In July, we covered the steps necessary to properly prepare surfaces on your home and deck for staining. This month, we will explore what it takes to properly setup staining equipment, stain the surfaces you prepped, and do a thorough cleanup while still allowing the stain to dry and cure completely.

Double Check Masking/Weather Conditions

As mentioned in Exterior Staining Prep, you will want to mask the edges of the stained areas (shingles, trim, or deck) with masking plastic or wax paper. Double check that the tape lines are straight and have adhesion. Double check that plastic is tacked down so it can’t blow onto the stained surface while it’s wet. Double check that leaves, dirt, or debris won’t blow onto your newly stained deck if it’s too windy out. All of these conditions are crucial to ensuring your stain job doesn’t get a huge blemish right after you finish.

Setting Up Staining Equipment

There are numerous ways to stain a deck, shingles, and trim. We will explain the method BCPR uses that is most effective and yet easy enough for a non-professional to carry out. For each area, there are different tools needed, so we will explore each individually.

Deck Staining Equipment

Cut-in brush: 3.5” angle sash staining brush (oil-base or water-base depending on which stain you select)
Wool staining pad: there are ones with small handles on them, however we recommend using the wider pole-mounted pads; this allows for quicker application (and you don’t have to bend over)
Extension pole for staining pad (usually 4’ is sufficient)
Empty 5 gallon bucket for stain, along with large bucket screen to press out extra stain in the pad (a rolling tray is also sufficient)
Drop cloth for stain bucket to be placed upon
Multiple rags for over-application or drips
Lacquer thinner for messes on non-stained surfaces
Stain of choice (we will discuss how to select the proper stain for your needs later)

Shingle Staining Equipment

NOTE: although BCPR does apply stain to large shingle areas using an airless sprayer; we do not recommend this to homeowners without extensive spraying experience. The process can be extremely messy and complicated to work with.
Large (9” or 12”) wool roller cover, 3/4” nap
Roller frame
Extension pole (2’, 4’, 6’, and even 8’ may be required, depending on height of area and availability of ladders)
Empty 5 gallon bucket & screen (for 9” roller) or 12” roller tray to hold stain
Cut-in brush: 4” wide bristle staining brush (you pay for the quality you receive here, so don’t skimp)
Drop cloths to place under stain bucket/tray and areas to be stained
Multiple rags for cleanup and drips
Lacquer thinner for messes on non-stained surfaces
Small roller (4” or 6”, 3/8” nap) for stain runs and drips (these are almost guaranteed to happen)
Stain of choice

Trim/Railing Staining Equipment

Hand-held wool staining pad (with handle)
Cut-in brush: 3.5” angle sash staining brush (oil-base or water-base depending on stain selection)
Empty 2 gallon bucket with screen for stain
Drop cloths to place under stain bucket and areas that are being stained
Multiple rags for over-application and drips (bound to happen)
Lacquer thinner for messes on non-stained surfaces
Stain of choice

Selecting Stain

Selecting stain can be a quite an arduous process if one isn’t educated about their home and the endless stain options available. We will explore this topic fully in another blog post, but for now; here are the basic rules of thumb:

Match stain base (if the previous surface was oil-base, purchase oil-base; and vice-versa for water-base stain)
Match stain opacity (there are transparent, semi-transparent, semi-opaque, opaque, and solid stains- they increase in opacity in this order. You may increase the opacity, but cannot reduce it without completely removing original product; keep this in mind).
Conduct brand research- as this is an evolving industry; there are new products all the time. Select a brand you trust, and ask the experts about their opinions on stain, then select based off of your personal budget. We will provide BCPR brand recommendations in our future post about selecting stain.
NOTE: If you have completely removed existing stain or are working with an unstained surface; have fun! You can select whatever you want!

Staining Decks

Probably the quickest surface to stain; decks are also the easiest to mess up. Here is the suggested process for a complete, long-lasting, and great-looking stain job:

Find your starting point (furthest away from deck entrance) and ending point (deck entrance)- you never want to walk on a stained deck for 24-48 hours if you can help it.
Cut-in the furthest outside boards of the deck (up against the house, outside edges, etc) with your brush: be sure to move as efficiently as possible- stain absorbs into the prepared deck wood quickly.
When cutting in, don’t leave a board incomplete; this allows for lines to form in the finished stain job
As you cut in, pull masking that is up against house (above deck surface), so that you don’t need to walk on the deck again after it is stained fully
Use your wool pad to start staining one board at a time (working with the grain of the wood) at your starting point
LESS IS MORE! Only apply enough stain to each board to allow complete absorption, then move to the next; over-application causes puddles which won’t dry and leave darker areas on the deck
When you are applying stain, attempt to go over each board the least amount of strokes possible: this will ensure you don’t over-apply
When you do over-apply stain: feel free to take the pad (when there is little or no stain left in it) and run it over the area you stained. When you do this- do a full stroke of the board so you don't leave areas that look “muddled”
You should be moving backwards as you complete each area, not forward; don’t walk on stained areas!
Cover the entire deck with one full coat, then leave it!
Wait 2-3 hours to pull any remaining masking around stained areas

Staining Shingles

Staining shingles is a similar process to decks: the main difference is instead of working with a horizontal surface; your surface is vertical!

Your starting point for shingles will always be at the top. You can work right to left around the house (starting at the SE corner) if you have shingles on multiple sides of the house.
Cut-in top boards that border trim/siding/eaves and then outer side edge boards, finishing with the bottom edge boards. Any individual shingle that receives stain should be fully coated before moving on. You may even want to cut in 2 layers of shingles if the area you are staining is space limited.
Beginning at the top, start rolling out shingles in rows of 3 or 4 at a time (maybe more, depending on how much stain your roller holds and how dried the surface is)
With shingles, you can over-apply the stain and get away with it; you will actually receive a thicker coat and excess will run down the wall creating runs and drips- that’s OK, just roll them up with your weeny roller!
Once you have completely coated one full area of shingles, double-check for drips and runs (there are sure to be some), and roll them out with your dry or semi-dry roller
Wait 2-3 hours to pull any masking that was put up

Staining Trim/Railings

This will be your most time-consuming stain work (if you have it on your home). That is because it is all done by hand. And usually railings have spokes that have four sides and will take forever; so be patient!

When working with trim, you will want to start at the top and work down.
When working with a railing, start on the spokes, then get the bottom of the hand rail, then the bottom support board (if there is one), and finish with the very top of the hand rail.
Usually it is better to cut-in the edges of the trim and railings that have tight corners before applying stain with the hand-held pad
With the pad; LESS IS MORE! It is very, very easy to over-apply here, so make sure to squeeze as much stain out with your bucket screen as possible before you begin each stroke
As with decks: you only need go over a surface once as long as it is fully coated and there are no drips
For drips: use your dry or semi-dry pad to lap them up and even out the coat in that area
Finish one section (inside and out) of railing before moving onto the next. Usually one section is about 5 feet wide (enough for you to get while sitting, crouching, or standing in one spot)
For trim, complete one board before moving to the next; this will ensure a complete and even coat
Allow stain to dry 2-3 hours before pulling masking

Cleanup

Cleanup is one of the most important parts of staining. Most people don’t realize; stain is toxic and also extremely flammable. As is lacquer thinner- which is your go-to cleanup product for all staining projects.

Wrap all used masking products in a garbage bag before placing them in the trash. Seal the bag thoroughly.
Place all used rags and staining applicators (brushes, pads, rollers) into a bucket with thinner in it; let soak for 1-2 hours
Using a wire-brush; cleanup brushes. Pads should be clean after about one hour of soaking in thinner. Rollers can be discarded (see next step)
For discarding rags, rollers, and other used staining equipment: place into bucket of water (no thinner) and leave for one day to allow all stain to separate. Then remove equipment from water, wrap in a garbage bag, and throw away. Discard water and used thinner in a place where nothing grows (not down the sink or in your yard), or seal in a container and take to the dump or paint store for proper disposal.
Be aware- stain and thinner can cause fires if you leave materials in a pile or a bucket for too long in a warm area. Direct sun exposure or exposure to fire isn’t necessary for this pile to ignite and cause great amounts of damage. Please be diligent here.

You are done staining! Again, don’t walk on stained surfaces for 24-48 hours, and don’t return deck equipment to these areas for that time. The stain requires much more time to dry and cure then paint does. It can easily be tarnished by the slightest scratch of scuffling of feet. The longer you can let the surface cure, the longer it will last!

Stay tuned for How To Guides on selecting your Paint and Stain products!