Paint or stain front porch (refinishing, railing, color, weather)

[mamamarie]

I am not sure if my front porch is stained white or painted white. Is there a way to tell? It is one of those typical front porches with the railings and spindles.

[cuse]

i would have to assume paint. I've never seen a white stain. i could be wrong though. is it made out of a plastic or wood?

[Stonecoldharbours]

I would stain it cause you don't have to worry bout paint chips, myself.

[mamamarie]

It is white right now, and wood.

[JustSayNo]

Originally Posted by cuse

i would have to assume paint. I've never seen a white stain. i could be wrong though. is it made out of a plastic or wood?

Actually, I am in the middle of this quandry as well. Cabot, and I am sure others, make a full-cover stain and YES it does come in white So, while I agree that it is most likely painted white and not stained, it could be stained

OP, if you are considering re-doing your porch, products are made to remove your old finish so you can re-do on clean wood. If the porch is moderately traffic, without pets or humans always on it, you can paint, which looks great, but does not hold up to the scratches and wear as a opaque (full coverage) stain will. AND, if you live in a high-moisture area (like dew every morning regardless of weather) paint can be VERY slippery, stain has a bit more bite into the wood and less of a shiney smooth surface. So think of safety and such as you roll out in the morning for your coffee on the porch.

Either way, be prepared for a lot of effort, and $$ - cabot in my area is $27 - $35 a gallon. I just ordered for my project and I don't know which I dislike more - the work and time I am about to get in to or the money

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

[mamamarie]

Actually, the bottom (where you walk) of our porch is pressure treated wood and has never been stained or painted. The railings and spindles are what is painted/stained. We are getting the house ready to sell and would like to paint or stain it but not sure which to do.

[autumngal]

There actually are white stains. But for front porches it is common to use paint,

Hope this helps.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by JustSayNo

Actually, I am in the middle of this quandry as well. Cabot, and I am sure others, make a full-cover stain and YES it does come in white So, while I agree that it is most likely painted white and not stained, it could be stained
....

I agree, there are solid color deck stains.

I am also in the process of refinishing a large deck and painters have told me that house paint will tend to sit on top of the wood and will have durability problems on horizontal surfaces where the deck stains are formulated to penetrate the wood and will be more durable.

[sweetana3]

I have had great luck going to a custom paint shop. Not Sherwin Wms but someone like Porter or MAB. They older guys either know their stuff or get the answer from someone who does. They can talk you thru what it looks like and what to do next.

You would not believe the quizzing I got just to figure out the best wood finish to put on our deck. And then he gave us complete instructions on "exactly" how to do it. Wonderful experience. It was a MAB dealership. They really wanted us to be successful. I have had really great experiences at Porter also. They mostly sell to contractors.

[surfingatwork]

Originally Posted by mamamarie

Actually, the bottom (where you walk) of our porch is pressure treated wood and has never been stained or painted. The railings and spindles are what is painted/stained. We are getting the house ready to sell and would like to paint or stain it but not sure which to do.

If you're planning on repainting or restaining the spindles and rail try to see if you can scrap off the white. I'm not an expert but I would think if it was paint it would chip but if it was stain it would not. My personal preference would be stain because there's less maintenance, paint easily chips.