Restaining cedar fence (washer, color, stain, build)

[bjornb17]

In January i bought a new house which came with the typical cedar privacy fence. I painted the fence by brush with Behr Premium Redwood (the one with the 5 year warranty). It looks pretty terrible. The color is not what i was expecting and each can of stain doesn't even closely resemble the color of the previous can. I've since read many negative things about Behr stain. I would like to restain the fence.

I have a powerwasher (1500+ psi) but that isnt working well for removing the stain. What is the best way to remove the stain so I can put a fresh coat of a better stain on?

Is it possible to stain over the top of the existing stain with a new color that is slightly lighter in shade?

[Ultrarunner]

I've only had luck going darker... not lighter... sorry

Had one fence that was a mixture of old sections and new or relatively new... ended up painting it with ACE tile red porch paint... that was 7 years ago and still looks very good...

Just about all finishes darken over time... the cabin I helped to build in 1982 is now just about black in color...

[bjornb17]

my neighbor painted his fence a very rich-looking dark brown color. maybe i should give that a try as it covered all of the varying wood colors. thanks for the reply!

[bjornb17]

i ended up buying the cheapest wagner sprayer at lowe's ($80 i think) and some Cabot Solid Redwood stain to cover up the Behr stain. It looks 100 times better and the color looks great!!!!!

[Ultrarunner]

Thanks for the update

[Fat Freddy]

When we had our cedar fence built, the installer said to stain it right away.
But I got conflicting info that the cedar had to age before staining.
So I didn't do anything.
That was about a year or so ago and now the fence has turned a beautiful silver gray and I'm glad I didn't stain it.
I expect that the cedar will last longer than me without any treatment.