I tried being a good poster by looking up previous posts concerning what stain to use on my fence, but wow.... everyone has their own opinion and for every "good" review there is an equally "bad" review.

So, this is my situation:

- pressure treated pine fence, constructed 7 months ago. About 1200 sq ft total.

- want a semi-transparent stain that both colors and seals

- don't want to reapply every year

- don't want to have to scrape it off when it comes time to re-seal in a few years

- don't want my wood to turn grey

- don't want to have to do several steps, such as primer first, then stain, then sealer or whatever

- would prefer to only have to do 1 coat

- don't want to spend a ton of money

I will not be living in this house for the rest of my life, so I am not concerned about getting the best of the best to make sure that it will still look good 10 years from now. I just want something that can be layered every few years with minimal prep work.

By reading other posts, I have learned:

- Behr is horrible.

- Thompsons is useless.

- CWF is useless.

- Latex, epoxy, sodium, tung oil are all bad.

I am seriously considering Olympic Maximum Semi-Transparent Deck Fence and Siding Stain.

I know Lowe's sells it and I'm not supposed to buy anything that the big box stores sell, but it meets my criteria.

Something interesting I noticed while searching for stain, is that at thegreathardwarestore.com, I can get a gallon of

Olympic Ppg 79561A/01, Cedar Semi-Transparent for $29.81 BUT, they also sell Olympic Ppg 79551A/01, Cedar Semi-Transparent for $16.34. The only difference I can see is that the more expensive one is VOC compliant with the SCAQMD.

SO - should I go with the Olympic Maximum, and if so, should I get the 79551A or the 79561A?

If you make a different recommendation, please tell me WHY you are making that recommendation.

Thank you!!!

Link to cheaper gallon o' stain

Link to more expensive gallon o'stain