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my swing set is starting to look old and worn out..i was wondering what type of stain and what type of prep work , how many coats and what should i use to apply it with, thanks
There are three basic categories of outdoor wood stains: opaque, semi-transparent, and transparent. The more transparent stains show the natural coloring and grain of the wood. However, the more opaque stains last the longest. Transparent stains last a maximum of a year, which is worse than useless in my book. Plus, when transparent stains start to fail, the flakes turn into little daggers that will easily embed into the skin of tiny hands. So my recommendation is to go with a good opaque stain so that you can do this once, and forget about it for several years.
The hands-down best opaque stains are by Cabot, and come in a wide array of colors. I personally like the Redwood or New Redwood colors. As far as prep, just follow the directions on the can. Pretty much you just need to remove any peeling old finish that might be there. A rented power washer makes really quick work of that. If you don't have old peeling finish, then you don't need to power wash. If the wood looks really clean, you might be good to go. Otherwise, use deck wash, and scrub the wood with a deck brush. Rinse, allow to dry, and you're set to paint. You can apply the deck stain with a short roller on a long poll, so you don't even need a ladder. Or use a regular brush, or even spray it on. Although brushing is really best. If you spray or roll, you may still want to even out the coat with a brush. One coat will do you, but two is even better.
And thank for the rep, Westchester! I had a huge deck on the back of my home on top of Buckberg mountain in Tomkins Cove, NY that I did in Cabot Redwood. Then, I inherited a free Rainbow playset that I finished the same way. Both looked and wore great after that. I did a lot of research into outdoor finishes at that time. You can probably see the playset from your house if you stand on your tippy toes and look across the river.
my swing set is starting to look old and worn out..i was wondering what type of stain and what type of prep work , how many coats and what should i use to apply it with, thanks
You will want to find some sort of refinisher to clean it up. Perhaps oxalic acid based. I see nothing wrong with a clear coat.
my swing set is starting to look old and worn out..i was wondering what type of stain and what type of prep work , how many coats and what should i use to apply it with, thanks
We used opaque for reasons mentioned by others. Our swingset got direct sunlight ALL DAY, every day. Honestly, I'd have to go and look and see what brand/color, but I will attach a picture. Even after 1 year, it looked great. As far as prep, we just washed it down and scrubbed the bird poop off.
Here's a pix..I can find out the brand and color if you'd like...
We used opaque for reasons mentioned by others. Our swingset got direct sunlight ALL DAY, every day. Honestly, I'd have to go and look and see what brand/color, but I will attach a picture. Even after 1 year, it looked great. As far as prep, we just washed it down and scrubbed the bird poop off.
Here's a pix..I can find out the brand and color if you'd like...
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thanks for the info
