Cedar Siding re-staining questions.

[Stranger]

I have cedar siding on the house and the stain is starting to show it's age in a couple areas. The misses an I would like to have a lighter shade than currently on it. On with the questions I hope some may have answers to...

Is there actually a way to strip the old stain out of the wood?

What is the best way to wash it before re-staining?

How long should I wait after washing to apply new stain?

Is it better to hand apply (brush and roll) or spray?

I have done painting of buildings but staining is new to me. I received estimates ranging from $8K to $10K to do the job and that was just for wash and stain. I am adamant on tackling this myself due to the fact that I can seem to find the money tree on my property that the contractors seem to see. If I am going to do it myself I can take the time to strip it if possible so I can use a lighter shade.

The house is 48 x 30 single story no crazy vaulted ceilings or odd angles, just a big rectangle.

Thanks for any information.
Todd

 

[johnrex62]

It can be bleached, depending on how deep the stain penetrated. My dad had that done to a house he built that was stained with the wrong color. It was bleached within a day or two of staining, but I am not sure how significant the timing was on the success.

I was surprised, but it all came out and they were able to re-stain without any issue.

This was 30 years ago, so I have no idea of what the cost involved today would be.

 

[PA hayseed]

you can brush and roll or spray stains, it is a preference. For large areas spraying and backrolling (to remove runs and even it out) is a good idea.

I am doubtful that you will remove all the stain out of your cedar, if it is stain that they used. Unlike paint, stain (depending on its type and train) goes into the pores of the wood. Some very good stains go deep into the wood, which offers very good protection.

I won't volunteer a method by which to remove it. Having stained cedar shakes before, good luck to you. It is time consuming and laborious. That is the reason they quoted you that price.

 

[J_J]

You can pressure wash cedar almost to look like new. Let dry and apply stain. Try a sample and see if it will work for you.

 

[MarkV]

I don't personally think you will be able to strip off a dark stain and leave a surface that will except a light color stain. Now I assume we are talking about a semi-transparent stain. They also have solid body stains that will cover whatever is there and are available in many colors.

MarkV

 

[eazyduzzit]

I stained my cedar sided house this year. It hadn't been stained in 13 years, and had some areas of dark mildew. I pressure washed those areas, but it didn't completely remove all of the stain. It left it blotchy.
I think if you try to stain over that with a lighter color, that it will show through, unless you use an opaque stain that is like paint, and will cover anything.

 

[inveresk]

I stripped a cedar house about four years ago. Needed a good deal of elbow grease and quite a bit of time but was way cheaper than new siding and it turned out several shades lighter.

I rollered on a product called Stripex, left it for ten minutes but didn't let it dry out, scrubbed it with a stiff bristled deck brush then power washed. In places it needed two applications. After a few days drying out it was ready for new stain.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Maybe try some of the outdoor deck cleaner chemicals. They seem to remove what ever is on top of the wood, however deep penetrating stains will likely stay with you. I would try the deck cleaner and pressure washing but avoid getting too close with the nozzle since cedar is quiet soft, you can fuzz it up quickly if your arent careful.

 

[Mike Costello]

I would recommend you contact Perma-Chink Systems. You can Google them on the net. I used their products when I built my log home. They specialize in stains and preservatives for wood. They also sell cleaners and products for restoration work such as what you are doing. Very knowledgable folks on all types of wood care.

 

[PILOON]

The answer might be to use an opaque stain (after normal prepping).
Opaque stain is sorta like a heavily pigmented paint but has qualities of stains and generally hide all defects.
Can be brushed, sprayed or rolled on with spray being probably best on shingles.
Also with today's custom mixing techniques you could get just about any hue that you want.
Go for the best quality offered as coating material is probably minor compared to labor.

Due to the softness of cedar, sand blasting and power wire brush are ruled out.
Hand wire brush for punky areas might be OK.
Actually pressure wash in most cases would probably be enough to prep just about all of your siding, however you'll need to allow for drying B4 applying stain finish.

Good luck, have fun!