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Jim's points are exactly what anyone should be considering. Wood at 50* or lower begins to tighten up as a response to the temperatures and won't absorb well. Also, oils are like bacon grease, they begin to congeal at that temp and don't penetrate. Combining these two factors makes it a difficult assessment for when to start. Getting temps during the day is fine but remember overnight temps can literally squeeze out the sealer that hasn't dried/cured by then. This leads to tacky finishes which will never set right and leads to a premature failing of the product. Acrylics have a little better performance ability but again need to have consistent temps above their application range to ensure proper curing. Some can be applied as low as 40* but keep in mind the substrate. If it is a hardwood. Forget it. Wait for warmer temps. I acknowledge Jim's predicament over the years and that he has had it very difficult where temps AND rain have been concerned. He and other in the northeast corridor have been hit with some unfortunate weather which has impacted their businesses and complicated their ability to do quality work without having to resort to alternate measures to get the job done. Here's to hoping all have a decent weather year. Rod

Thank you everyone! Also, thank you Jake! Your advice and professionalism is always top notch. Plus, I landed a 3k deck restoration job because a customer was referred to us by you. I really appreciate that. The scary thing is, the customer almost changed their mind and wanted to put Restore on instead for a while. Luckily I was able to educate them. Have a great start to the year everyone.

Hello Jason and other Armstrong Stain users, If you have a deck staining job when the temp is lower than 50 degrees there are several things you can do. 1) Keep the stain at room temp (60 degrees or warmer) 2) The wood needs to be free of dew and water content no more than 20% 3) Apply the stain in the direct sunlight and the heat of the day. The 50 degrees is measured in the shade so the wood will be well above 60 degrees. Following these helpful hints of the trade will give you an earlier start and later finish to your season. Many thanks for using our stains, Jake 1 209 541 6579 cell

Here is my 10 day forecast. Today Mar 19 48°F 31°F PM Rain Chance of rain: 90% Wind: SSE at 20 mphDetails Thu Mar 20 34° 24° Snow Shower / Wind Chance of snow: 50% Wind: WSW at 26 mph Snowfall <1 inDetails Fri Mar 21 40° 33° Partly Cloudy Chance of rain: 10% Wind: WSW at 12 mphDetails Sat Mar 22 38° 21° Snow Shower Chance of snow: 60% Wind: WSW at 15 mphDetails Sun Mar 23 26° 13° Few Snow Showers Chance of snow: 30% Wind: NW at 14 mphDetails Mon Mar 24 25° 19° Cloudy Chance of precip: 0% Wind: WNW at 14 mphDetails Tue Mar 25 33° 19° Few Snow Showers Chance of snow: 30% Wind: SW at 11 mphDetails Wed Mar 26 27° 15° Scattered Snow Showers Chance of snow: 30% Wind: WNW at 13 mphDetails Thu Mar 27 39° 29° Partly Cloudy Chance of precip: 10% Wind: SW at 11 mphDetails Fri Mar 28 46° 36° Scattered Showers I am ready to move. Right now. RIGHT NOW!

Hey Jason-- a little tip.... If your using an oil base stain make sure it's nowhere near freezing at night or you may have problems. Like Jim says, in our area you want to get to May for staining. The horrid call backs you can get because the stain didn't cure correctly do to freezing is not worth the headache.

The issue with low temps ,moisture and getting a sealer to absorb and dry . Low temps slows the process down tremendously. If it's in direct sunlight all day helps a lot . Just pray for no rain for a week and for temps to rise? I run a heater sometimes . I ran it last year late November to finish a mahogany porch . Worked very well but took away 25 bucks in fuel and about 3 hours in more time for the job . I stayed there longer running the heat to dry the sealer. You also can heat up the sealer which helps and I did for this job. it's a super high end area and was well worth it. Did I say wood care blows! In reality wood is from May to October .