North Idaho Log Home Restoration- Stain and Sealing
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Staining and Sealing your log home
Staining and sealing your log home is the step of the log home restoration that all of your hard work prepping pays off. After media blasting, applying Borate, and filling the checks with chinking material, we are ready to stain. depending of the surface porosity of your logs, you will need to apply 1-2 coats of “Capture” stain. “transformation” stain is also a great option. Before you apply the stain, you must check the moisture content of your logs. in order for the stain to penetrate the wood surface properly, the moisture content of the logs needs to be less than 18%. usually it takes less than a day in warm weather for wet logs to get to this point. when applying the stain, we spray it on the surface of the logs using a 40:1 Airless paint sprayer, and buckbrush everything with a 5″ staining brush. the best way to do this is have 1 person operating the airless sprayer, and 1-2 people following behind back brushing.
After allowing the first coat of stain to dry for at least 24 hours, you are ready for the next coat. It is important to let the first coat of stain dry to a hard surface. If you don’t allow the first coat to completely dry, when you begin applying the second coat, it will just start absorbing into the wood. the Goa of the second coat is to form a protective layer on the exterior of the log surface, instead of absorbing into the wood.
After you are finished applying your coats of capture stain, you will then apply the clear coat. The Clear product we recommend is “Cascade” clear. This product comes in either a semi gloss, or a matte finish. the Cascade clear will form a clear layer on the exterior of the log to protect the wood from UV exposure. the UV exposure is what causes your logs to dry out and turn dark over time. As long as you keep a solid coat of Clear one your logs, they should not turn dark.
Sashco recommend that homeowners apply a new coat of clear to your logs every 3-5 years. In our experience, we have found that on the sunny side of the house, it is smart to apply clear every 2-3 years, and on the sides that do not see much sun exposure it is generally OK to wait every 5 years.