How to paint and how to stain

Have you ever been curious about how to paint or how to stain? So you need to get your building painted, but you’re not sure if you want to stain or paint it. Which is the best, the most cost-effective, and which lasts the longest? And with so many options to choose from, where do I start?

First, let’s talk about stain. While there are many different manufactures of stain, there are only a few that I’ll be talking about today. The Sikkens, Log and Siding stain is a good stain, you will end up spending a little more, and there are a couple extra steps, but it lasts a good long time. They recommend you give it three coats, waiting approximately 24 hours between each coat. All of the applications have pigment, so for maintenance, you will be adding color on every application. The next stain is Perma Chink stain, this is what we used until recently. With Perma Chink, you apply one coat of stain and then a clear coat. This is nice because when it comes to maintenance you only reapply the clear, rejuvenating the original stain, rather than adding color each time. The other thing that is very nice about the stain, is that you don’t have to wait 24 hours before you apply the clear on top of the stain. It is a 3 to 5 year clear coat. It’s not a bad stain, but we weren’t quite happy with the longevity of it. The stain that we are currently using is from Haley Paint Company. It is applied the same way as the previous stain, but it lasts about twice as long. Their testing shows 7 years, which is phenomenal for a two coat application stain. Unfortunately they don’t retail it, it is solely produced for manufacturers. But if you find someone that uses it, you can usually buy it from them.

When it comes to paint, we also use the Haley Paint Company. Over the years we have used many, many different products. We’ve had products that looked like they were 15 years old after the first summer.  That’s not a good feeling. We have simply never come across another paint that has the same qualities and that lasts as long as Haley products. It all has to do with volume solids, formulation, and so on. I don’t know all the technicalities of it, I just know it lasts for a long time, and that’s what we’re after.

Assuming you are covering new material, it could be the duratemp siding we offer, pine tongue and groove barn siding, or even cedar, there are a few thing you want to keep in mind. Once you have decided on a color, or colors, and are ready to paint, you want to make sure that the surface is dry and clean. With duratemp, it’s already primed and all you need is one coat of paint. If you are painting solid wood, you’re sure to have some knots, you want to make sure and apply a stain killer, such as Kilz, to all the knots. This keeps it from bleeding through the paint. It’s very hard to stop the bleeding once it’s through the first layer of paint. You can apply a second and even third coat of paint, and it will still be visible.

If you choose a different paint, just make sure you get good coverage. If it’s not completely covered you may need to apply a second coat. I hope this makes your decision at least a little easier. For more information on how to paint and how to stain your barn, call  us today!

Happy paintings. 🙂