Samples

I'm in Miami, FL... extreme heat and humidity. I am having ipe steps made for my raised front porch but I need to darken them to go with my house. If I put the black walnut semi transparent stain on them, and then put a coat of spar urethane to seal them, is that enough? Will they even last a couple of years before having to redo it?

We have a 45 year old cypress deck that's still in pretty good shape. We've replace a few boards, also with cypress. It was treated yearly with Cuprinol for about 25 years so it was a pretty weathered gray. It was neglected for about 5 years, then it was stained brown. That has finally faded and we've begun to clean and brighten it. Some boards have been replaced. I've been testing various stain products on the deck, from clear, to semi-transparent, to semi-solid. My hope would be to get it back to a natural weathered gray appearance, but I realize that a lot of time has passed and the wood has been neglected. Would your transparent driftwood gray provide a natural look? Another option would be to match the deck to the house (which is cedar siding with Cabot Seacoast Gray solid stain), but that would obscure the wood grain and be too matchy-matchy. I don't want to go brown again. The wood doesn't have to look perfect. I'm really stumped. The photo shows old boards next to a couple of the new ones. Thanks for any advice!

I am planning to paint my Grape Stake Cedar fence with AC Transparent or semi-transparent stain. My cat jumps onto the fence every day. Is it safe for the cat to contact the fence after it has dryed?

This northern white cedar siding is 15-20 years old and has not been treated. Gutters need to be installed to prevent further backsplash from rain dripping off eaves above. Before doing that, I’d like to apply a semi-transparent or semi-solid stain. Which will homogenize the two tones of the cedar wood? Is there a treatment for restoring the lower gray wood to the wood color up highter?

I have a strong interest in your semi-solid stain. I have a deck made up of old and new cedar and some pressure treated pine. I want to put on a stain that will hide their differences while still penetrating the wood. Both the old cedar and treated wood have been sanded and all three woods have been cleaned and brightened. I want to avoid solid stain because it will not penetrate. My two questions are: will the semi-solid be a good cover to hide the wood differences , and is there a way to get the semi-solid in driftwood?

Which category do the "Hardwoods & Softwoods" fit into? What is different about these three?

I used semi-solid stain in sequoia color on my decks a few years ago. Now some areas of the decks started faded exposing light grey tone of deck wood. Can I stain over the existing deck using the same stain only with cleaning but without removing the existing stain?

I have about 250 LF of new (2 months old) Western Red Cedar 8' privacy fence. I used an oil-based semi-transparent stain (Ready Seal) on about 40' in a color that should have left the pickets in a natural cedar color, but turned out very orange and does not look good with our house color. Can I apply a darker Armstrong-Clark semi-solid stain over the Ready Seal I've already applied? Can I do that now, or do I have to wait the 12 months you've recommended? How about the rest of the new fencing that I've not yet stained?

Is the natural tone transparent stain "clear" or is there some pigmentation to it.

We want to preserve the natural color of our new cedar deck

Can you blend stains to create your own color. I am looking at creating a blend of amber and redwood tone or amber and sierra redwood to get more red than amber.

We have some exposed columns and beams on a porch (Douglas Fir) that were previously stained with an solid stain when we built the house (they were exposed for about 1 month, then stained for about 2 years). We're looking for the darkest brown, non red tinted stain possible - should be be looking at the semi-solid espresso? Is a semi-solid appropriate for the age of the wood? The wood is still pushing sap through the previous stain. We've been sanding the beams with 50 grit and probably finish with 80 grit sandpaper to remove all of the previous stain. Is black walnut your next darkest color for Douglas Fir if the semi-solid is not appropriate? Are these going to require annual applications in a high altitude (6800')?

Is the hardwood Black walnut labeled in the sample as "semi transparent Black walnut"? we have Cumaru and are looking for a darker stain. Will that work on Cumaru?

Can I use a painter's mitt to apply semi-transparent stain to softwood deck spindles?

Quick question about samples. New P/T deck I plan to stain with semi-trans this fall. I've already ordered Chestnut and Sierra Redwood samples and applied them to scrap, but both seem too light. I was going to order Rustic Brown sample, but notice on the order form that Black Walnut is also semi-trans (yet Mahogany and Amber in the same category are not). Is that correct ... Black Walnut is the same as the six semi-trans stains you have available and will be okay for P/T? Thanks.

I am installing new Cypress T&G on a porch ceiling. Looking to introduce a mahogany tint / color. Would the Amber or Mahogany color for Hardwoods and Softwoods be recommended? I was planning on staining board prior installation - is this recommended with your product?

I'm in Toronto,Ontario my deck is 3 years old PT and I am looking to stain. Which is a stain with a wet finish look and doesn't really change the color of the deck? Does each stain type offer the same amount of protection? Also, how long can the product be stored for?

My wife reminded me about the sample program. We have received 6 samples. I ordered a 5 gal bucket today.

Forgot about the program. Can it still be applied? Sample order #00033721

Hello I am in Montreal Canada, we have a deck of 2ftx2ft squares of hard wood semi-open slats. 18 years old. I am not looking for more than protecting the wood and an enduring stain rather than one or two years. Normally I just sand and stain. After 18 years I think this must have worked, some distortion is happening and disintegration of the base wood that never got stained but overall its a great achievement. So, I think of just sanding and buying your stain. thanks for any comment.

We have a two year old cedar fence we are going to apply a finish to. This fence replaces one we put up in the summer of ‘89. We used Floods CWF clear. We liked the “golden” color (and it lasted).
We are looking at using your transparent. Does it bring out the natural just sawn coloring? How long should we expect it to last?
Thank you!

Hi, I'm looking for some advice.
I'm planning on re-staining our deck, Can you tell what kind of wood I have In my deck and suggest what product I should buy?

I built a porch swing with Ipe. The original finish did not last. I want to sand and refinish it. I am concerned about it drying and sitting on it after finishing it. I would like to finish it close to the natural wood color. Thanks!

Hi. Could you please advise as to whether your semi-solid stain is recommended for use on our railing system and on the porch floor. I was thinking of Amber on the floor and mountain Cedar on the railing. If that stain is not suitable, can you recommend another of your products please?

Do we need to clean the porch floor with something given it has been installed for some time? The wood types and their exposure to the weather are noted below.

The railing is cedar, all constructed last summer, stored inside and installed in late April, 2020. The railing is white cedar except for the upcoming post caps which will be red cedar (caps yet to be cut to size and bevelled - and thus not weathered yet).

The porch floor and stair steps are made of pressure-treated pine, installed about 8 years ago. Our exposure is south. Porch is covered, steps and edges of porch (and thus railing system) are exposed to rain. We live in Ontario, Canada.

Is it possible to have the small can samples of stain shipped to Ontario?

Lastly, since it is on our wish list for... if anything was possible... can a stain be tinted (at a price) to more closely match an existing colour, e.g., the siding colour on our home? The Benjamin Moore Paint colours on our home are: HC 103- Cromwell Grey, and HC 104 - Copley Grey. Thank you.

I live in Quebec and have a brand new deck as of May 12. It is treated pine. My deck is very shaded by large trees all late spring, summer, and early fall. Can I use a transparent stain?

Hi..in Ohio..full sun abg pool deck about 8 yrs old. Should I use semi transparent or semi solid? Pressure washing first. Will either peel? Before I buy samples I want to know what opaquisity to use. I wd like it to last a few yrs bc its a big deck and expensive to have someone stain it

I put a coat of AC semi-transparent drift wood grey on my deck and it's not as grey as I would like it. If I put a second coat on will that bring more grey out?

was thinking of using your product on older treated lumber..not a fan of stains so was thinking of going with transparent stain natural tone. ..do your transparent stains peel over time or should i stick with a sealer? thx in advance

I would like to have the AC stain used on my deck applied by a professional. It was done 2 years ago but needs another application. Problem is that I cannot find anyone who knows about the product and how to use it. The company that did it last time is no longer doing decks and cannot recommend anyone else. How can I find a competent professional who knows how to use AC on my Ipe deck. I am in zip code 18940. Do you have a list of professionals in my area?

I started to stain a new cedar fence and don’t like it, I would like to keep the natural wood look, can I remove the stain that I applied? Is there a product that would only enhance the natural wood grain/color. The wood is semi rough what size nap roller do I need, maybe I’m not applying it correctly , I’m using a 3/8 nap roller, I did not prep it, seems to not roll on smoothly but it just looks dull and flat , no wood grain.

I am restoring a small 50 year old deck. I do not know the type of wood. Because it is a cantilever deck, we must save and preserve the floor joists that extend back into the house. We are replacing the rim boards and decking with pressure treated lumber. I need to stain the floor joists now because some will need a new sister for support and this will be the last time for a long, long time we will have access to them. The new wood obviously will need to season before staining sometime next year. With both old and new wood, what do you recommend for stain, semi-transparent or solid? And do you have a retailer anywhere near Kansas City? Thank you.

I bought semi-transparent stain to redo the rough cedar siding on my house. The original stain used was SIKKENS Cetol SRD translucent stain, but you can no longer get this in an oil-based formula in Canada so I chose to change to Armstrong Clark. The south and west side of the house take a beating from the sun in the summer, so I went with semi-transparent this time. After using the new stain on the railings and sides of our upstairs patio, my wife is concerned about the opaqueness of the semi-transparent. Can it be thinned down with something to reduce the pigment to oil ratio? Any other suggestions?