Painting/Staining Barn

[k-os]

I'm looking at re-painting or staining my barn. Size is 20 feet wide, 30 feet deep, 11 feet to soffits on the side, and 21 feet to the gables. ~1,500 square feet of wood siding.

I'm currently looking at buying 15 gallons of Cabot Solid Stain, tinted red.
Each 5 gallon bucket is $189 and has a $50 rebate, bringing it to $138 ($414 total). The rebate goes through Saturday, so I need to decide on this before the weekend.

Menards Link

Anyone have experience with this product in this application? I'm planning on re-facing the barn with metal siding in the next 5-10 years. Is the solid stain over-kill?

 

[TractorJeff]

No it is not an over kill, squirt it now!
5 to 10 years is a long time, especially as you can't plan on life mis-haps!

 

[greg86z28]

When we do our barn next year we were just going to do Menards "Barn Red" paint.

https://www.menards.com/main/paint/...794-c-8006.htm?tid=1725174661297643658&ipos=1

I haven't done a ton of research yet. Did you consider that product?

We are also going to completely reside our barn, so we'll be starting with fresh wood too (we like the wood finish vs redoing it in metal).

 

[k-os]

When we do our barn next year we were just going to do Menards "Barn Red" paint.

https://www.menards.com/main/paint/...794-c-8006.htm?tid=1725174661297643658&ipos=1

I haven't done a ton of research yet. Did you consider that product?

We are also going to completely reside our barn, so we'll be starting with fresh wood too (we like the wood finish vs redoing it in metal).

I thought of the paint (I'd opt for the oil-based), but thought the solid stain may be best as it won't peel/chip when weathered.

 

[greg86z28]

I thought of the paint (I'd opt for the oil-based), but thought the solid stain may be best as it won't peel/chip when weathered.

That's a good point. I'll have to keep that in mind once we are getting closer to the job.

 

[kmacht]

Your wrong about solid stains. They can very much chip and peel. Most of the solid stains on the market are film forming. They actually sit on top of the wood like paint (only thinner) and you have to sand the chips and flakes back flat when you want to re-coat the barn down the road. What you want is a penetrating stain. Not sure if the cabot stain you are buying is a penetrating stain but you should probably look into it. I'm getting ready to stain a new barn as well. I have found very good reviews on the TWP 100 and 1500 series stains. The only down side to them is that you have to do a second coat immediately. If not you have to wait 4 to 6 months before re-applying.

Keith

 

[ard]

I thought of the paint (I'd opt for the oil-based), but thought the solid stain may be best as it won't peel/chip when weathered.

Post some after pics!

Are you planning any kind of cleaning? Power wash? OxalicAcid, etc??? Curious. Would be nice to wind up with a nice uniform color, and not see that pattern bleeding through....

 

[yeldogt]

Don't use a solid satin -- better to use an oil -- or what they call an oil.

you need some penetration.

why do you want to reside ? Love old barns with barnboard.

 

[k-os]

Don't use a solid satin -- better to use an oil -- or what they call an oil.

you need some penetration.

why do you want to reside ? Love old barns with barnboard.

Based on some of the feedback I may opt for this option from Fleet Farm.

https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/dikon-oil-barn-fence-paint-semi-gloss/0000000266626

The main reason to reside would be less maintenance/up-keep. I'm planning on having the roof re-done in steel as quite a few of the top shingles have already blown off within the 2 years since the pictures above were taken.

 

[6768rogues]

I have some barns that looked like that so a few years ago I painted them with Tractor Supply barn paint. I just rolled it on with a thick roller. They still look great. That paint is a lot less money than what you are thinking about using. The last time I checked it was about $55 for a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[pcmeiners]

Power wash it with a detergent with high pressure to remove any loose material, rinse well let dry thoroughly, hit it with a pro airless. You could paint the whole barn in a couple hours (with a couple hours of masking).

 

[lakeroadster]

Man, that is one cool barn! Do right by it, don't re-side it.

 

[matt_i]

Its not my money but I think that barn would look supreme with the Art Loc diamond shaped shingles. Really great that you have the nice concrete foundation all around it

I would also think the solid-stain would go well, it does penetrate some but also has sort of a hybrid "paint" characteristic in spots where the wood is very dense and won't accept as much stain, and it provides a uniform coat as seen from afar.

 

[zendriver]

Hard to say what it will look like just going over it with stain since it already has paint left on some of it.

I had a old wood barn almost that size so I just went over it with the oil base "barn paint" from Menards is well, using a brush.

It was 160-year-old barn of the wood was already weather pretty bad and It had been neglected for decadesbut I got about six years out of it before it started to peel off.

Spraying would probably be easier, if you have the equipment and skill.




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[lowbucktruck]

I vote for paint. Barn red, two coats. If you spray, plan to back-roll on the second coat.

 

[k-os]

I think I'm going to go with the oil-based paint. Going to check out the local Fleet Farm today to see if they stock it, otherwise I might have to drive to the next closest.

My parents offered to do the painting (and have been bothering me about getting paint), so they'll be rolling/brushing. I mentioned spraying it, but they insist on rolling and brushing.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Another vote for penetrating stain. It's a lot better than having to deal with chipping or peeling paint down the road.

 

[ard]

I vote for paint. Barn red, two coats. If you spray, plan to back-roll on the second coat.

Why the second coat? And not the first??

 

[zendriver]

Another vote for penetrating stain. It's a lot better than having to deal with chipping or peeling paint down the road.

Stain Will fade and eventually lose its protective coating, so it will need to be re-done within a few years, anyway.

Since the barn has both Bare wood and previously painted areas (several coats of likely lead-based paint over The last 100+ years) it's hard to imagine how they could get a consistent look by using tinted stain.


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[Stuart in MN]

Stain Will fade and eventually lose its protective coating, so it will need to be re-done within a few years, anyway.

Since the barn has both Bare wood and previously painted areas (several coats of likely lead-based paint over The last 100+ years) it's hard to imagine how they could get a consistent look by using tinted stain.


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Yes, it fades away and has to be re-done, but paint has to be re-done after a few years as well. With paint you have to scrape and sand to get rid of flaking and chipping, but stain is easier. You can do a quick wash to get rid of surface dirt and then it's ready for another coat.

I can't tell for sure from the photo of the barn, but it looked any paint was pretty much long gone, with nothing but a hint of it left. I could be wrong.

 

[MarlynOC]

Wash with oxallic acid and power washer let dry to 12% moisture meter. Cabots Solid or look at Armstrong Clark finishes.

 

[boo coo tracks]

If you are going with oil base, You can use thinner for the first coat because it is really going to soak it up. Please don't cover with steel! I am assuming there are 1x12" with batton?

Tracks

 

[k-os]

A bit of an update. Parents painted the south side wall a couple weeks ago and we just got the west side done this past Saturday. Both sides only have 1 coat right now.

 

[lakeroadster]

Looking great. That is one neat ole barn.

 

[grissom]

A bit of an update. Parents painted the south side wall a couple weeks ago and we just got the west side done this past Saturday. Both sides only have 1 coat right now.

So what product did you end up using

 

[k-os]

So what product did you end up using

I'm using the oil-based paint from Fleet Farm. For these two sides I've used just over 5 gallons (had to open another 5 gallon bucket to finish off the peak).

 

[ard]

[Rain on Parade Warning]


Fleet Farm is a retail chain of 37 stores owned and operated by KKR, an equity/leveraged buy out firm. They have no history of 'paint' expertise, no indications they actually make the paint- most likely they are buying something, somewhere- very cheaply- and having it private labeled as "Fleet Farm Brand".

At the same time, most experts on paint state that the cost of paint is closely tied to the quality of the chemicals and materials in the paint. They large scale testing of paints in controlled tests (many years) shows that higher quality paints contains higher costs materials. Experts will tell you that as you turn up the "lasts longer" dial, the "costs more" indicator goes up.

And while that stupid saying "you get what you pay for" might not be true- the inverse surely IS: "if it is cheap it cannot be the same as a high quality paint".

Can Fleet Farm buy from a mfg, and then resell a product for less than a paint company that only sells paint?? Quality the same?

The chemistry in paints and coatings is mind boggling- it simply cannot be evaluated by online reviews, product blurbs, and 'it's an oil base'.

I realize this is ******* on your project, but wanted to wedge this concept into the converation for the future. In your case the result looks great, and heck - you can always redo it a year or two early if it doesn't last.

It's a great looking barn- reminds me of my childhood in PA.

 

[jumpstart]

That's a beautiful barn

 

[captain14]

It's a big difference than a month ago.

Do you think you can get the rest painted and total second coat before the weather breaks in WI?

I'm not sure when conditions change for exterior paint besides the occasional day or two of good weather.

 

[k-os]

That's a beautiful barn

Thanks!

It's a big difference than a month ago.

Do you think you can get the rest painted and total second coat before the weather breaks in WI?

I'm not sure when conditions change for exterior paint besides the occasional day or two of good weather.

I'm hoping to at least get the East side done (door side) before it starts getting too cold. The North side needs to have some tar paper and nails pulled from what looks like used to be an overhang/lean-to.

The west side took about 3 hours with 3 people, so the East side should be about the same. This weekend isn't looking great for painting as I have some plans Saturday, but maybe I'll be able to get to it Sunday.

 

[Charlie51]

We just did a deck with "Ready Seal" penetrating stain from Blain's Farm and Fleet. It's oil based and you clean up with mineral spirits. It seems to be a whole lot better than the Thompson's product we used on the front stairway that peeled off in less than a year.

 

[k-os]

East side of the barn got done with one coat Sunday morning.

Have some replacement 1x2 battens that need to get attached between the window and the sliding door.

Before

After

 

[captain14]

Progress. Feels good to get at least one coat on the wood didn't it.

 

[bgarrett]

Your barn is gorgeous as is. Think about all the100 year old barns that were never painted and how good they look