How To Stain A House Exterior

The best way to paint a house exterior – I am partnering with Wagner Spray Tech to teach all of the tools and tips for a professional looking project. All opinions and project are my own.

How To Stain Your House Exterior Pinterest Pin. Woman climbing up ladder with paint sprayer and whole outdoor exterior of log cabin style home.

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Twenty five years of laughter and memories can certainly leave a mark on your heart. It can also leave a mark on your home.

The home I left when I blossomed into adulthood long ago is a special place filled with memories, love, and maybe some really rad green textured paint circa 1999.

Oh, the memories! But times have changed, and it has become very difficult for my parents to keep up with not only the house but an 18 acre farm to boot. Could you imagine 2 retirees taking care of all of that?! The last 25 years they called it their paradise, but paradise has been left a little worn looking.

Front of Log Cabin style home exterior before transformation makeover.

It’s time for her to find a new family to create new memories and laughter within her walls. But first, to find that perfect family, she needs to shine inside and out!

This house is getting the extreme mommy makeover.

The entire family has chipped in over the last year and a half renovating this craftsman log cabin style home and bringing back her glory in a modern setting. You can see some of our other transformations so far including 80s pink seashell bathroom transformed or rebuilding the old decks.

To rehab the exterior situation, one of the biggest changes was to stain the entire house. In this post, I am going to share with you the proper way to re-stain any wood exterior using a sprayer specifically the Wagner Control Spray 130, which will save you immense time and effort. I am partnering with Wagner SprayTech, and although this post is sponsored, I love their paint sprayers because they have made my DIY life so much easier!

Solid Color Stain vs Exterior Paint

On this home exterior, we used a water-based solid color stain since it is a wood siding house. I would generally recommend a solid color stain for a house exterior instead of transparent because solid color lasts longer and is more durable against weather elements. Solid color stain looks much like paint and even has some color options beyond natural colors like blues, grays, and even greens. However, there are many more color options for paint.

Working with a water-based solid color stain is very similar to paint, but stain tends to soak more into the wood instead of sitting on top of it. There is no need to prime with stain. Over the years, stain does break down but it is less prone to peeling and cracking than paint.

Solid color stain is also generally water-based (read the label), so cleanup with soap and water is the same as with an exterior latex paint. The process you will find below is the same for both stain and paint.

Supplies Needed

Painter’s tape
Safety goggles
Rags
Paint Brush
Garden hose or Pressure washer
Deck Cleaner
Masking paper or plastic tarps
Exterior grade stain
Control Pro 130 Sprayer or 150, which sits in 5 gallon buckets

Step 1 – Clean the Exterior

Houses are exposed to the elements and need to be cleaned similar to decks when preparing for stain. After repairing any exterior wood that was soft or showing signs of rot, use an all purpose deck cleaner to remove algea, dirt, and debris. We sprayed the cleaner on to the house with a hose.

Additionally, we also used a pressure washer to remove any loose debris and peeling stain. If using a similar brand and color of stain as before, complete removal of the previous stain is not necessary. In this case, we are using a solid stain, so we didn’t have to worry about removing the previous stain.

Wagner Control pro paint sprayer used in home design and makeover project sitting on top of unfinished decking wood.

Step 2 – Mask Off Areas you don’t want Painted

Sprayers today are very controlled. If you are careful, you only need to mask off about a foot from where you spray to prevent overspray. Mask off any stucco, brickwork, windows, gutters, etc.

Step 3 – Equipment Setup

Make sure to mix the stain well. Stain tends to fall out of suspension rather quickly. Follow manufactures instructions on blending and mixing stain.

For this project, we used the Control Pro 130. However, the Wagner Control Spray 150 is the perfect tool to use for spraying a large house. The Wagner Control Spray 150 connects directly into 5 gallon buckets, so less refilling and cleaning.Both have a 25 foot cord, which makes working on a ladder a breeze. Cleanup also takes less than 10 minutes!

Side view of exterior of home midway through renovation. Woman on a ladder using paint sprayer to stain the home.

Tips for Staining or Painting a House

If you have any areas that are too high or difficult to reach with a ladder, you can rent a boom lift from a large home improvement store.
I carry a brush with me to catch any drips or rub in crevices to get a good bond.
The nozzle has a switch on it to turn the spray gun off, so you don’t accidentally engage as you move or climb a ladder.

Photo of lattice painting in progress using paint sprayer. Person's hand is visibly applying finish with sprayer. Lattice halfway stained.

I will never-ever paint lattice again without a sprayer. The deck railings and lattice on the front porch took about an hour with this sprayer.

Ok, now for the fun! Sit back and enjoy your hard work! Nothing could have prepared us for the huge difference in this old home. With all of the projects and time we have been putting into it, I can almost feel her pride coming back.