It is not recommended to stain painted wood without sanding first. Sanding scrapes the surface, removing the blemishes and allowing the next coat of stain to penetrate better. Without sanding, the stain will not adhere properly and may result in a blotchy or uneven finish.
While it's possible to apply stain over painted wood, it's generally not recommended unless the paint is fully cured and in good condition. Staining over paint may result in uneven or blotchy coloration, and the paint may prevent the stain from penetrating the wood surface effectively.
Unless it's cleaned and completely sanded to bare wood , stain won't work. Perhaps look into paint stripper like citrus strip. Otherwise, primer and paint might work best. If you do prime and paint, I'd still give it a light sand and cleaning first.
Stain over paint creates a unique look, not an authentic stained wood-grain look. For true stained wood, you will need to first strip off all of the paint, then apply the stain. Stain over paint instead produces a stylized, faux wood grain look.
To achieve the best results, it's advisable to sand the painted wood to remove the existing paint layer before applying stain, ensuring a clean, smooth surface for the stain to adhere to and penetrate evenly.
Do You Have to Sand Before Staining Wood? Wood needs to be sanded well before it can be stained. The process opens up the wood's pores to better absorb the stain. It also smoothes away scratches in the surface which will only be enhanced by stain.
Should you paint or stain first? If both finishes are being used on different parts of the same piece, always stain first. Stains absorb into the wood while paints sit atop it.
Lightly sanding the painted surface with 320-grit sandpaper is a crucial step when you are trying to stain over paint. This helps create a smooth surface for the gel stain to adhere to. Make sure you don't sand too hard or too much so that you don't damage the wood.
If there is existing paint on a deck, stain will not be able to soak into the wood due to the pores of the surface being blocked. This may look decent for a while but it will easily peel. Deck stain should only be applied to bare, dry wood or as a second coat on top of itself.
Paint strippers are solvents that soften the old finish for easy removal. They're available as a liquid, gel or paste and are effective at removing paint from wood on large projects, curved shapes and fine details. Using paint stripper on rounded surfaces and tight areas is often easier and more effective than sanding.
Minwax® PolyShades® is an easy way to change the color of your currently stained or polyurethane finished wood. There's no stripping or heavy sanding necessary to remove the old finish!
What's the difference? Paint rests on top of a surface, while stain penetrates the wood's surface.
As you may know, primers are preparatory coatings that should be used before painting or staining with a solid color. Whether it's wood, metal or plastic, primers increase the durability of the paint or stain to ensure better adhesion to the surface.
Back to your original question, yes absolutely you can thin down acrylic enough to make a wash out of it. Start with half a cup of water and add the cheap tube/bottle acrylic to it a little at a time to get the pigmentation you want and test it.
A stain will need to be reapplied after 2-3 years, while the paint will last between 5-10 years before it needs to be recoated. However, this doesn't factor in any scratches and chipping that may occur to your deck. A painted deck can look unsightly in a short time.
When newly applied latex paint is exposed to high moisture or humidity while it's drying and/or curing, the surfactants can rise prematurely to the film's surface, producing a residue or splotches. This residue can be sticky, discolored, glossy or soapy in appearance.
If the painted surface that lies beneath the solid stained coating ever decides to “peel”, it will do so and take the solid stain coating with it. But if the painted surface remains intact, the solid stain will stay on the painted surface for years to come without any detrimental effect.
Advantages of Solid Stain for Wooden Decks & Siding
Stain is very easy to apply, and since there isn't much need to prep the surface before applying, it doesn't take long to do either. Staining preserves the natural texture of the wood and usually only takes one coat, meaning it's more cost-effective than painting.
After application, wood stain can quickly dry to the touch in about four to eight hours, but it will still require about 24 to 72 hours to fully dry.
The short answer is 'yes. ' But, this option is relatively difficult compared to painting over a stained surface because it involves more processes.
When preparing wood for stain, you'll need to sand its surface. Use a sanding sponge or orbital sander. Sandpaper with a lower grit number will make wood rougher, allowing more stain to absorb and creating a darker color. Start with 120-grit sandpaper for pieces that already have a finish.
Paint offers the greatest versatility with unlimited color choices to match any decor, and can be easily applied over stain, but can you stain over painted wood? The short answer is yes, but before you begin, consider these tips from the pros at Five Star Painting.
Removing paint from a hardwood surface is a pretty satisfying experience, but it's also essential because you can't stain wood if there are any bits of paint covering the grain.
If you have oil-based stains (which dries slower), brushing or spraying large areas could work, but lacquer and water-based stains simply dry too fast. This could result in imprints of the bristles on your wood surface. You won't have that problem when you apply and finish staining with lint-free cloth wipers.