[Huskers1]

Today a semi-transparent stain (sherwin williams redwood) was applied to my cedar privacy fence. The color was not even close to the tiny sample I chose! Way too much color (red) and actually looks burnt orange.. yuck!
How do I fix it? I was told I can't powerwash it off and it should sit a month to weather, then apply a different color. Its 1600 square feet, so sanding seems so labor intensive. Any ideas? Thanks. (Kansas city area... fall weather).

[ma0641]

Tolerate it for a month and restain. I usually do a test board for that reason.

[Alty]

Cedar soaks up stain like a sponge, especially the planks used for fencing. It's not fun if you make a mistake with stain on cedar.

How much of the fence did you stain? The whole thing? If so, yikes. If only one board than the solution is simple, replace the board and this time test the stain on a sample board.

If it is the whole fence you can wait a month, like ma suggested, but I really don't think it will do much good, the color will still be there, and unless you plan on sanding a few layers you won't start with a clean slate. You may want to find a stain that's darker, something that can mix with the stain that you already have and give you a color you can live with.

Cedar is a wonderful wood, mainly because it's durable, light, and takes stain like a champ. It's also what makes it a big b little itch if you use the wrong stain. :(