The goal is always to remove as much of the old finish as possible with the least amount of prepping, work, and expense before applying our stain sealer.
To see if our stain can work with your existing finish without major prepping, consider these two tests:
- Water Absorption Test:
- Pour water onto the surface.
- If the water is absorbed rather than beading up, our stain should be able to be applied after a skillful pressure washing, pending it removes most of the old finish.
- Fingernail Test:
- Scratch the surface with your fingernail.
- If the old finish can be scratched to bare wood, skillful pressure washing may prep the wood sufficiently for our stain to work well. (By skillful PW refers to a large PW with 3500-4000 psi, 3.7 to 4.0 gallons per minute, and a white tip. Some follow-up sanding may be required.
- The wand should stay perpendicular to the wood and be used in a sweeping motion, pulling away at the end of the stroke. The sweet spot is typically 5 - 8 inches from the wood, pending the stroke speed and pressure used. Care should be taken not to get too close and damage, i.e., burn or dig into the wood.
- Color Limitations: If much of the prior existing finish color is still showing (e.g., in soffits, nooks and crannies, wood grain, or behind gutters) after prepping, your color choices will be limited to a similar color.
- Flaking or Shiny Finishes: If the old finish is flaking or shiny, it must be removed before applying our stain. This will typically require possible stripping, sanding, and/or media blasting.
- Organic, Acrylic, & Glycol Finishes: Polymerizing stain sealer finishes that contain a significant amount of organic oils (like linseed oil), acrylics, or propylene glycol will eventually break down and become patchy. These finishes must be removed before applying our stain.
*Do Not Apply on wood that will not allow penetration
