20 Best Exterior Stain For Cedar (2023 Updated)

We received “semi-transparent” stain when we needed “transparent” stain. Other than that, it’s a good product.

EXCELLENT PRODUCT. Buy this and save time. 4 chairs and a table in under an hour. Took 3 cans. Its the only spray-on stain/protectant that I know of

This stain in an aerosol can is so handy. Use to find it at Wal Mart but no longer on the shelves. It is great for small projects and touch up. Great stuff and the color lasts!

Redwood semi-transparent oil-based stain: before and after pictures. This playset was coated twice and used 4 gallons out of a five gallon bucket. The stain is oily and wipes off metal easily; not as easy off of plastic.

The five gallons was well mixed. No noticeable separation or layering of the stain when first opened. It was still stirred before application though. Brushes, rollers, and pads were used. This stain would work well in a sprayer.

This stain seems less viscous than a solid stain. Imperfections in the wood show through this stain. The second coat gave it a consistant appearance overall. Light colored wood filler will show through this stain no matter how many coats are applied.

I would use this again only on wood that has a consistent (previously stained or bare wood) color at the start of the stain application. Power washing marks will show through this stain even with two applications.

Surfaces remained oily to the touch for many hours after the second coat was applied. Unsure how long the color will last. Good price for decent stain. 4 stars overall. This site states that the pictures were too big to upload.

I stained both sides of a more than 300 foot, four foot high cedar fence, and I could not be happier with the results. The stain was very forgiving, easy to apply, and has a uniform color despite some inconsistent application on my part.

It also dried quickly holding up to a storm 16 hours after the project was completed. I did power wash several days prior, and it being a two year old fence, I had dry wood to work with when I applied the stain.

It did come out a bit darker than the image on the can shows, though part of that is certainly from the fence being cedar to begin with, and the end product is a wonderfully rich color. This was comparatively inexpensive to other brands I considered.

Highly recommend.

In the past I’ve used latex primers, alkyd primers and other recommended wood sealer/primers to prep for outdoor painting and have seen the effects of weather on my exterior home projects including porches and railings.

The last bunch of years i’ve been using Flood CWF-UV water based as either a sealer without paint and as a primer under exterior latex paint. One project was a raised boardwalk made of treated 2×6 lumber.

The Flood held up under traffic and the paint stayed on nicely. I just go with the Flood now. It seems to penetrate better than the primers. The natural dries slightly yellowish. If I get drips I can see the runs but it always dries perfectly.

I’m no expert but I much prefer the Flood for exterior wood projects now.

A little goes a long way. Great coverage. Each successive coat adds depth and richness. Highly durable finish, even stand up to direct sunlight without fading.

This stain covers tremendously and the natural color of the wood it pulls out is beautiful. Love this product, it is expensive but the first I shed product is beautiful

Expensive but worth it. This finish for raw wood, think cedar posts/siding or pine siding has a rich color and nice gloss. The glossy finish will outlast a flat finish by several years. Covers well, water resistant.

Great for railing. Not for walking surfaces as you’d be prone to slip.

Applied this to a brand new horizontal cedar fence. Tried using a Wagner Power sprayer (airless one) and it was a disaster. Although Wagner shows you staining a fence in their training video, it turns out that this stain is slightly too thick to use with the model of sprayer we have and it kept clogging and spitting (information I only got once calling the Wagner help line).

We had to quickly grab brushes and even out the color and switch to brush and rollers. You need to mix the can super well or you will get clumps of solids especially at the bottom of the can and your application will be splotchy or uneven with the end of the can being really dark as the solids sink to the bottom.

We mixed continuously, not just once. The color is ok, darker than we wanted but had to coordinate with our house color. When you apply, you need to roll or brush quickly and evenly to get an even application especially on bare wood as it will soak the color up quickly and unlike solid paint, it can’t just put another coat on to even it out as it is semi-transparent and the splotches will show through.

Having used other brands of stain, this one was no better or worse for that. Will see how well it holds up on a fence – it has only been 6 months. I hope not to have to do this job again for a while.

We have a wood patio set from Ikea. Unfortunately the finish didn’t last and needed complete redo. Ikea was no longer selling the matching stain. This turned out good as it forced me to try this product.

After washing the set with some soapy bleach mixture I sanded all the top surfaces. Then applied the semi transparent stain and sealer in the custom mixed Sable color which is almost an exact match. The end result was amazing, looks better than new.

The key is making sure you don’t apply in direct sun as dries really fast. Aldo wet on wet if doing second coat. I don’t know how long it will last but should be much longer than the original finish.

Hello, I used Behr semi transparent stain on my deck after cleaning and prepping the surface. I applied 2 thin coats and it looked great. It was quite tacky for a long time as others have noted but this eventually resolved.

After the first winter the stain started to peel significantly and by the end of the first full summer it looked horrible. There is a portion of my deck that is covered and this has held up fine. I have now fully sanded the remaining surface in preparation of re-doing the project.

I am very reluctant to use this product again but need to do so to match the remaining covered deck surface. I would sure appreciate some advice and warranty coverage to repeat this process. Thanks so much.

I applied this product to my fence iver 3 yrs sgo snd it still looks like it did from day one. BEHR Premium Semi-Transparent Waterproofing Wood Stain & Sealer is a penetrating oil-based stain that beautifies and protects your exterior wood surfaces.

This product is available in popular exterior premix colors and can also be tinted to a range of other exterior colors. This product is ideal for both horizontal and vertical surfaces. After application, this product will resist rain after 4 hours which provides project flexibility during unsure weather conditions.

I used this product, based upon recommendation of in-store personnel. The Transparent Waterproofing Wood Finish Penetrating Oil was an upgrade of the product used the prior year on newly-installed fence and was a great improvement over the previous version.

It covered the fence more evenly and resisted effects of direct sun exposure experienced with previous product. I am very happy with Behr product, as well as with in-store expertise with this project; it should provide on-going protection of the fence for the future!.

I applied this to an older deck that gets full sun all day long. The deck soaked up the finish readily. With the application of two coats using a brush, the deck looked great and still does 3 years later.

Prior to putting this product on the deck I had used traditional deck stains and they showed wear within two years. I hardily recommend this penetrating oil.

I would very much like to recount my original review on Ready Seal Stain company. When we started this project we ordered redwood after doing some further research on stain colors I found that alot of people ended up with orange tints when staining their fences and this is because of the wood that the fence was used to construct it.

Some woods in their state have a yellow his to them causing the outcome to look orange. After speaking with one of the reps at Ready Seal who suggested doing the second coat in mission brown to counter out the orange we found that it worked perfect.

It’s a but Darker than we originally wanted but the orange tint is gone. And the strain looks beautiful. Sorry Ready Seal you have our business for life.

I used Redwood to paint pine siding of my cabin. The product was very easy to apply with super stainer paint brush and clean after. Good coverage. Redwood color transformed the cabin beyond recognition while covering imperfections.

It simply looks beautiful. I got lots of complements from the neighbors. I’m a very happy customer.

This product appears to be fantastic! My deck has needed attention the last two summers, but Illinois weather has not cooperated. It’s been too rainy and the temperatures have been too high including the humidity levels.

Ready Seal defies those weather barriers! After stripping the previously used product from the deck and cleaning away the caustic residue, we waited two days for the deck to dry well. Application of Ready Seal went exceptionally well.

Amazingly no start-stop marks could be found. This product blended well with no extra work. We applied with both roller and brush. For such a large deck the product did an awesome job of coverage. After one coat the water repels so well – it’s like a new waxed car, the water just beads up on the wood.

This was the results after only six hours before another rain passed through the area! Looks like maintenance should be easy and a follow up application can be applied in temperatures of 35-90+ degrees.

I’m so glad I found this product. I will definitely be using it again!.

Recently had a small porch built off our 100 year old cottage. The wood used was treated having lots of wood knots, which are very difficult to cover up. My wife wanted painted but I knew that just regular paint wouldn’t cover up the knots.

I took a chance-so I bought KILZ® Waterproofing Semi-Transparent Stain. I thought nothing ventured nothing gained. To my wife’s surprise and joy the KILZ Waterproofing actually worked. The knots were gone! Now KILZ is my go to stain!.

So I picked this up in store because I needed a quick deck stain and sealer. There were three “colors” (tan, brown, dark brown) but all were the same type, tint base deck stain and sealer. I figured it would be colored already.

Think again. It’s just a semi-transparent sealer. There was not an employee anywhere around the paint department to mix in the stain color (why it’s not already mixed I don’t know, considering they advertise colors on the can).

Even if someone WERE available to mix in the stain color, you would not find out that you need that done unless you pop the can open, come here to read reviews, or scroll down pages of instructions to the *caution* section on the manufacturers site.

It says nowhere on the can that you must have the color added. Very misleading. I prepped my deck, was ready to start, popped the can open and was sorely disappointed. Now I have to make another trip back to the store to have color added or buy something else.

Such a waste of time and energy when all they needed was a little text on the can that says “make sure to get the color added before you leave the store” etc. I have yet to find out if the product is any good as I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to even go back and get it colored.

So frustrating.

Such a big difference in our deck. It was looking old but this product brought it to life again. Get so many compliments. A must have

Less expensive than Ace Hardware plus free delivery vs 130 mile round trip to Ace. I have used this product for 20 years now on log home and redwood deck. Product quality is high and consistent. If you apply product thickly you will end up with longer cure times and some gummy surfaces.

This penofin product is really great. The results bring out the woods beauty. I put it over wood the had a water sealer. Even though I thoroughly sanded the fence, not all the seal was off. This causes the oil to be shinny when it covers the sealer.

Better to do it on bare wood.

store has online in stock but had none This is not the frist time this has happen so i have to travel 20 miles to get instead 2 miles

Applied per wet/wet instructions. Last fall I was quite pleased with the results of staining my deck with Defy. However when I returned from my winter home in May, I was quite shocked at how poorly it survived the winter.

I have photos of how it looks less thana year of use (8 or 9 months). Undoubtedly the worst stain I have ever used. Larry Bulinski.

Defy Extreme is a great wood stain. Butternut is a medium dark stain, similar to an aged cherry or light walnut. Following the directions for prep is important and using care in application will give you a very beautiful deck or porch!.

Tried 6 different stains and am very happy with Old Masters oil-based White Pickeling Stain. I bought a live edge coffee table on EBay and was really disappointed with the glossy deep yellow tone of the wood which did not show up in the EBay photos.

The original plan was to stain it Walnut. I tested a swatch of Verathane and Minwax oil based Walnut and Special Walnut and they looked terrible-‘flat’, unnnatural, and reddish. I then tried a Verathane oil based Weathered grey and a Behr water-based Classic grey and both looked blue and not natural.

I tried Behr Water based pickling and it barely colored the wood. The Old Master White Pickling Stain really ‘stained’ and lightened the wood and it looks very natural. I’m not sure what type of wood i have but i think its a very yellow-toned maple and now it looks like Eucalyptus toned.

Other reviews say you might get a pinkish tone and i do see a pinkish/ peach hue but only 5%. a very slight tonal shade-totally acceptable. I finished with a matte water-based Verathane finish to eliminate the yellow tones.

It took me a day or two to accept that my initial vision (walnut) wasn’t going to work with the wood i have, but now I am super happy with how it turned out. It looks great! In the future I will ALWAYS go with oil based which seems to penetrate the wood better and look natural.

I have used this stain in the past. It turned oak doors into a work of art. I recently used it on 6 panel pine doors. Also with beautiful results. Many compliments came my way. I use a soft cloth to apply the stain and rub with the grain.

I wait 24 hours and then apply polyurethane varnish. I am totally satisfied with this product. I showed the younger generations how to use it. They love it too.

I love it! Easy to apply. Used a sponge brush and followed by rubbing with a soft cloth to even out. Followed with a damp rag to wipe up any spills. A great product. Wishing it was available in nearby ACE Hardware in multiple shades.

Shipping cost is prohibitive. Need a dark oak to refinish some interior doors that are dry and slightly scarred. Thanks for a great product.

This product seems to work as advertised, but I’m not sure it’s been down long enough to give a good review (applied 2 weeks ago). The stain applied very nicely and it was the color I expected. It added a little color but allowed the wood grain to come through.

It dries quickly – so you have to work with a purpose. When the first rain came – water puddled up and didn’t absorb into the wood. The can did arrive damaged. It didn’t leak but it was definitely dented and bowed.

I’m surprised it didn’t leak.

Applied this exactly how the directions indicated onto a BRAND NEW deck, 6 months later it’s peeling and flaking off and looks like garbage. Absolute waste of money. Do not buy this product.

Very thin consistency makes it fairly difficult to use. Yesit did the job but with some difficulty. Still, the project came out fairly good.

Since it is water based, the paint was absorbed quickly. At the beginning of the painting, the panels look orange, but when the paint dried out, the color turns darker and prettier. I used less than 2 gallons for a 30 feet long fence.

Shake it before use. I only applied the paint once. The fence looks nice even after the heavy rain.

I have used several different stains and sealers on my deck and must say Olympic Waterguard stain and sealer is by far the best! We recently replaced our deck so I used this stain & sealer to finish it, in the past I had resealed my deck approximately every two years and this was by far the best experience I’ve had with this type of product.

It goes on smoothly without any tackiness and looks great with just one thing coat. Our deck is large and leads into our front door, the drying time is 24 hours so I did one half of the deck one day, and the other half the next.

I worried there would be a difference in color between the two but now you can’t even tell I didn’t do it all at once. It was completely dry in the 24 hour drying time too. Its been several weeks since I applied it and my deck still looks wonderful, just like it did the day after I applied it! My kids play rowdy games on it, running, dropping things, etc and there is absolutely no scuffing or marking on the deck.

When it rains the water beads up and runs off quickly. It is truly waterproof and the scuff guard works. I also really like the acorn color, it’s transparent with just a hint of color that keeps my deck looking perfectly clean and brand new.

I am so satisfied! Will definitely be using this brand & product in the future.

I put this on EXACTLY how it said and if I knew a lawyer I would sue this company! I have a 30 feet by 32 feet porch that cost over $6,000 to build and if only you could see it after this. If wal mart attaches tge pictures.

the steps to the right were what it looked like before and now look at it. looks like i threw a bunch of clay mud on it and streaked the crap out of it here and there and poured a whole gallon in other places.

this stuff is crap and ruined my $6,000 deck! Thank god i wasn’t stupid enough to do the 20×20 patio its connected to as well. Now I don’t know what to do but spend god knows how much sanding it and then just painting it.

Yay more money because of a suck 455 product!.

A Tale of Two Decks: We have almost 1500 square feet if deck consisting of 3 decks on two buildings right next to each other. All were built at the same time and all weather approximately equally. Two years ago we cleaned and stained the first deck using TWP stains.

Last summer we took on the big deck on the main house and decided to use Olympic Stain since it was avaialble nearby and there was a rebate offered. Both decks were cleaned and prepped virtually the same way, except we used a professional company to prep the bigger deck.

Application went well. We had hoped to roll and use pads, but quickly switched to brushes to insure better coverage and get stain into spaces between boards. The Kona Brown looked incredible for teh remainder of the season.

Unfrortuately that did not last. By late winter we began to notice sections where th stain seems to have worn away. The “patch’s” are random and unsightly. They are spread out over the entire deck so I don’t suspect application or curing in specific areas.

We will be using TPW on th remainder of the deck and as soon as we can get the Olympic stain from the main deck.

My experience with this product is like that of other posts. Purchased two 1 gallon containers to stain a cedar fence that I had stripped and sanded off the old finish. The two cans were two different shades of brown and one was thin like a stain while the other was like a thin paint (as other posters have mentioned.

) I’m not justifying such product inconsistency but anytime you pain/stain you MUST mix all cans together to get a uniform color. It actually says this on the cans regardless of the brand. I did this and the product covered well and evenly.

As far a coverage goes, I had no problem covering my 400 sq. feet of fence with two cans (each can is supposed to cover 250-350). I used 1 1/2 cans. It does say one thin coat so perhaps some people are applying it to thick or maybe its the type of wood.

It is absorbed into the wood, but if you apply more than the wood can absorb it will not dry correctly. The product was a little hard to work with. It was about 70 degrees when I applied it and not overly humid.

The product dries quickly so as others mentioned you need to work quickly and do small areas at a time. Keep a rag handy to mop up drips as you cannot go back later as they will dry quickly (I learned this the hard way).

Staining overlapping areas was difficult too as the product does not blend easily. All in all though the fence looks great and I got what I wanted. A heavily pigmented stain that hid the flaws of my older cedar fence but with enough translucency to show off the grain.

The color is great. I cannot speak to long term durability but Olympic products have served me well in the past so I’m hoping for the best.

I am very happy with both the ease of application, ease of cleaning mistakes and the final results. Color is identical to display but note that different types of wood and age may result in slightly different coloring.

My only advice / caution is to definitely shake can before using. I did not shake the can and the stain was much much lighter in color than I expected. I thought ‘this can’t be right’ so I closed up the can, shook it, then opened and began using.

The color (mahogany) was much darker after shaking. I was a bit concerned when I first began b/c the color was so far off. Shaking the can for 20-30 seconds corrected that problem.

I used this for finish on a series of jewelry boxes. The results were fantastic for both interior and exterior faces. Easy application (used a cloth pad) and pre-finished the interiors. No glue-up problems.

The actual application was easy and the second and third coats went on in 30-45 minutes with no streaking or other problems (used 220 grit sanding in between coats). The result was an excellent hand rubbed looking finish without the work and was soft to the touch.

This is my first time with this product so I’ll let you know how it wares. The non-toxic nature of the product with the virtually odor free smell is the real closer. Would by again. Thanks, Chase Burritt.

The finish is rough to the touch, even with prior sanding of 22 g sandpaper. The lid to the can does not open well and will not last like the opening of the usual type of can.