7 Tips for Applying Exterior Solid Stain

Our seven tips to prevent your solid stain from peeling

You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by following these seven tips:

1. Your wood must be clean
2. Wait until the wood is perfectly dry
3. Open the wood grain with vigorous sanding using an electric sander
4. The surface temperature must be between 10 and 25 degrees Celsius. Avoid direct sunlight!
5. Do not apply the stain in rainy weather or in the presence of dew
6. Apply the stain with a brush, following the direction of the boards
7. If possible, apply the stain to all 6 sides of your boards

Let’s look at each of these points in detail with you!

Moisture and dirt that accumulate on your patio eventually damage the boards over time. If maintenance has been neglected, the boards may even have turned gray or black.

Before you start staining, you absolutely must remove all of this. Otherwise, these contaminants will block the stain from penetrating the wood. And a stain that doesn’t penetrate well is a stain that is likely to peel.

Wood is a bit like a sponge: when you wet it, it fills with water. What happens if you apply stain to waterlogged boards? The stain simply has no room to penetrate the wood. It stays on the surface and doesn’t have a durable bond with the boards. And believe me, you don’t want that to happen.

First, if your patio has just been built, you must wait before staining it. Wood sold in renovation centers is almost always too wet at the time of purchase. It needs to experience a few summer months — heat and dry weather — to reach a favorable moisture content. If you stain too quickly, the stain will not penetrate, and problems will follow.

Second, even an older patio must be thoroughly dry after cleaning or rain. As a general rule, 24 to 48 hours of good weather are sufficient for the wood to be ready for staining. To be absolutely sure, aim for a maximum moisture content of 10 to 15% before applying a solid stain.

You can easily check this with a moisture meter, by probing it in several places on the deck. It’s a small step that can make all the difference in the durability of your project.

We know, sanding is often the most discouraging step. It takes time, it requires energy… but it’s also the most important step. Sanding opens the pores of the wood and allows the stain to penetrate properly. No sanding = poor adhesion = solid stain that peels after only a few years.

There are two situations where sanding is absolutely non-negotiable:

• Your boards are new

Boards coming out of the factory are very smooth due to planing. This creates what is called a mill glaze. Yes, it temporarily protects the wood, but it also prevents the stain from penetrating the wood. If you want your stain to last a long time, you must remove this glaze by sanding before applying anything.

• There are already one (or more) old coats of stain

Old stains clog the pores of the wood. The new coat therefore cannot anchor properly. In addition, if you change products, there may be an incompatibility between the old and new stain. To avoid unpleasant surprises, don’t take chances and sand, especially if the finish is worn or if you are changing products.

Is there a situation where you don’t have to sand?

You’ll be happy to know that yes!
If you refresh your solid stain with the same product and it hasn’t peeled — or very little (80% of the boards must still be in good condition), there’s no need to sand everything down to the bare wood!

In this case, a good deep cleaning is sufficient.

Good sanding is done with an electric sander (orbital or oscillating) and 80-grit sandpaper. It’s important that you change your sheets as soon as they are worn, approximately every 25 sq ft. Otherwise, your paper loses its abrasive capacity, and you risk uneven sanding… in addition to exhausting yourself for nothing.

As a general rule, it is said that it takes about 1 hour of sanding per 100 sq ft. This is an average, of course, but it gives you a good idea of the effort to expect.

We know, sanding is the step everyone dreads. But honestly, that’s where everything comes together. If you take the time to sand properly for the first application, your stain will have a solid adhesion that lasts longer. It’s time invested today to avoid problems for years to come.

Once sanding is complete, do not rush the end: remove all dust. Broom, vacuum, or air jet, no matter the method, as long as the surface is perfectly clean before applying the stain.

Apply your stain when the air and wood temperature is between 10 and 25 °C. You must be careful not to apply it in direct sunlight. Otherwise, the heat generated by the sun’s rays will dry the solid stain too quickly, and it won’t have time to penetrate properly.

Rain and dew are also your enemies, for the reasons we mentioned in point #2. The ideal is to work early in the day, after the morning dew. Normally, this means around 9 AM/10 AM, but it can depend on the positioning of your patio or the boards you want to stain. This way, the stain has all the time it needs to dry thoroughly before nightfall.

A quick habit to adopt before taking out your brushes: check the weather. Make sure you have a minimum of 24 hours without rain before applying the solid stain, and 24 hours without showers after as well. This small step could save your solid stain job!

We know, everyone instinctively wants to apply solid stain with a roller. You are clearly not the only one to find us a bit old-fashioned when we say that the brush remains the best tool for this type of stain.

But here’s why we insist. The bristles of the brush follow the irregular shapes of exterior wood much better. They will truly deposit the stain into cracks, holes, joints, and crevices that a roller tends to skim over. In addition, the brush pushes the stain into the wood, which improves adhesion and durability. Don’t be too discouraged; there are brushes with removable handles, so you can work standing up, almost like with a roller.

With a roller, there is often a push-and-pull effect with the stain. This results in the coat adhering less well, and it increases the risk of premature peeling, especially on horizontal surfaces.

That said, we agree: a roller can be practical for applying stain faster. The proper method is to do a few boards with a roller, then immediately go over them with a brush, before it dries. This way, you combine speed and performance, without sacrificing durability.

One of the major causes of solid stain peeling is simply water getting into the wood. And guess where it most often passes? Through the ends of the boards.

When staining, make sure to thoroughly saturate the ends of each board, not just the visible surface. If these areas are poorly protected, moisture will infiltrate, the wood will expand and contract… and the stain will eventually peel. Take the time to cover them well: it’s a small detail that will increase the durability of your patio stain.

Are you staining your boards before installing your patio? Even better, it’s the perfect time to do things properly. Take the opportunity to stain all six sides of the boards, including the underside and the ends.

A solid stain can last a long time if you follow the right steps: clean and dry wood, good sanding, the right weather conditions, and careful application. By doing things right from the start, you give yourself every chance of having a beautiful patio for many years.

Start your project now!

You’ll find all the products you need directly on our website.

1. Start by measuring the dimensions of the surface to know how much solid stain you will need. Keep in mind that one gallon covers 300 sq ft (1 coat)
2. Choose the exterior stain color you like. You are spoiled for choice: you can choose between Steina colors, the entire Benjamin Moore color range, and more!
3. Place your order online and choose between in-store pickup and home delivery.

To learn more about exterior solid stain, don’t hesitate to consult the section of our blog dedicated to this topic.