# Best way to stain cedar siding...



## PaintProfessor

I have a large house to stain. It is a colored stain(light blue) and seems to be in pretty good shape, just a little fading. 

There are a few large dormers. How do you usually stain this type of house?

If you brush, what is the best brush to use? If you spray, what is your technique?


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## PressurePros

Mask the windows. Cut in around the soffits via ladder or lift. HVLP or airless depending on the viscosity of the product. For a semi trans oil, HVLP is the way to go. China bristle'd brushes for cutting. 18" stain pad for backbrushing.


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## cole191919

Ken said it best really. Make sure you do a fair bit of sanding to make a surface that will adhere properly to the stain and just go. I would spray and backbrush personally. It is a lot quicker, the finish is the same, make more $ faster.


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## plainpainter

IF this is clapboard or shake siding - then get yourself a 4" china bristle brush, either Elder&Jenks or Purdy. An airless sprayer capable of 1/3gpms and 2000psi is all you will need. First apply a loaded TSP/surfactant mix/bleach, brush it in good - use high pressure to knock it off and rinse. Wait a week. Mask, turn down your pressure all the way on your airless - spray, and backbrush. Once everything is set up and prepped, masked, tarped, scaffolding and ladders already set up - I can spray and backbrush a 2400 sq.ft. New Englander Colonial by myself in a day. As impressive as that sounds - trust me, it took a month of prep work beforehand to get it to that point.


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## [email protected]

A lot of time I will spray and then back stork the first coat. Just to work the stain in the pores of the wood.


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## painttofish

[email protected] said:


> A lot of time I will spray and then back stork the first coat. Just to work the stain in the pores of the wood.


Back stork? Back brush maybe. I prefer using a garden sprayer to apply and brush it out. I find a hvlp to be slow and an airless to over atomize the semi-trans. Plus a garden sprayer cleans easily. This is how I apply my deck stains as well.


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## HomeGuardPaints

what about a stain remover? does anyone do this?


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## AALory

Yankee fan,
I don't want to disagree with any of the above posts, they all give good advice. Another alternative in case you are unfamiliar with spayer applications is to roll and back brush the siding. This method is a bit neater and easier to control for some. But, of course, if you are comfortable with a sprayer, you can't go wrong. Good luck.


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## YubaPaintPro

Hi HomeGuard, 
go check out these products. They are some of the best I have found. I highly recommend removing any finish that may still be on the substate, then brighten separately. Some combine cleaner/brightners in one product, and they work well, but concentrating on both separately is the best. TWP is one of the best in the 48 contiguous. Good luck also.



http://www.gemini-coatings.com/p/12061/Default.aspx


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## slickshift

PaintProfessor said:


> There are a few large dormers. How do you usually stain this type of house?


What are you staining?
Clapboard?
Shingles?


PaintProfessor said:


> It is a colored stain(light blue)


Solid?
Semi-Trans?


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## painttofish

Yuba, do you have any experience with the TWP stripper on Sikkens? I have a large cedar home that needs areas stripped. I have had success with a Coronado product called Maxum-Strip. It is also biodegradable.


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## slickshift

painttofish said:


> ...TWP stripper on Sikkens?...


You might want to be more specific
There's a boatload of Sikkens products out there


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## YubaPaintPro

painttofish said:


> Yuba, do you have any experience with the TWP stripper on Sikkens? I have a large cedar home that needs areas stripped. I have had success with a Coronado product called Maxum-Strip. It is also biodegradable.


I have not, but I will try to remember to ask my rep that question. Slick has a great point w/ the multiple products by Sikkens. Do you know which product in on the house? I would also recommend stripping the whole house. You may be able to pay little attention to some areas, but I would try to even the substrate as much as possible.


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