Wood stains are an effective way of protecting your wooden decks from these damaging factors, and they also help in giving a great look and finish to the wood. Typically four different types of wood stains are available:
Oil Stains
These are the most common type used by homeowners. Most of the oil stain formulations have a binder to hold the pigment in the wood. These are the easiest to use as it takes time for oil stain to dry, which allows for brushing it again. Oil stains are well suited to outdoor wooden applications. They are readily available in hardware and paint stores.
Water-based Stains
Water-based stains produce softer colors than oil-based stains. They are fast-drying, and are ready for an overcoat in a couple of hours. As water-based wood stains have short wet edge time, a careful consideration is needed when applying to a larger surface area, and during warm weather. They also tend to raise the grain of wood, so it is necessary to sand the surface after applying them.
Varnish Stain
Varnish stains resemble oil stains in more than one way. Varnish stains make use of varnish as the binder and hence they dry hard which the oil stains don’t. This means that the varnish stain can be applied on the wood and left to dry, with no need of wiping like the oil stain. Varnish stain is typically used to overcoat an already stained surface that is scuffed or dull.
Gel Stain
Gel stains are oil-based or varnish-based and they are differentiated with their mayonnaise like thickness. They are useful as a wood stain because they do not cause the problem of blotching, which is uneven coloring of wood.
No matter what type of stain you choose, it is an important part of protecting your deck, and Klassic Decks of Brunswick, Ohio can assist you in all your deck building and maintenance needs.
