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I am on the prowl for a stain for cedar signs. THAT DAMN CEDAR GETS DARK, EH? I figured my prowl should start where I can get trusted answers....Letterville (by the way, I am becoming a resident in a week or so). Is there a stain that won't, initialy, be too dark? I get some boards that are just beautiful and others that are beautiful too but dark and, Murphy's Law, are the boards that are behind dark copy. I tried Sikkens, Natural Light.....seemed dark. Timberlox, Natural Honey.....dark.
Anyone??
Why on the subject......whad'ya think of BEHR stains? Do they have a product that may give me that lighter effect I'm longing for?
I don't have a lot of experience with stains, so take this with a grain of salt. What I have found is that for the most part, anytime wood is stained it will go darker. The only way I can think of to lighten the natural wood color would be to bleach it with something--and, no, I don't know what. Oxalic acid, maybe.
If this does work, then you might be able to stain, but chances are good it will go at least a little bit darker again.
FWIW, and sorry it isn't worth more.
-------------------- Bill Preston Fly Creek, N.Y. USA Posts: 943 | From: Fly Creek, N.Y. USA | Registered: Jan 2000
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Coming from a newbie here, maybe my wife and I can help, she is very knowledgable in wood carpentry and she suggest to use "Berh Wood Stains". They come in solid or transparent colors, they are used for staining cedar siding on houses, find it usaully in a Home Depot, or Lowes depending where you are at, check at your local hardware store. If you cant find it call 1-800-854-0133 or visit www.berhpaint.com Hope that helps
-------------------- Frank Weidman Waukegan, Il. Posts: 71 | From: Waukegan, Il. | Registered: May 2002
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Hey Corey, Ditto what Bill said. Any kind of transparent stain that I know of will make your wood darker. Also, any clearcoat whether it is Lacquer, polyurethane, spar varnish, acrylic, or preservative, is gonna make it darker as well. The cedar also has tannins in it which will eventually bleed out and turn dark. The way it looks after you sand it is the lightest your cedar will ever be.
I have one in front of the shop made of 3.5'' thick western red cedar. It is blasted to .75'' and the background is coated with solid-color stain(the brown) and acrylic latex paint (the orange). The border and graphics are acrylic latex too. The sign was built about seven years ago and repainted two and a half years ago. All the paints including the background (except the red) look like new. The tannins are not bleeding through the latex paint or the solid color satin. And, the sign is facing South. The only reason I repainted it when I did was because a big tree fell on it, knocked it off the posts, cracked it and dented the face.
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If you decide to bleach use regular household stuff - Waaaaaay cheaper than "Wood Bleach" and it works just fine. Bleached and varnished is about as light as you'll get, unless you "Pickle" it by rubbing in a light color, say white, and wipe off the excess.
Posts: 1859 | From: / | Registered: Nov 1998
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If you decide to bleach use regular household stuff - Waaaaaay cheaper than "Wood Bleach" and it works just fine. Bleached and varnished is about as light as you'll get, unless you "Pickle" it by rubbing in a light color, say white, and wipe off the excess.
Posts: 1859 | From: / | Registered: Nov 1998
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I'm not going to bleach it for fear of the unknown. I love the natural wood (transparent)look. The "Other" company I work for used a Behr Spar Vanish ONLY on bare wood and it is considerably lighter than the signs I've done. I know that no matter what kinda stain I put on it, it will darken and , for fear of the inevitable, would like to stay away from Varnish because it's a dirty job a few years down the road to clean it up. Wayne, is the blasted portion of your sign transparent or solid/ latex? Do you put a clear coat protectant on top of that? If so, It must be a water based clear that won't attack the H2o based stain/ paint??? The last sign I did, I used Sikkens Brand Cetol 1 Natural cedar semi transp. stain..3 coats and left it...no clear or nothing. I thought of putting Sikkens TGL on these signs...3 coats after only 1 coat of Cetol 1. I am confident with that except that it;ll be darker than I prefer. Maybe I should just Spar varnish the BARE wood...........I DON'T KNOW........indecisive.
Generally, an oil based clear will make whatever you put it on darker than a water based clear. Lacquer, varnish, etc. give an amber cast to whatever you apply them to. Water based finishes don't have this effect; many woodworkers, who use water based finishes, have an amber overprint(tint) added to the finish to get that warm look.As others have said, anything you apply to the cedar will darken it some; but I think a water based finish will be lighter. I haven't tried any water based clear on a long term exterior application,so I can't make a recommendation; but I'm sure someone here can.
-------------------- Eric Barker Rosewood Design LaGrande,Oregon Posts: 107 | From: La Grande, OR | Registered: May 2002
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Hello again, Corey-----and interested others. Have found in an old book called Formulas, methods, tips and data for home and workshop by Kenneth M. Swezey-- put out by Popular Science in 1969, the oxalic acid "recipe" for wood bleaching.
It says oxalic acid comes in crystal form-- put 3 to 4 oz. of crystals in a quart of hot water. Do this in a container of glass, earthenware, or enameled steel. Swab or sponge on to the wood. This may be done more than once, 'til you get the desired shade. Cautions are advised, since this is apparently a fairly strong acid solution.
Neutralize the acid on the work by applying a solution of borax, 3 oz. to a gallon of water. Rinse with hot water, and dry. Be careful with this stuff, too. If it is strong enough to neutralize acid, then it is probably fairly caustic. Acid or caustic, a burn is a burn, and pain hurts.
All this assumes that the various chemicals can still be obtained. (The OSHA thing.)If not available at a hardware store, a pharmacy would most likely be the next best bet.
On the clearing with whatever--- most varnishes, including spar, with or without UV inhibitors, wont last for more than about 2 years. After that, they begin to "craze" and flake off like dandruff. I don't have experience with Pelucid, but this might be the way to go.
FWIW, from the little kid ( who some suspect is controlling me)--- and me.
-------------------- Bill Preston Fly Creek, N.Y. USA Posts: 943 | From: Fly Creek, N.Y. USA | Registered: Jan 2000
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