[DIYdr]

Hi we have a cedar shingled home with a very reddish semi transparent stain on it that’s about 5 years old (home was brand new in this picture). We want to modernize the house as we are doing a more modern backyard and also want to make the brown trim pop, ideally we would like a lighter cream or white color instead of this rich red tone.

We are reading a lot of mixed articles about the way to remove existing stain and then which semi transparent brand to use. Any recommendations on brand? And has anyone changed the color of cedar shake drastically?

We do plan to do a large sample area but the quote we got was pretty high ($40k plus $9k for one coat on the trim) so want to make sure we got the right painters who know what they are doing and are also not over charging. We live in New York State.

thanks!

 

[mark sr]

It's a lot easier to go darker than it is to go lighter.
Do you know what type of stain is currently on the siding? waterborne or oil
A deck stripper might remove the stain.

 

[DIYdr]

It's a lot easier to go darker than it is to go lighter.
Do you know what type of stain is currently on the siding? waterborne or oil
A deck stripper might remove the stain.

Current stain is Proluxs cetol (sikkens). I believe it is oil based.

I understand going darker is easier but we need to go lighter. The painter said he would use a Sherman Williams brand semi transparent stain.

 

[mark sr]

Deck strippers aren't real effective over oil base stains so I don't know how well that would work. Maybe a paint and varnish remover. Not a job I'd want to undertake. If you were open to a solid stain you could easily change it to a lighter color.

 

[DIYdr]

I watched this video and it looked like it works with some type of cleaning agent

 

[woodco]

you couldnt pay me enough to do that job....

I would seriously think about doing it a solid color.

 

[DIYdr]

you couldnt pay me enough to do that job....

I would seriously think about doing it a solid color.

The videos I’ve watched it looks like the solution you spray on removes the majority of the stain without much struggle. I guess YouTube is making it sound easier than it is?? Shocking! Painting it is much cheaper but we see long term it’s not great to paint cedar.

 

[MMCK5]

To remove the existing stain, I would recommend something that is sodium hydroxide based. The trick is to let it dwell long enough to soften the finish, then it can be pressure washed off. I own a log home and have used HD-80 to remove a sikkens cetol semi transparent stain that all other stain removers failed on. After using the hd-80 or any other sodium hydroxide based remover, you need to use a neutralizer/brightener on the wood- either oxalic acid or citralic acid based.

As far as a new finish depending on what look you are going for I would recommend Weatherseal stain. Another good brand I use on my deck is armstrong clark- they have some nice semi solid type stains as well as semi transparent. I would recommend staying away from any film forming type stains and get an oil based penetrates the wood. The weatherseal nice because it penetrates the wood but also has a slight sheen to it which makes it easier to clean. Some of the semi trans oil based attract too much dirt for my liking.

 

[DIYdr]

To remove the existing stain, I would recommend something that is sodium hydroxide based. The trick is to let it dwell long enough to soften the finish, then it can be pressure washed off. I own a log home and have used HD-80 to remove a sikkens cetol semi transparent stain that all other stain removers failed on. After using the hd-80 or any other sodium hydroxide based remover, you need to use a neutralizer/brightener on the wood- either oxalic acid or citralic acid based.

As far as a new finish depending on what look you are going for I would recommend Weatherseal stain. Another good brand I use on my deck is armstrong clark- they have some nice semi solid type stains as well as semi transparent. I would recommend staying away from any film forming type stains and get an oil based penetrates the wood. The weatherseal nice because it penetrates the wood but also has a slight sheen to it which makes it easier to clean. Some of the semi trans oil based attract too much dirt for my liking.

This is really helpful because asked the painter if he would use a wood brightener and he said if he needed it he would. I couldn’t get a clear answer on what he was going to use to remove the stain and my fear is them overworking the wood and damaging the shingles. It’s really hard to find painters around here who work on cedar shingles.

 

[mark sr]

asked the painter if he would use a wood brightener and he said if he needed it he would.

I rarely use a wood brightener but here in the southeast mildew is an issue so I almost always use a bleach solution to clean decks/siding. The majority of the time the bleach solution and cleaning negates the need for a brightener.