Our house is 15 years old. We last had it stained 8 years ago, with 2
coats semi-transparent Cabot stain.

We have 2 main "paint" stores in town that specialize in just paint,
etc. One carries Cabot stain and Benjamin Moore paint. The other has
their own stain and paint that they custom-mix for you, based on the
Woodmaster brand. I'm getting conflicting information from them.

The Cabot store recommended their Pro.V.T. solid stain. This is 100%
Acrylic. Does not come in an Oil version. They also have O.V.T. solid
stains, which are available in either Acrylic or Oil-based.

The custom store recommended Oil-Based solid stain, since it's been 8
years since the house has been done, and the wood is probably quite
dry. He said the oil-based will put moisture back into the wood,
preventing further cracking, cupping, etc. He did also say that if we
wanted to, we could put down the oil-based stain first, then go over it
with Acrylic, which would help with sealing the wood against moisture,
mildew, etc. than just using straight Oil-based would.

I understand that Cabot is quite expensive. The custom store said that
a lot of local contractors/painters get their paint from them (which I
know is true), and it's probably about 25% less expensive than the
Cabot's. He compared their stain quality with the Cabot O.V.T.

What to do????

If you got 8 years of useful life from a semi transparent stain, in my
not so humble opinion you should stick with what you have.

You didn't say where you live, so we don't know about your weather
conditions. Down here in Texas, 8 years of stain looking nice is
almost impossible.

You didn't say whether or not you put on oil or acrylic orginally, and
but at this point in the finish's life that may not be so important.

You didn't say what "the other brand" was that was at the custom store,
so no one can make a valid comparison of their experiences.

With all that in mind, you would do well to take the safe route and go
with the oil based Cabots. First, it will pentrated the wood some, but
will not moisturize it. But it is better than latex which only
encapuslates the surface. Second, if you have latex on it now, it will
go over it with no problem. Third, if you go back with what you
originally put on (Cabot's) that should help fend off any problems you
might have with compaitbility.

And who cares about the 25% over the next 8 years when you do this
again? What are you talking about for the material used on the whole
house? $100? Would you want to go finish it again, sooner, because you
saved $100. If it is an equal product, then the 25% is valid. But
since you have a known commodity with a track record of satisfactory
performance I wouldn't think twice about using it again.

Robert

The "other brand" is Woodmaster, and they custom-mix colors and sell it
under their own name (Repcolite).

We live in Michigan, so we get weather extremes from hot, humid summers
to bitterly cold/dry winters.

I THINK the Cabots semi-transparent that was put on before was an
Acrylic. I have no idea what was originally put on the house 15 years
ago, as we did not build the house.

Both stores recommend going to a solid stain, since this will be the
third time the house is stained, and every time you go over it with
more semi-trans, it hides more and more grain anyway and pretty much
ends up opaque finally. So might as well go with an opaque/solid stain
at this point, which offers more protection/durability/longevity.

AJDupree wrote:

Both stores recommend going to a solid stain, since this will be the
third time the house is stained, and every time you go over it with
more semi-trans, it hides more and more grain anyway and pretty much
ends up opaque finally. So might as well go with an opaque/solid stain
at this point, which offers more protection/durability/longevity.


I agree with them. (Not that that means much!) The most important
aspect of the solid stain is that it provides a much greater UV
resistance for the wood since the rays cannot penetrate the solid
surface until it begins to degrade.

I also believe if your house was built only about 15 years ago it would
have been stained with something acrlic. Most building and remodeling
contractors stay away from oil based (including me) unless it is
needed. On original construction with a new, fresh surface it would
not have been needed. But if you are unsure, go with oil as it isn't
that much harder to work with, and then you won't have any doubts. For
the most part, oil anything over acrylic anything is not good.

Can't speak to the quality of the local stain store's goods. I have
never heard of their brand names, but that doesn't mean a thing. We
have a couple of regional paint stores here in town and they have some
unusual names to me, and their products are less expensive. But I tend
to stay with what I know works, and in your case that would be the
Cabot's.

One more thought. If you are going to switch to solid stain, why not
paint? Most of the paint stores have a full color pallette available,
and to me, solid stain always looks like paint anyway. Just a
thought...

Robert

If applied properly, the paint will not chip or crack off. You are
probably thinking of some of the old oil based stuff that is in bad
condition, or any surface coating that was improperly applied.

The stain is thinner, but not by much. If I were worried about the
grain, I would do what I do for my clients. Buy a quart of each finish
and try it out in an inconspicuous place. Put two coats of each finish
on and allow to dry thoroughly. Then make the decision.

What I like about stain is that it just kinda goes away, making recoats
a breeze after power washing etc. What I don't like is I don't know
how badly the actual finish has degraded, so the stain won't do as good
a job encapsulating the old finish. If the surface is fairly degraded,
but has mold or other things left behind in cracks, even if you power
wash you will not get it all and it will start in on your surface from
underneath.

If you paint, almost all the better exterior acrylics (I use a lot of
Coronado) have some kind of mildicide in it (chlorine or ammonia) to
kill anything that is left. With more solids, the paint fills the
surface a little better, and with the mildicide you get better bonding
at the start of the process. And I think you will be surprised at how
little the paint will cover grain. I spray cedar and pine siding all
the time, and I really lay the paint to it. In some cases, after 4
coats it sure looks sealed, but it still looks like wood grain.

Robert

AJDupree wrote:
Wouldn't paint begin to chip after a while, whereas stain just
degrades/fades, etc. without chipping? Plus the solid stain, even tho
it's opaque, still shows some of the woodgrain texture. The paint is
heavier/thicker and would cover it more completely. ??


I agree with your line of thinking above. I'd go with the solid stain,
which is exactly the application it's made for. I also agree with the
advice to go with the Cabot, since it's held up extremely well for 8
years. I'm always a little leary of using an unknown brand. Just
because local contractors use it, doesn't mean too much, as they often
trade off quality for $$$. You could also check with Consumer Reports,
they do testing on some paint/stains.

Consumer Reports has an ongoing test of stain and paint life. Acrilic
solid stain will last the longest, perhaps twice as long, your local
company sells oil? I would trust a name brand first, their ratings are
proof they spent their money well on the best chemists around. I would
pick Acrilic Solid Body, the argument of "Oil stain will put oil in the
wood" is BS sales talk. Acrilic is proven to last longest.

Why does it have to be stain? My mother's house, with T-111 siding, used to
be stained. She started having it painted instead of stained, and it lasts
a lot longer.

Use a low-luster paint, and it won't look any different from stain.