I've tried dark exterior stains from both Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore and the Sherwin Williams was way better. It was easier to get really good, consistent coverage with the SW.

what a beautiful well kept swing. I have one similar to yours, but it is left out in the weather. Right now as I type, the swing is going through a major overall. I am having my husband back all the screws out so I can do each individual board separately and make sure I get between the slats, etc. Mine is definitely going to take a lot more work than your beautiful swing. From what you are saying, it sounds like the swing is in really good shape. From what I can see, if it were me I would take one of the soft back sanding sponges from 3m ; the ones that mold and contour to the piece you are working on. I would just break the surface of the finish that is on there now in order for your stain to bite; or I would sand as I mentioned and use Old Masters Spar Marine Varnishes or the gel stains. By the way, I love using General Finishes (arm-r-seal). I don't think you will have any problems or difficulty refinishing your swing.

could it be there's no uniform truth to the question? i posted the question elsewhere too and got the following: that's a stain, not a paint. you don't put primer under it, he's right. typically i might put a coat of turp/spirits/etc to make sure there's no mold/mildew/etc that goes unkilled. but with cedar that shouldn't be much of an issue, since cedar is quite resistant to parasites and fungus on its own. however, you could do that. walk around the building and inspect for mold/mildew, you know what it looks like (black or grey spots that seemingly originate from nowhere, thus disregarding black spots around nails from nail deterioration). if there is none, you should be fine with his proposed method. if there is any mold/mildew anywhere, you might point that out and suggest he pre-treat it all with a coat of turp first. note that this is a STAIN not a paint. it will be a roughly 7 or 8 year maintenance cycle, in that you'll need a new coat every that-many years. but the new coat will be fairly simple to apply, just wash dirt away and go, no other prep needed. --- now i'm just totally confused and big time concerned.

Thank you, both! I am definitely considering replacing the garage doors (they're likely original to 1965 when the house was built so not in great shape) but that's a project for another time, unfortunately! I love those glass doors on your final photo. That second photo you uploaded, Beth, is similar to how our garage gable is: there are vertical strips of wood (looks kind of like shiplap) that don't show up well in the photo I uploaded. In that second photo, would you paint the gable the same color as the house, assuming the garage doors are a charcoal color? Here's a different color I considered for the dark trim but thought it was too light; maybe it's all right after all: Iron Ore (SW): I also considered Peppercorn, which is quite a bit lighter and might provide more contrast?