Find a Wood Stain That Lasts
Staining your deck or fence is typically a do-it-self job that isn’t that hard and should keep your wood looking good for years. And if you're planning to stain siding or shingles, you'll really want a stain that's long lasting. Consumer Reports tested 35 solid, semi-transparent, and clear stains to find which last the longest.
We buy stains and then apply them to wood panels that are placed on racks on the roof of our headquarters in Yonkers, New York. We face the panels south at an angle of 25 degrees to intensify the effects of sun and weather. After a year of testing, we get a look at how the stain will look after three years on your siding or fence, or one year on your deck or other horizontal surfaces. We test each stain for up to three years.
Test Results
The worst stains looked ratty in less than a year. The best remained close to their original color after three years of testing, protected the wood from cracking, picked up little mildew and dirt, and should last three to five years. (Prices are per gallon.)
Solid stains. They hide the wood grain the way paint does. Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Solid Deck & Siding, $46, performed well in our tests tops. Behr Solid Color Waterproofing Wood Stain, $29, also made our recommended list. The worst-performing solid stain was Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Solid Stain, $29, scoring poor overall.
Semi-transparent stains. These allow some of the wood grain to show through and are a good choice for wood that you want to show off. But the best aren’t as weather resistant as the top solid stains, and should last two to three years. Behr Premium Semi-Transparent Weatherproofing Wood Stain, $37, recommended. The worst? Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Semi-Transparent, $27.
Clear sealer stains. These contain little or no pigment and are ideal for showing off, as much as possible, the natural grain of the wood, although it will turn gray over time. And you’ll probably have to re-stain annually. As a group, clear sealers scored the lowest, with overall scores ranging from 5 to 28 (out of 100).
Check our wood stain buying guide and then review our wood stain Ratings. Click the Features & Specs tab to find out whether the stain was good at resisting cracking, color change, dirt, and mildew.
Email questions about wood stains to kjaneway@consumer.org.
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