LOG HOME STAINING & RESTORATION
Restore your log home stain with Madrona Log Home Repair & Care.
Low-Impact
Our process doesn’t use high-pressure water or harsh chemicals to remove finishes. No harm to plants, pets or interior logs.
What is a Log Home Stain Restoration?
If your stain on your log or cedar home has failed, there is only one way to fix it; bring it back down to bare wood and re-apply a new stain. There are a few ways to get down to bare wood, but the key is to not “put lipstick on a pig” and keep staining over a failed stain. Our preferred blasting-sanding-staining process is detailed below.
Benefits of Our Process?
Environmentally Friendly
We use sustainably farmed ground walnut shells shipped straight from northern California for our blast media. There are no additional products in the blast media, just walnut shell. The used walnut shell is completely biodegradable. Unlike glass media, the dust is not toxic.
Best Surface Preparation
Blasting then sanding creates an ideal surface for stains to penetrate evenly and adhere correctly. De-fuzzing, Osborne brushing, or any other secondary prep is a quicker and lower quality method
High Performance Stains
We proudly use Sascho, Permachink and TWP stains only. These stains are the best on the market today and are known for their durability and great appearance.
What is Blasting?
For the first process with stain removal we usually begin with media blasting. We use a blast pot fed by a large air compressor to blast ground up walnut shells at the home to remove the finish. It is as simple as it sounds; we blast the finish off the home. This does beat up the wood slightly, so it is important to follow up with some kind of secondary preparation such as sanding (which we prefer) or buffing. A so called “Blow n’ Go” operation that comes in and blasts then immediately stains with no secondary preparation is highly inadvisable. Despite what many contractors may say, secondary preparation of some kind is absolutely necessary to achieve the correct look, performance and longevity of any stain.
What is Sanding?
Sanding is our preferred method of secondary preparation in the log home restoration process. Just staining a home after blasting or after sanding, or even after just grinding, is not the acceptable level of quality for our company. We strive to provide the best service possible with the best products available with the best overall value for the client, and sanding is how we do that.
What is Borate?
For some log homes that are older or may have insects or rot damage (current or prior), we recommend a borate treatment directly after the sanding phase. This harmless (to humans at least) insecticide is mixed in a spray container and sprayed on all logs. The logs are thoroughly saturated, allowing for the product to penetrate into the wood. Borate treatments do not interfere with Sashco or Perma-chink stains. Borate treatments are a cheap defensive measure to completely protect a log home.
What is Staining?
After all of the proper preparation, it is time for the last 10% of a log home restoration. We prepare the home for staining by masking all windows, doors, rock-work, decks, foundation walls, and anything else we don’t want stained. We check the weather, make sure we are out of the sun and no rain coming, and we are ready to apply the stain.
As for stain selection, each log home has it’s own characteristics that make it ideal for a particular stain. How much UV exposure, rain, shade, age of the logs, quality of the logs, the homeowner’s budget…all of these factor into choosing the best stain for the home. We recommend either Perma-Chink, Sashco, or TWP products.
Why choose us for your staining restoration?
Cost Effective
Our process is quick and efficient, which leads to a lower cost to our clients. We don’t take many months to finish a project.
Attention to Detail
We do the little things that others skip. Removing old wires, washing the windows at the end, touch-up painting, grinding log ends…all of the little things during a course of a restoration are the most important details to a good restoration job.
We Own Our Equipment
Our 40’ boom lift, our 32’ off-road scissor lift, our large towable compressor and lots of other “toys” help us do the best job in the shortest amount of time possible, all while keeping rental costs down.