“What type of stain did you use on your logs that lasted 5 years? I can’t find one that lasts for more than 2 years on mine. I have a very sunny exposure and the sunny sides of the home are the worst. Any suggestions on what stain I should try next?”
That is the million dollar question, and one you will see regularly on every log home forum or blog. In my case, I was like many other new log home owners in that I didn’t know – what I didn’t know. I assumed that if you buy a stain from a ‘name brand’ and you get a good quality product.
When we bought our home from the former owner who had built the house, it was in need of re-staining. I asked the owner what he used and followed his lead. He was using a popular brand name product available from Home Depot. I elected to use the same stain for two reasons. One, the former owner had used it and I was anxious about mixing products to avoid any adhesion or coloration issues. Secondly, I was swayed by the manufacturer’s “X-year” guarantee.
Julie and I share the same problem in that I cannot get more than two years on my horizontal surfaces, but the manufacturer “guarantees” five. In fairness, my verticals look great after five years, but decking, stairs and railing horizontals look terrible after only two years. I went so far as to ask the people at Home Depot about this when I did my first two-year re-staining. They told me I needed to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter, including stripping and pre-treating the wood with their “authorized” cleaning solution. I did – it didn’t.
Two years later, I had to re-stain all horizontals once again. To make matters more confusing, I attended a log home show last Spring and had a conversation with a representative of a major supplier of stains to the log home industry. This salesman told me that even with the “guarantees”, he knew of no product that would survive more than two years of our harsh Montana seasons. According to him, few people pursue such guarantees and can seldom prove that they followed the manufacturer’s directions as required, thus calling such guarantees into question.
It is NOT my intention to insult any manufacturers or start a ‘flame war’ on this blog, but like Julie, I would love to hear from stain manufacturers in this industry. I would like to know why their stain is better than others and can survive where other’s cannot. My experiences and Julie’s may be unique, or it may be more of what you have experienced. If you use a stain that you like or know a manufacturer that would be willing to add their two cents, I would welcome any input.
Manufacturers of log home stains…. Please feel free to use this blog to promote your products and make some converts. Julie and I would like to know which log home stain is best!
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Tom, I hope a stain mfgr replies! Having just stained our newly built home, I’m curious as to what lies ahead! shelley
I’m with Sashco, a manufacturer of log home products, and appreciate the opportunity to address your log home maintenance questions – anytime! Here in customer service, we field hundreds of calls about these very issues. I would agree with the assessment you were given – unless completely protected from the elements there is probably not a product out there that will hold up on your horizontal surfaces much past 2 years.
Reasons why:
1) horizontal surfaces take on the full force of ALL elements – rain, snow, hail, sun, etc. Unless they are under a covered porch, they are going to sustain the maximum damage.
2) One generally doesn’t walk on vertical surfaces (a funny way of saying it, but it’s true). Take something that is already suffering the full force of the elements and add foot traffic and/or handling (in the case of hand rails) to it and you increase the rate of wear.
Below are some tips I can offer that may help add some longevity to whatever stain is used on those surfaces. It is highly doubtful that you will get five years out of whatever stain is used.
1) On all wood, the longevity of the finish is directly related to the type and thoroughness of prep done. Simply staining over a surface that appears to be clean is rarely good enough. According to the US Forest Service, loose, sunburned wood fibers can build on the surface of logs in as little as 2 weeks. Most homes sit for much longer than that between the mill and shipment to the home site. As such, most log homes are delivered with a significant amount of unsound wood already present. Add to that the months under construction and the starting point is a surface that is already compromised. It will take a vigorous blasting of some kind to get one back to bare, sound, “original” wood. Sashco recommends dry blasting of some kind, be it corn cob, walnut shell or glass. Power washing is also an acceptable method if proper care is taken to ensure the home is dry prior to staining. This requires a moisture meter.
2) On railings, drilling weep holes in both the top and bottom railings at the low point of cracks allows for water to escape, helping avoid pooling that can lead to premature failure of the stain.
3) Filling in cracks that are ¼” wide or larger with a high-quality elastomeric caulk (like our Conceal or Log Builder) will keep moisture out of the wood, again increasing the life of the stain.
4) Mid- or dark-tone stains tend to have longer life due to the additional pigments it takes to get them darker. Lighter colors are going to sunburn more quickly.
5) We believe that, when it comes to log home stains, price does matter. In general, the higher the price, the higher quality the raw materials going into the product. Higher quality raw materials translates into higher performance and greater longevity. Note, however, that this should also translate into lower costs in the long run.
Sashco has performed its own comparative test between our Transformation oil-based stain and several other stains. To download the report from our website, visit http://www.sashco.com/log. It very clearly shows how Transformation out-performed most all other stains on the market.
We love to hear from people living their dream of log home ownership. We strive to help educate log home owners about finishing and maintaining their homes while providing the highest quality products for them to use in preserving that dream the right way from the start. As such, we stand ready and willing to answer any specific questions a homeowner might have about their home and situation, whether our products were used or not. We want to help instill the confidence you need to preserve that dream home for years to come.
Charis for Sashco Customer Service
Is there any independent testing lab out there who has tested various stains on vertical and Horizontal surfaces. How can we trust the proverbial “fox”?
We built a log home in northern MN four years ago and already have peeling on south and west side of home. We found out our builder did Not follow rules for prepping wood as recommended. She simply applied Sikkens stain. We have found a refurbishing company called Interstate Log Home Refurbishing in Menahga, MN and he guarantees work for ten years. He glass bead blasts the wood; however it does leave grit marks in the wood and emphasizes the grains in the wood. Currently the wood is a beautiful smooth carved finish. Not sure what we will do. Just thought I would share.