in it and requires no primer base. We can usually get 2 coat coverage out of this product using an airless.

or

Just don't do these jobs... I have come to hate working with solid stains! We still do about 10 a year but they are more trouble than they are worth.

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Greg Rentschler
GCR PowerClean
gcrpwerclean.com

Mike,

The last time a used white stain was on a two-tone deck job a few years ago. I did use Cabot's and sprayed it on with my airless.

It does beat brushing by hand, but still a big job just the same. Just make sure you charge accordingly. As the previous posts said you may need two coats.

I would think you could roll the fence also.

Good luck!!!

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Rick - Deck Care Plus

Mike,

I have stained a fence white before, 2 in fact. One was cedar and the other was CCA (pressure treated pine). I used the Cuprinol solid color deck stain white base. (Using the base is nice since you can return any unopen pails.) Anyway, This stuff will hold up 3-5 years on a deck so I'm thinking it should last 5-6 years on a fence at least. The white has a high reflectivity value so the fade is minimal each year. I know of other contractors that have used it and had great results as well. I have also did the 2-tone deck thing with the white rails and cedar deck. It looks good but its not much fun to do. Anyway that was 2 years ago and I'm working on the house next door now and those white spindles look like they were done last week.

Good Luck.......Paul


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I have been Very Happy with the "Wolman" line of deck care products, although I have not used their white stain, I do believe they have one, if it is anything like their F&P (Finish & Preservative) you wont find anything better.

Check them out probably available in your area.
http://www.wolman.com

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If I can help e-mail me.

Mark@easycleansystems.com
A.K.A. Oldtimer


[This message has been edited by Oldtimer (edited October 25, 2000).]