Wood Fence Staining

The steps to staining a new fence are a little different than staining and old fence. Here we will go over the steps to properly stain a nearly new wood fence. It’s not that difficult most people can do it but if you don’t have the time or just don’t want to do it give us a call we appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.

The first thing you want to do is tend to any needed fence repair. Replace any broken or missing pickets. If you have a broken rail it’s a little more involved as you will have to remove the pickets for the broken section. If the fence is leaning or you have broken or loose posts you want to consider making the needed repairs. Gates are always an issue but let’s assume your gate is good to go. If it’s not, we replace gates with steel frames and poles, these gates will open and close as intended for the life of the house with very little adjustments.

Once the fence is back in good condition you’ll feel great about your fence again. If you had to replace some pickets or rails you may have some difference in the final products color but not much. It’s a real wood fence it’s not perfect at that is much of the beauty of a wood fence. Now it’s time to clean the fence to remove dirt, debris, and fungus. Apply a 50% water / 50% bleach mixture to the fence using a garden sprayer, and apply generously. Let that sit for 15-20 minutes and remove by using a pressure washer or a garden hose with a sprayer. Make sure to rinse the fence completely to remove the solution.

At this point if you had an old fence you might consider taking an electric sander to the pickets using a 120 grit sandpaper. Once that’s complete you would need to thoroughly rinse the fence again and let it dry completely. Once dry you can begin the actual process of fence staining.

It’s time for the fun part now. We like to use a product that is readily available to the public you can get it at Home Depot or Amazon it’s called Ready Seal. This is a high quality, amateur proof, oil-based stain that does not require a primer. It’s one of if not the best product available on the market and we highly recommend it. It’s easy to apply and it does not leave drips or streaks no matter how much you put on. You can apply it with a garden sprayer, a brush, or a roller. Try to give yourself a window of opportunity for it to dry but don’t worry too much. Once installed the product only needs a couple of hours to soak into the wood. It may be wet to the touch but after a couple of hours you are good to go, even if it rains.

It this point you’re done and should not have to re-stain again for the next 2-4 years. If you are wondering how much stain to buy the coverage is listed on the product online. It’s been our experience that you will need at least 25% more than listed on the product. You can sometimes get a better price per gallon if you purchase by a five gallon container.
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If you don’t have the time or desire to stain your fence please give us a call we’ll make sure it gets done correctly the first time.