Just put in a new cedar fence and was wondering what I should use to protect the fence from the nasty Chicago weather. Its a 4 foot fence, all cedar. I’d like to do something before it grays.
I used some left over stain to cover the portion of the posts in the ground. I like the natural cedar color, so I was tempted to use a waterproofer product. I dont want something that will crack or peel over time. I know a solid stain will last longest, but the solid color detracts from the wood. Many of the cedar color stains are too orangey for me and look bad.
Any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations?
Replies
I've built all-cedar fences around all of our house over the years and I personally opted for leaving the wood natural and letting it weather. I found that any of the treatments available looked unnatural and/or were just going to result in long term maintenance. I think cedar weathers nicely on it's own and while my gut instinct at first was the same as yours (I didn't want it to "grey"), I'm now pleased I left it be. As for the posts, did I misunderstand or did you say you applied stain to the portions that are buried? I'm not sure why but presuming rot resistance was your goal, I'd advise Jasco for treating buried wood that's not pressure treated. I don't like the look of pressure treated wood in fences, so I always go the Jasco route instead.
Either a semi-transparent stain along the lines of Sikkens or a large plastic tarp.
I'm with gdale on this--let it weather. You'll never stop re-staining otherwise.
And greenery looks great up against the silver-gray of weathered wood.
staining
I would highly suggest pressure washing the fence before you apply stain. This will remove any unwanted dirt or marks on the wood before its too late. Even if its a fairly new fence. The stain I like the best is Thompsons. It is very high quality and will last a long time like you want.
Mike Bartlett- http://www.fencebuildersofhouston.com
Sure, WR Cedar will last 20 years on it's own, but when you protect it you can extend it 5-20 years beyond that. I did an article on that here... Exterior Stain on Wood.
Try Sansins for easy application to a fence with a weed sprayer. You will need to do it every couple of years since you didn't stain it before you assembled... if you had, you may have had 10 years before having to re-stain. It is a good idea to sand with 80 grit paper to remove the mill glaze.
Good luck with it,
L