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Staining outdoor wooden structure???

11 years ago

DH is building a garden obelisk for me. It's made from fir 2x2s and 2x1s. It will be about 28" wide on each base side and about 5'6" tall.

I want it to be stained in a "transparent" or "semi-transparant" stain in a dark plum color; he thinks we should add a coat of Thompson's weather seal over that.

Does anyone know what brand and type of stain I can use, and which satin or flat weather seal would work together?

This obelisk will be in the front yard garden. This year it will be covered with orange and yellow Thumbergia vines; next year I'll plant purple Clematis on it.

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Comments (5)

User
11 years ago
I believe that, when using PT wood, which presumably, and hopefully, your DH is, you're supposed to not put anything on it for one year.
gyr_falcon
11 years ago
I would go with a better quality product than Thompson's; Superdeck/Duckback is what we used on our gate. How the wood was treated, and your local climate, determines how long you would need to wait to stain, I believe. If you are unsure of the treatment, be safe and use an oil based stain product.
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User
11 years ago
I do a LOT of staining. Behr is my favorite. Home Depot carries it. I usually use it on cedar fences. OR....Kwal/Sherwin Williams has a pretty good water based stain. That's what I used on my house and red wood deck. Thompsons.....IMO, is a waste of time....
Michael
11 years ago
My advice is use a one step product like BM Arborcoat.

ARBORCOAT®

Premium Exterior Stain ARBORCOAT Semi Transparent Deck and Siding Stain (638)
- Provides protection and color without obscuring the grain or texture of the wood
- Durable finish with color-permanent pigments
- Formulated to penetrate, protect and beautify wood decking and furniture
- Provides a mildew-resistant coating
- Creates a water-repellent coating
- May be applied to new, pressure-treated lumber
- Ideal for softwoods like cedar and pine
- Scuff-resistant
- Provides superior UV protection when used with Clear Coat (636)
- Available in 75 colors
caroline94535
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh WOW! Thank you, each of you, for all the great info.

Tibbrix - this is just a little, simple obelisk; he's building it mostly as a "test." He could not get the PT wood in these small sizes, and he did not want to have to rip larger pieces. So, he's using untreated.

Once we get it all tweaked; and just as I want it; he said we'd get the pressure treated wood and do another one. This one will last several years; the trellis he made about 12 years ago is still going strong. I bring them into the garage for the winter.

The directions we found on line showed a wonderful obelisk, simple to make, and just what I wanted. There were some flaws in the instructions. When he made the first panel it was far to tall and way too short. It looked more like a ladder than an obelisk.

I told him I wanted it shorter, more narrow at the top and much wider at the bottom. He graciously took the two panels apart; cut the uprights down by 2 feet, made new templates, and attached the uprights inside the screws on the top template instead of outside of them as the instructions said. If anyone follows the link I'm posting, you might want to do a dry run of the first section to make sure it "fits."

GryFalcon - Thanks for the info. We're new to decks and wooden garden structures and are grateful for all the info we can get. He's hoping to clean and re-stain the front deck this summer so I'll pass your info on to him.

Nicole - your the second vote against Thompsons and I'm paying attention. We have both a Benjamin Moore and a Sherwin Williams dealer in Grand Forks; I'll be visiting them. I have to travel to Fargo to see a Home Depot; and that's nearly 150 miles, one way.

Brushworks - I checked out the site for Arborcoat. They have a dark purple in a semi-transparent finish. I "see" my little arbor looking very pretty.

Here's the instructions we're loosely following. The best part is there are no miter cuts. I'm still debating on what to use for a final. Birdhouse? Large teapot? Carved acorn?

Make a garden obelisk for climbing plants

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