Choosing whether to PAINT or STAIN?

Not sure if you should PAINT or STAIN your deck, porch, railings or wood siding?⁠ 

At Larry’s Painting GTA we have many customers who ask us to advise them whether to use paint or to stain to refinish their surface. There are benefits and drawbacks to each choice which I will point out below. The pros and cons relate to just about any application where stain can be applied.

Pros for Painting: ⁠

1. Paint hides the blemishes and imperfections on the surface of the wood.
2. Paint comes in far more colour options than stain.
3. Paint comes in a large variety of sheens and finishes
4. Paint can be applied over previously coated surfaces, including stain as you don’t need to see the wood. (Primer may be required before painting however. Consult your painting professional)
5. Where resurfacing is required, painting is usually cheaper and quicker as less prep is typically required.

Cons for Painting:⁠

1. Can be more expensive where you are painting porous materials like fences.
2. Paint covers up the natural-wood grain and look.
3. Paint eventually will flake or chip, whereas stain penetrates the wood and does not build on top as much.
4. Once paint is on the surface, it is time consuming and expensive to convert to stain. (You would need to strip the coating off the surface, apply a cleaner and sand first)

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So you want to Stain and have that nice wood look showing through.

Pros for Staining:

1. Shows the grain and texture of the wood.
2. Can be less expensive depending on the surface you are treating.
3. Penetrates the wood surface and is less prone to chipping and flaking.
4. A stained surface can easily be painted with minimal prep.

Cons for Staining:

1. A stained surface will wear away faster than a painted surface.
2. Less colour selection in the semitransparent stains. Most suppliers now have solid stain in every possible colour.
3. Limited sheen selection.

Ultimately, the choice is up to the look you want for the surface and the care you want to put into it. In Canada where we have hot summers, very cold winters, rainy springs, our deck, siding and fence surfaces are under a lot of stress and pressure. With this, you will want the coating that will last the longest and easiest to maintain. A quality stain will give lasting protection and not chip but you will need to re-stain more often than paint. Paint will last longer but is more prone to cracking, flaking and chipping.

Need more information? Contact one of our professionals here at Larry’s Painting GTA.

Call us: (416) 690-3890

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