DIY sealing our fence! How to protect wood with a clear stain

DIY sealing our fence! How to protect wood with a clear stain

• 7.13.2020

A couple months ago I shared about how we replaced our mismatched, damaged fence and gate with new (cedar). One of our favorite upgrades to this property, for sure!! 

We did some research and learned you're supposed to wait a while before staining or sealing a new fence, so the boards can cure. Well, it's been enough time and the weather is dryer now, and we just sealed it!

I was a little intimidated by this project but it went SO well!

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

I worked with Home Depot on this project and wrote a post on their blog about all the details. I'll share a few images here, but definitely check out and pin from the post if you're considering staining or sealing a fence, deck, or other outdoor wood item!

Here are all the products we used, plus a few more in the list below.

• Olympic 1-Gallon Clear Exterior Waterproofing Sealant
• Olympic 5-Gallon Clear Exterior Waterproofing Sealant
• Olympic Premium Deck Cleaner
• 1-Gallon Pump Sprayer
• Graco Airless Paint Sprayer
• Graco Pump Armor Fluid
• Mineral Spirits
• High Density Fabric Roller Covers (we didn't end up using, but you might need on a smoother fence/one that doesn’t absorb as much stain)
• Heavy Duty Painter's Coverall with Hood
• (similar to the one we already had and used) 3M Medium Household Multi-Purpose Respirator

Even in just a couple months of sitting, the fence got dirty! And you can see at the top the rain and sun were causing some wear on the boards. Cedar fences get really worn-looking in the Pacific Northwest. In just a year, without staining, I bet the fence would have been lighter and greyer.

Cleaning it with the Olympic Premium Deck Cleaner and Pump Sprayer was super easy and way more effective than just hosing it down with water (and probably better for it than power-washing).

We let it dry, then got to spraying! It is really a joy to use a professional grade Airless Paint Sprayer like this one. (We used my uncle's when we painted the interior of our last house--5 hours, whole house!) It takes some time to read the instructions and get all the safety gear on, but then the actual spraying is so fast. I think it took Jason maybe 2 hours to spray all 180'+ of fence!!

It's also low-waste compared to a small paint sprayer because you hook it up directly to the gallon or 5-gallon container of paint (or stain or sealant). Again, we used Olympic Clear Exterior Waterproofing Sealant, which is super highly rated and perfect for this use. (#1 rated three years in a row among clear wood sealer stains by a leading consumer magazine). It protects against water damage, UV wear, scuffs, and mildew stains, and provides 4 years of protection fences & siding (3 years on decks). 

There it is!! Such a difference--it didn't add much color but brought out the beautiful natural cedar color. SO glad to have this beautiful investment protected! We have been loving our backyard these days and the fence is a huge part of that!

Please check out the post I wrote on the Home Depot blog for more details!