I typically paint houses but I took on a deck/ patio/ steps and hand railing staining project. The options were, a solid or a darker stain, he didn’t like either and he didn’t want to pay for it to all be sanded. So I told him I’d sand it a little and pick a slightly darker or similar. My question is now that I took it upon myself to strip it. I found a shiny pretty orange stain that was originally on it 20 years ago but he doesn’t know what it was and whoever covered it since then did a **** poor job and used a way different color and product. What can I use to put over it to what it was originally, Is it possible. should I use an oil base stain or water base and should I just go to Sherwin-Williams, Lowe’s, Home Depot or PPG and pick a similar stain, its now lighter but not Completely bare wood with a hint of orange that the stripper did not take off. If this is confusing or I didn’t write it properly that’s pretty much how I feel about this job. I just want the home owner to get what he wants. The pictures are of what it is not yet stripped and the finished looking picture is the ceiling of the gazebo I believe it used to look like.
