Aw..now we're into fencing..that's ok!

When I put up mine up in 1981 with spruce only, except post, .. [still standing] the best stain out there was Oil based Olympic from Canadian Tire [confirmed by my neighbor also who was a paint salesman for somebody else] he was totally right, was good for many many years..the new stuff, [of course cant get oil anymore] doesn't last a darn and peels off! Had Behr and others,..what's the point go latex when paint washes down the sure line.

At this point, I can't give you any advise with anything I know of which doesn't peel off. If it was me...well, let it be, cedar looks good on it's own and last a long time without painting in our dry climate. If I need to replace my fence then I go pressure treated.

Thanks, Konrad! A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.... even though fencing is not my kind of thing!!! Sigh.... LOL

I should look into the oil based stuff. I also see that Lowe's has that Australian Timber Oil stain by Cabot. However, I just have not worked with oil-based stains before, so I need to do more homework on that.

If anyone has any suggestion on water-based stains, I would be most grateful!

Thanks again.

Paint manufacturers were forced out of the oil based because of the green people.

I used a product by Sansin on a cedar structure we added last fall. It is water-based and it was really easy to use. They had a wide variety of translucent through opaque stain colours. So far it still looks good this spring, so hopefully it will wear well over the next few years. It is not supposed to peel (but we'll see). I believe it is popular with people who have log homes.

You need to use oil base stain. None they sell anymore say they are for exterior use but work fine I did my deck and pergola in varathene stain kona and it's been years and will never peel as its soaked into wood. I do have lower part of my deck done in the crappy product made by behr it's what they try and sell you when you ask about exterior deck paints. Don't use it. A year later it peeled I'm just waiting for the uv and water to help peel the rest so I don't have to sand it ,next year I will kona the entire deck. Just be careful with the oil as its a mess and will destroy anything

mattpf and violetjune, thank you for the tips! I am going to look into those products. Thank you!!!

Shazam, that would be super helpful! Thank you..... please let me know once you have found it -:)

Forget the box stores and go to a general paint store. They have products that last and I can't recall the name now. Lots of houses are cedar sided here and the general paint products last 5-10 years.

SCG, please let me know when you remember the name! The thing is, the sun is Calgary is just really strong so no wood stain here is probably going to last as long as it does in BC.

Agree...for a reason it's called sunny Alberta.

Are stains and water protectors (makes the water bead on top of the wood) different? I stained/water protected our deck 3 years ago with an oil based brand, and it doesn't peel off at all, it just soaks in...but it still disappears (for us anyway). I don't know if the wood is just dry and quickly sucks it up, or if the sun breaks it down or what. But it desperately needs to be done again.

So I don't know if I just used crappy stuff or if retreating the wood is just going to be a every-second-year kinda thing. Ugh. If we ever build a deck again, we'll spend money on metal spindles. I HATE doing those stupid spindles!

Weeper, the previous owners of our home used a water protector product like you describe on our deck. The water would bead up, but after several years it now soaks in. I did notice that in a place where the wood was covered by furniture that we just moved, it still beads up. I think the protective coating just wears off with exposure to sun and rain.

I would respectfully disagree about the sun strength. We are often the sunniest place in Canada (Winterpeg is the other top contender) and often much warmer than you.

Not all stains are created equally and General paints carries professional quality stuff. Not the price point junk in box stores. The lighter the stain the more often you will have to do it as it is not as UV resistant.

Good luck.

Ostrich, are you still looking? So there's a product called Penofin that is generally considered to be very good however it is very, very, very expensive.

SouthCountryGuy,

It is not a matter of just the amount of sun, but the region's altitude. Due to Calgary's high altitude there is less atmosphere here which means less UV protection. Combine that with our crazy winters and these products have a really tough time here.

Thanks, Shazam. Yes, I am still looking! As the plants are all around the fence now, I would like to wait until fall, when the weather is drier and when the leaves are gone :-)

Where can I buy Penofin from please?

Timbertown sells it. You might have to special order it. Visit penefin.com for more dealers.