Choosing the right stain for your cedar fence

Please note that there is an important distinction between stain and sealer. Sealer will protect your fence with a sealed, transparent coating. This will increase the longevity of your fence and thus is a crucial step to protecting your investment.

Stain, on the other hand, offers little-to-no protection. It is primarily to enhance the beauty of the wood. This is achieved with a mixture of pigments and solvent. The solvent helps the pigment penetrate the wood, rather than dry on top of it like sealer or paint. The end result is that the wood grain is emphasized and the wood takes on a richer, more striking hue.

Some will tell you that stain makes it harder for impurities to stain the wood, since the stain has already “saturated” the wood. Stain is also expected to provide some resistance to fading, as it helps to reflect UV rays. The important point is that stain does help to preserve appearance but is not sufficient for protection. Its primary purpose is aesthetic

There are three main factors to consider when choosing a stain for your cedar fence:

1. Color

2. Durability

3. Cost

1. Color selection

Try to choose a color that will match or compliment any other wood in your yard, such as pergolas, tables, trellis’s, or natural wood features on your home like shake siding. Also pay attention to how colors will jive with the rest of your landscaping. A stain that’s rich in color will take attention away from other landscaping features (although this may be a desired effect, if your fence is the main feature).

Be cautious with color selection. One major problem with stain is that you can’t strip it or stain over it if you get it wrong. Again, the stain is designed to get into the wood. You can darken lighter colors, but you can’t lighten dark ones.

A stain job rarely turns out exactly as it appears on the label, even when it’s made for your specific wood. You can try it on a small scrap of wood first, to see how it will take. Big box stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot will let you return an unused, untarnished jar of stain. Your other option is to bring a scrap of wood with you and try it out at the paint desk to see the effects of different stains.

Because stain is so much more finicky (and more permanent) than paint, we recommend taking your time with color selection and getting help whenever you feel out of your depth. Ask the associate at the paint store for help. If you’re hiring a pro to stain your fence (never a bad idea), ask them for advice on color selection. They’ll be able to recommend specific colors by specific brands and explain why they prefer them.

2. Durability

It’s going to cost you more per gallon to get a high performing, long lasting stain. But it pays off in the long run, because you’ll be buying it less often. One indicator to look for is the label “automotive grade”, which refers to the quality of the pigments in the stain. High quality pigments resist fading longer.

3. Cost

As far as cost goes, we recommend not dwelling on it too much. The bottom line is that a cedar fence is a big investment, and getting the stain wrong will be painful. You want a stain that performs, that lasts, and looks sharp. If you settle on a stain at the higher end of the price spectrum, so be it. You only have to stain once every several years. And the more expensive stains tend to be the ones that last longer, anyways. Just do your homework and make sure you’re getting value for the price.

Cedar fences in Snohomish County

If you live in the Snohomish area and need a fence built, you can contact Trackwest here. We build post and board, farm fences and elegant cedar fences for maximum privacy and curb appeal