The white cedar single stains described in this thread are mostly applied by dipping the shingles in stain at the factory which provides the best protection. Weatherwash is a brand of interior furniture stain that can be used on exterior wood with a protective coating of Weatherwash's Exterior Water Sealer. That seems like additional expense for less protection.

I took a few of the same shingles the house was sided with over to the paint shop to have a few samples done. Sikkens RDC is what they were recommending although again being oil based it made the shingle samples look darker. The natural seemed to be the closest to what I am looking for but not really what I truly want. Other than the fact that water base finishes don't last as long or protect as well, are there other inherent problems with using one of the hybrids as suggested. Another paint shop was pushing Olympic Maximum clear (hybrid) and it appeared to be closer in color when put on as a sample. Faron, I'm not sure what back primed means, but if it means sealed both sides and all edges before installation, the answer is definitely no. And to help answer your question, I"m looking to see as much grain and as much of the original color as possible. I've heard a bit about the Log and Siding but was concerned about it producing a look which was much different to what I have now. Any thoughts? Thanks to both of you for the help. Art

"Both products are water-based." That is the essence of your problem. If you are determined to use a water base product don't waste time stripping off the old Behr junk. It will not improve the performance of the new product. Sand off the loose stuff, give the deck a good cleaning and rinse. If the new product is better than the Behr, you will be stripping it off in a year or two after it fails. Make sure you understand that water base stain is really just paint. It forms a film on the surface (regardless of what the label claims it "penetrates into the wood" total baloney) same as paint. "Also, we are considering painting the floor boards a different color from the railings." So it sounds like you already understand the water base product is paint. Why not get actual paint? I am sure the BM paint store has some paints designed for exterior wood high traffic areas. I would choose an earthy, neutral color for the deck boards to blend in with the outdoors, and match the railings to the color of the house/trim. I think you will get way better performance with a high quality exterior paint designed for use on porches and decks.

From the photo. it looks as though the shingle siding just hasn't weathered yet. The siding was probably new within the last year. Give it some time and and the colour will soften. You can already see that the shingles down toward the bottom of the walls (where they're more exposed to the elements) are beginning to gray. If you like the naturally weathered look, just be patient. It will take 2 or 3 years for them to weather gracefully. If you're impatient, shingles can be painted or stained, but at this point, you'd probably have to power-wash them first to remove the staining that has started as a natural part of the weathering process. A tinted stain could then be applied to the cleaned shingles. If you choose to paint, a primer should be applied before paint. Personally, I prefer the look of naturally weathered shingles, so I'd be inclined go that route. Not only does it look better in my opinion, but it requires less maintenance.