One of the most common questions we come across is which stain do we recommend. We carry 4 different brands of stain. Sikkens, Sunfast, Sansin, and TimberPro. Generally the first thing we ask is if they want to go with Petroleum Oil or Water-Borne stain.
More and more home owners are going with water-borne stains such as Sansin or TimberPro. This is because they are very comparable in durability to the petroleum oil stains, but are much easier to apply correctly. As a result, it can out preform the petroleum oil in many cases. Along with a soap and water clean up, and not having to deal with the fumes of petroleum oil based products. With the combination of all of those benefits it makes a much more do-it-yourself friendly.
With regulations having changed a few years ago many petroleum oil stains had to redo their formulas to comply with the new standards. The result for Sikkens was to remove much of their drying agent. In order for it to dry it must be exposed the both warmth and UV rays, but not during application. The wood must also be very dry with a moisture content between 12-15% depending on the stain model. Where as TimberPro and Sansin allow up to 21% moisture content. It may not seem like much but keep in mind it is increasing more difficult to reach lower levels.
Now it may seem so far that I don’t believe in using petroleum oil based stains. That is not the case. Our petroleum oil stains (Sikkens and Sunfast) are great products. A matter a fact many of our employees use them on their own projects. Many professionals consider so Sikkens product almost bullet-proof. The key is just proper preparation and application. For further details, either come in store and one of our staff would be happy to assist you.
