Ready Seal Stain?

[SPW Clean 14]

Hi Everyone, I was wondering how you usually recommend the color of Ready Seal to your customers for their decks? During the estimate do you just tell them what kind of seal you are using and then you just pick the color that you think will look the best? I am going to give Ready Seal a try so I would like to see how most of you handle choosing the color. Do you ever refer them to the Sun Brite Supply website so they can choose? This will be used on a 12 year old cedar deck that has never been stained before.

Thanks,

Keith

[seymore 90]

I usually show them my pics of the different colors on different age decks and let them choose that way.Different age decks will have different color tones.

Well i don't use RS but I usually match the color of stain by the H.O prefrence #1.Then i usually reccomend a color depending on what color paint or bricks or on the house.

PT pine decks usually look better with Brown or Gold tones versus Reds.The red stains usually tend to look orange on the natural "yellow" tone of the pine.

You are better off doing a test area with stain after you clean and it dries if possible and let them choose that way?

[Don M. 14]

Keith,

I started using RS this year. I personally like it.

Go to readyseal.com and get their number and talk to Pierce. He's been great to me.

I tell everyone usually people like the Natural Cedar color. Out of the 12 or so decks I've done I only had one person want a different color. I explained to them I didnt carry that color in inventory thus there was a price increase. They were fine with that.

The Natural Cedar is going to be darker on older cedar.

[Adrian 155]

RS also has a color chart on their site that you can print.

Or just simply request some of their trifold sales brochoures.

Although Sunbrite can as well.

[SPW Clean 14]

Thank you all for your advice. I am going to get a brochure from Sunbrite. The owner actually does have stain on the deck and it looks like it might be Behr unfortunately so do you think I should suggest a dark stain for his deck since it looks like that's what he applied before?

Keith

[bigchaz 157]

Strip off the behr and apply the RS

[garcii2 14]

I am not too sure about decks, but This year, I have been mixing Dark Red with Dark Brown on fences and I get alot of happy customers. From what I seen, darker colors usually last longer than lighter colors. Once in a while I use natural cedar. I really don't care too much about Light Brown, I only used it once and I did not like it, however my customer was thrilled. You will need to make your own samples and see what most of your customer likes and if you see that some colors are not selling, just get rid of them and only sell what most people like. Also, I personally do not referr anyone to the company that I buy my supplies from, because the customers are clever, and will call the supplier and shop arround for other contractors to see who is the lowest bidder.

[RPetry 564]

Keith,

Shane's suggestion is a keeper. If you are just starting out, make sure to take before and after pictures of wood jobs. Assemble your best photos into an album you can take on estimates to show customers your portfolio of work and different RS colors on different types of wood.

I started out using Wolman's F&P but quickly changed over to RS. Pretty much due to my taste, slightly "pushed" or "nudged" my customers towards Ready Seal medium red over the past 4 years. Especially on PT or older cedar, still my personal favorite color. If you go to the web site on my signature line and select "Photo galleries", many of the completed pictures are RS med. red on cedar, PT, and redwood.

Natural cedar is my second personal choice, and second with my customers. Think it looks better on Western Red Cedar than PT. Light brown can also look great on cedar, especially newer cedar. Completed an old cedar deck recently, that had to be stripped, with this color but have not gotten back to the neighborhood to take final pics. This lighter color can be a bit more difficult with older wood, especially if only parts of the deck get full sun, but can still be make to look great. I'll post a pic here if I remember.

Like Israel in the post above, a 50/50 mix of dark brown and dark red can also look great, especially on hardwoods such as mahogany and ipe'. There is a recent thread here on TGS with this mix and photos on an ipe' handrail. Search for "Oxalic Citric" in the thread title.

Show pics during the estimate to get a feel for what the customer wants. If they are undecided, try this. After brightening, get an old hairdryer out of your truck and let it dry a small area of floor while you are packing up. Before you leave, apply 3 or 4 small stain samples to the wood and take a picture. Send them an email along with the pic, describing for example, "From left to right, light brown, medium brown, natural cedar, medium red" and where the samples are located on their prepared wood. Works for me for those "picky" customers.

[SPW Clean 14]

I have started taking before and after pics but I have not yet put together a portfolio. I'm going to start one together once I have enough which should be soon. I'm looking forward to trying Ready Seal. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Keith

[Deck Guy 14]

I bought an 8x6 fence panel from a local lumberyard that they intentionally left outside turn gray to match existing fences. I sawed the pickets in half horizontally, left the top 4 inches of each (now) 3 foot picket gray, the next 4 inches clean, and stained the rest. I use them as samples. You will have to limit your colors, because some customers will then have a hard time deciding. My customers love RS Natual Cedar, but I just sold a big job with their 020 (is that medium red?). I keep a few pickets around just to try different stains on if I run into something interesting.

Bottom line...I like samples I make myself that I can carry, and I lean the boards against the house when I quote. You'll find that you can suit most people with just three or four different colors. Like Don said, call Pierce at RS.

[SPW Clean 14]

That is a great idea! Thank you.

[AshburyIL 14]

Sounds like everyone on this site is happy with the Ready Seal products. I am considering to use Ready Seal for about 100,000 sq. feet of cedar fencing around our subdivision. How many years until we would need to re-seal? I have heard 2-3 yrs. on Ready Seal's website and 5 from a local contractor that wants the job.

Thanks.

[Deck Guy 14]

I've got Ready Seal decks with two years and the verticals still look great. Five years might be a stretch if you want to keep it looking top-notch. A neighbor of mine got three years with Dark Red on his fence and it didn't look too bad. Unfortunately he stained over it with another product (which is okay if you can get the proper aesthetics), and it looks like garbage now. I would guess that a lighter shade might hold up better.

Having said that though, don't let longevity be the only factor that sways you here. Ready Seal looks great, and is a snap to maintain, which will set it apart from other finishes, even if you can squeeze an exta year out of them vs. Ready Seal. Most other finishes will require stripping, while RS only need a light cleaning to re-coat, and looks deeper/richer with each successive coat. Also, paraffinic oils are truly idiot-proof as far as application goes. Shoot as much on as the wood will take, and keep moving. No backbrushing or blending.

There are big benefits in having an easy-to-maintain finish, since it will look good consistently, not fade for a few years, then look new again, then fade again, then...

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Keith, I been doing up samples on new dog eared cedar & redwood fence boards. One thing for sure is that the oil type products like RS on Redwood don't always show huge differences between hence like others seem to say you may only need a couple few colors...especially on old wood... What I did for my samples was I sanded one side smooth that way with any color I have a total of 4 different looks that can be seen on two boards. I spaced the colors every 3" and am upto over a dozen now (minus Woodtux..Honey sample hasn't showed up yet). Labels don't stick so I staple them to side of boards.

Hijack...Anybody know of a paraffinic that gives a lite look like that of the alkyds on older wood?

[RPetry 564]

AshburyIL,

Preparation of the wood is key in stain longetivity. Proper stripping/cleaning, followed by an acid neutralizer/brightener is needed. Next comes stain.

With Ready Seal, the wood can and should be a touch acidic. Pay the price for a lot of stain, as much as the wood can take, the first time around. Make sure you our your contractor has a good moisture meter and does not apply the oil until the wood is at 12% or less. Expect 3 to 4 years before a light cleaning and re-oiling. Labor and materials should run ~65% of original cost.

Maintenance is the key. A lot cheaper in labor than many other stains. Never strip again. And no moisture, rain, weather issues. As oil is still in the wood, it drys out fast.