Finishing Wood Siding - Wood Stain Choices

Woods like cedar and redwood provide long lasting service as wood siding materials. Make sure to keep them looking beautiful and properly protect them from the elements by using a quality wood stain.

World of Stains, the internet’s leading retailer of wood stains, cleaners and brighteners, offers many high quality products to beautify and protect the valuable wood siding on your home.  Choosing the right product can be a daunting task, but we're here to help you make the right decision.

Transparent stains let you see the most grain


Transparent penetrating wood stains modify the color of the wood slightly and offer the most "natural" look  Nearly all manufacturers of wood stains offer colors such as “Natural”, “Cedar”, and “Redwood”, which are designed to maintain the wood’s look without obscuring the grain. Make sure that the product you choose contains fungicides to inhibit the growth of mildew and UV absorbers to protect the wood from the sun's harmful rays.  Clears are not recommended; the product needs to have some color to protect the wood.

Semi-Transparent stain offers even more  protection

Semi-transparent stains are similar to transparent stains, but with more pigmentation. They offer a higher level of protection from the UV rays of the sun, while still allowing some of the natural grain of the wood to show through. Semi-transparent stains are a good compromise between protecting the wood, and allowing you to see the wood’s character.

For more in-depth reading and information about finishing siding and other wood projects, the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association offers an informative guide to finishing cedar, in PDF format.

Some of the best stains for wood siding can be found on our site. If you need any assistance in choosing a product for your wood siding project, you can always call the wood stain experts from World of Stains at 866-645-5544, or visit our web site at www.worldofstains.com.