Outdoor Stains & Paints

How to Choose the Best Products for Tough Conditions & Climates

- Daphne Howland

Q I just built a lakeside log cabin with a cedar-sided garage in the far northern U.S. Because of lake exposure and temperature extremes, I want to buy the best possible stains and paints that will endure. What do you recommend?

– Cliff Bevins, via email

A Because of the heavy, solid timbers and their curves, log cabins have particular requirements when it comes to the coatings used to protect them from the elements.

“‘Logs ain’t wood,’ we like to say around here,” says Charis Babcock, associate brand manager at finishes manufacturer Sashco, which specializes in protections for log cabins. “The way they move, the way they take on moisture is very different. Logs undergo a whole lot more stress because of their mass – even half-log siding is going to move and undergo stress much more than 2x4s.”

So your question is a good one and reflects an understanding of how important the right stain is for a log home, according to Chris Fazio, owner/founder of Top Choice Painting and Log Restoration in Charlevoix, Mich.

“The biggest issue that comes up when people buy log homes or they build them is that they don’t really think about the finishes,” Fazio said. “Then, yearly maintenance and cleaning is huge. That means pressure-washed, not power-washed.”