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scarlett001

BM solid stain on fence - question about when to do second coat

Scarlett001
9 years ago

I have just finished putting one coat of Benjamin Moore solid stain on my pressure treated wood fence. I have a lot of other home projects that I want to get to and it is time consuming to do the fence. I live in Canada and get cold winters so within a month, fence staining will no longer be possible. I'd prefer to do the 2nd coat of stain on the fence next spring if that is okay.

How necessary is a 2nd coat of paint? And if it is preferred, will it matter if I put it on soon after the first coat of stain (sometime in the next few weeks), or is it okay to do it next spring instead?

Thank you!!

Comments (7)

  • paintguy22
    9 years ago

    It's just a matter of building up the coating really. More coats will fill in the wood pores more and get you better coverage and an additional coat will give your wood better protection from the elements but letting it go for one winter isn't going to be the worst thing in the world at all.

  • pbx2_gw
    9 years ago

    Sorry to thread jack OP - but related to this a question @paintguy: I have a BM painted pressured treated fence like Scarlett001 that I had painted October 2013.

    What is does professional wisdom say when to repaint it for protection purposes?

  • paintguy22
    9 years ago

    It depends on the sun. In areas where there is no sun, you can get 8 to 10 years or more with a solid color stain. In areas where the sun is always shining, you may need to recoat every 2 years. Also, for fences where the wood is actually in the ground or near it, you may need more maintenance there, especially if the wood is actually sitting on piles of snow or sitting in rainwater. I would just look at the wood periodically and see how much of the coating has weathered away to determine when it's time for another application. Of course, as a painter I notice that it is a rare person that actually stays on top of this sort of thing...most people wait until it is too late to apply another coat. Out of all the things we paint though, deck flooring and wood fences are about the hardest things to maintain.

  • pbx2_gw
    9 years ago

    It depends on the sun. In areas where there is no sun, you can get 8 to 10 years or more with a solid color stain. In areas where the sun is always shining, you may need to recoat every 2 years. Also, for fences where the wood is actually in the ground or near it, you may need more maintenance there, especially if the wood is actually sitting on piles of snow or sitting in rainwater. I would just look at the wood periodically and see how much of the coating has weathered away to determine when it's time for another application. Of course, as a painter I notice that it is a rare person that actually stays on top of this sort of thing...most people wait until it is too late to apply another coat. Out of all the things we paint though, deck flooring and wood fences are about the hardest things to maintain.

    Thanks paintguy. Our fence around the HVAC is in shade most of the day - so possibly 8 years sounds great.

    Our other fence around the tankless water heater gets about 50% sun in the afternoon but its 2 posts each sits in open PVC sleeves in the ground & the ends touches rocks & pebbles within that sleeve.

    The post ends (~12") weren't painted - so go ahead & paint them?

    I'll definitely have to monitor it more often.

  • paintguy22
    9 years ago

    Yea, the ends of the posts (rough side) are the most important areas to keep sealed. Moisture enters there and helps the wood to degrade the quickest. Of course, these are the parts that are hard to access with paint because they are near the ground, but this is why we seal them if we can before installation.

  • pbx2_gw
    9 years ago

    paintguy (My Page) on Tue, Sep 16, 14 at 10:31
    Yea, the ends of the posts (rough side) are the most important areas to keep sealed. Moisture enters there and helps the wood to degrade the quickest. Of course, these are the parts that are hard to access with paint because they are near the ground, but this is why we seal them if we can before installation.

    Thanks for the feedback again.

    Luckily, I fabricated those 2 PVC sleeves where I insert the posts in & can remove the entire fence ( really a trellis) without too much headache. This was so I can get to the the tankless water heater when servicing.

    This picure showed what it looked like BEFORE i did the sleeves:
    http://imgur.com/nrkk3TX

    Here is a link that might be useful: Post sleeve materials.

  • paintguy22
    9 years ago

    Great idea!

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