Hi WB, If you've had dry weather, 3 or 4 days is OK, then use the sander. * You want all wood fibers to "shear off" nicely. If they're still damp, they may "tear" more...compared to a cleaner cut. * Important point: Get all the dust you can from where you sanded!! Sweeping/Shop-vac/light wipe with paint thinner. * Then, stain away! Deck Stains...hmmm...now THERE'S a "hot topic" here! * I can only speak of what we have good experience with at our store here in Fargo, ND... * Our climate here can range from -30 to 100+, with ALL kinds of humidity. It's a wonder anything holds on a deck! (our rough streets take a beating too!) ....That said.... * The "clear", "natural" colors from Penofin & Sikkens are our best sellers. * PENOFIN: Cedar, Western Red Cedar, & Transparent Redwood are by far the 3 top colors here. TWO-COAT process normally on untreated wood. 2nd coat goes pretty quickly. * SIKKENS: JEEZ we go through a lot of this stuff! SRD is appropriate for 95% of decks. ONE COAT on untreated wood. >>>> Most popular SRD colors... 077 Cedar, 078 Natural, 005 Natural Light, Mahogany, & 089 Redwood. * I've got an 11 yr.-old Redwood deck. I'm real happy with the SRD 089 Redwood I've got on it. I've had 2 yrs. off, but have to do it again this fall. * We don't get any shade on ours; but, up here, that's about all we can realistically expect. Let us know how it goes for ya! Faron

Have the cost of replacement garage door added into your closing cost. You replace at your convenience when you decide on the exterior colors.

I hope you meant to say restain the siding and not paint. Paint will peel. If you have no peeling and the color has simply faded, then you are looking for a new stain color. Duckback produces a very good stain.

Is there paint on it now? If so, you cant put stain on over the top. You will have to repaint it, or use a solid color stain (the grain wont show through, like regular semi transparent stain). I would try to do a color very close to actual cedar siding color.