I’ve posted about this before and I will continue to a couple of times a year because I believe strongly in what you should or should not stain your playset with!
If you purchased a playset from us I may have told you that you should stain your set after the first year of having it. I have found that you can actually wait longer. I’m finding that the playset doesn’t have a whole lot of wear yet (maybe the high traffic areas but I’m talking over all) and still looks great so if you do stain it the parts that still look great won’t change much. So save yourself some money and time and wait a bit longer you want to get the most of your money and time if you are doing it yourself.
Now this rule doesn’t just apply to the play sets we sell. So no matter where you got your wooden play set from you will want to stain it at least one time but you too can probably wait a few seasons.
What do you use when it is time to stain your set?
Superdeck by Duckback products is the product we have been using for 20 years now. It is a one coat application oil based stain. We have used both transparent 1905 (Heart redwood) & semi Transparent 2905 (Heart redwood). We like the Semi transparent it covers a bit more but still lets the grain show through. You can get it at Sherwin Williams. The Heart Redwood is the pigment color that will match your set (if it’s a Rainbow) but there are many pigment colors to choose from. Most sets I would say 1-2 gallons but maybe buy more just in case but make sure you can return any unused ones.
I have seen a lot of people use this big hardware store brand stain that is a water sealant Please Please Please do not use this product on your playset! It is a water sealant but the problem is that the parts that are not stained is were the water will seep in and then the water can’t get out so it ends up rotting your set from the inside out.
Tips on staining;
You can go over the hardware while stain HOWEVER make sure you have a rag to wipe it off immediately or else if it dries it’s there for life.
If you have a jacobs ladder save your paper towel & toilet paper rolls – cut them and put them over the ropes because if you get stain on the ropes it’s there for life.
If you start one board finish that board before you walk away – if you start and stop on a board you will be able to tell.
It’s a dirty job but it’s worth it and you don’t have to do it every year.
If you have any questions just ask even if you don’t have a Rainbow or you didn’t buy from us I am more than happy to help make sure you get the longest life out of your playset you can.
Visit us at BackyardFunZone or call today at 616-785-7383.