My neighbor Steve convinced me to stop using store-bought fence stain

He showed me his 5 year old fence that he mixed his own stain with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits, and it still looked better than my 2 year old stuff from Home Depot. Has anyone else tried mixing their own vs buying the premixed cans?

2 comments

2 Comments

leebrown23h ago

5 years? No way, thats insane. Ive never met anyone whos homemade fence stain lasted that long without peeling. My buddy tried a mix with diesel and motor oil back in 2012 and it was a total disaster, looked like a greasy mess after one winter. I gotta say Steve sounds like he knows what hes doing. Boiled linseed oil is no joke though, it can actually catch fire if you leave rags in a pile, so be careful with that stuff. I bet the mineral spirits help it soak in deeper than the watery crap they sell at the big box stores.

wrenh7920h ago

Actually leebrown, the mineral spirits don't really help it soak in deeper. They just thin it out so it spreads easier and dries a bit slower, which can be helpful on a hot day. The real trick with the linseed oil is how it polymerizes inside the wood fibers instead of just sitting on top like a film finish. That's why it lasts so long without flaking off. But yeah, you're dead right about the rag fire danger. I kept a bucket of water next to me the whole time I used it. Gotta be careful with that stuff or you'll wake up to a pile of ash.