# Staining after linseed oil on exterior wood



## dmpacey (Aug 10, 2013)

Hi folks,

I've got a rookie question for you about staining after wood has been treated with linseed oil. If this has been asked and answered, I apologize. I did a search but did not find a thread that asked my question.

Here's my situation:

My wife and I bought a home a few months ago. About a month ago, we had the exterior painted. The painters also pressure washed a dark-stained wood pergola and then used a 50-50 mixture of linseed oil and turpentine. The pressure washing removed most of the dark stain coloring. It looks OK now, but it looked much better with the dark-colored stain -- it was a dark brown, but you could see the grain, too. Really sharp looking.

My question is what can I use to stain the wood a dark color? Can I use any oil-based stain? Can I mix a dark color paint with linseed and turpentine? Will I have to start over and use a wood stripper?

Whatever route I go, I want to use something that has UV protection -- we live near Phoenix.

Thanks for any and all advice.

Doug


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The linseed oil may give you some trouble getting it as dark as you want but a 50/50 linseed turpentine mix is essentually a wood conditioner. I would use a exterior stain such as a fence stain to stain with. Some stains have interior pigments and are prone to fade so should be avoided. If you go to a real paint store such as sherwin williams they can probably mix the color you want for you. You would have to take them a sample of the wood treated the same way with the linseed oil.


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## dmpacey (Aug 10, 2013)

Thanks for the information, Steve. Glad I won't have to strip the wood.


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