Rot Doctor

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Subject: Stain over Penetrating Epoxy

Date: Friday, September 18, 2020

Can you put stain over an area that you have used penetrating epoxy on?

Thanks,
Keith

Keith,

It depends on what type of stain we are talking about. Broadly, stains fall into two categories. A traditional stain is nothing more that some type of dye or colorant, and a solvent to get it into the wood. These are used to change the color of wood, before a finish is put over top. There are a bunch of what I call film stains. These products are designed to tint and protect wood that is outdoors. Primarily house decks, fences, pergolas, and the like. They coat the wood with some thin film, and a light pigment, that tries to protect the wood, and color it, without completely obscuring the wood like a solid paint does.

If we are talking about a traditional stain, then the penetrating epoxy will inhibit the ability of the stain to penetrate the wood, and you would likely get unsatisfactory results. These types of stains are best applied before any penetrating epoxy.

A film stain should coat over the penetrating epoxy. These types of stains are best applied after the epoxy. It will not absorb in readily, but it should coat and dry, although it will take longer to dry.

Doc

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