Cedar wood roofs are subjected to harmful UV rays probably more than any other wood surface around your home. This means that the cedar has been robbed of its natural oils and is extremely dry. It is best to choose a wood stain that replenishes the lost oils and conditions the wood.
Best Stains for Cedar Shingles Can Be Oil or Water Based
Oil or water based stains make an ideal stain for your cedar shingles, as long as they don't have a high solid, particulate nature. Paint VS Stain, Best stains seals and protects wood shingles, leaving no paint mil to chip, crack, or peel.
The best answer is based on your home's current cedar condition. Stain lasts longer and often looks more natural, but can only be applied if cedar is paint-free. Paint offers more protection and can be a good choice for badly worn homes with previous peeling issues from past painting applications.
High-quality paint or stain, properly applied, should last five to seven years, and as many as 10, depending on weather conditions and if you maintain the siding. However, you may need to reapply a clear-coat stain every two years.
If your cedar deck is newly installed, you'll need to sand* the cedar boards prior to staining. The boards go through a planing process at the mill that result in “mill glazing”. The planing process causes an oily surface on the boards that can hinder the wood stain from penetrating the wood.
Cedar Naturaltone is a Transparent Exterior Wood Stain Color from our Brown & Tan wood stains color family.
On its website, Feldman describes the black-stained Western Red Cedar siding, explaining its aesthetic benefit: “A material palette showcasing black-stained cedar siding allows the house to sit subtly beneath the green canopies and shadows created by the oaks and redwoods hovering at the fog line.
The best way to stain cedar shingles is to dip each shingle in a bath of stain, allow it to dry, then install. Once the cedar shingle is installed, the staining process is slightly more complicated and messy. The cedar shingles must be clean and dry prior to starting the project to remove all debris.
Apply the stain with a brush, roller, or sprayer. Transparent stain can reveal lap lines, so as you work, maintain a wet edge and stain an entire row of shingles at a time. Feed the wood as much stain as it will absorb, but don't over-apply. The stain should penetrate into the wood's surface within 15 minutes.
While extremely old cedar can be painted, it requires heavy preparation. Even then, the paint is not expected to last long. Surface preparation is the key to success when dealing with weathered wood. The siding must be free from mold, mildew, and dirt.
Without treatments, cedar shakes can degrade over time, with constant exposure to the sun's UV rays, the elements, and water, of course. It also means that the cedar shakes can suffer from fungus and algae growth without proper treatment. Most importantly, without treatment, cedar shake shingles can catch on fire.
Cedar shingle maintenance must include protective treatments every one to three years. Without treatments, cedar shakes can degrade, buckle, rot, and even burn. To protect and preserve your roof, every few years, professionally apply water and fire repellents, fungicides, and algaecides to the shingles.
As long as it's properly installed and with proper maintenance, you can expect to get 30 years of life out of your cedar shake roof. If you invest in quality materials and live in an area with the right conditions, you could possibly get up to 50 years out of it.
Sealing Exterior Cedar
An effective option is a semitransparent stain containing cedar-colored pigments. You can refresh it as needed to maintain the natural colors. If weather resistance is your main concern and you aren't concerned about color, use a water-sealing finish.
Cedar also looks excellent with a stain or paint job, but over time it will deteriorate due to exposure to the elements. The best way to protect a cedar surface is to penetrate deep into the surface pores with a sealant.
The best clear Cedar finish stain for outdoors is Linseed oil, hands down. Linseed oil is the primary ingredient in any oil finishes, which dries clear. You can find other clear water-based stains, but will not last nearly as long as a Linseed oil based stain will.
Yes, same as paint Cedar can be stained white. Not like the paint, to stain Cedar white, no need to use a primer or any other coatings before applying the stain. When you apply white stains on Cedar there will be no bleeding through problems happen because they do not cover the surface like paint.
Sand the cedar with 80-grit sandpaper to remove gray, weathered wood and remnants of the old finish. Follow up with 180-grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface. Sand in long, even strokes and avoid leaving any patterns on the wood.
Cedar wood, like other fine woods, can and should be coated with polyurethane for protection. Polyurethane will keep dirt, dust, and oil from getting onto the cedar which would dull and damage the color. If the cedar you want to protect is not new it will need to be scrubbed with hot soapy water and a cloth.
Allow the washed surface to dry before recoating and apply primer paint to areas of bare wood. After the primer has dried, apply one or two topcoats of paint or solid-color stain. Two topcoats are always better over bare wood that has been primed. These may be applied to Western Red Cedar by brush, roller, or pad.
Cedar Treatment Basics
After installing your exterior cedar, you have about a two week grace period until the wood starts to discolor.