Choosing a stain colour is really two decisions, and most people only make one of them.
The first is how much of the wood you want to see. The second is the colour itself. Get the first one right and the second becomes easy, because every colour in the BRODA library belongs to one of four opacity families, and each family behaves differently on wood.
Start with opacity, not colour
Clear tints carry the least pigment. They warm the wood slightly and let the full grain show. They are the lightest touch available, and because there is less pigment doing the work, they need attention sooner than the heavier finishes.
001 Cedar Clear, 011 Natural Clear, 011A Natural Clear Lite, 012 Woodlands Clear.
Transparent colours add tone while keeping the grain fully visible. This is the family most people picture when they think of a cedar or timber finish.
101 Cedar, 104 Weathered Wood, 105 Ponderosa, 107 Sequoia, 108 Opal, 111 Natural, 111A Natural Lite, 112 Woodlands, 117 Whitewash, 124 Driftwood, 125 Heartwood, 126 Light Honey, 127 Cambridge, 128 Autumn Gold, 129 Espresso, 138 Scandinave.
Semi-transparent colours carry more pigment again. Grain still reads, but the colour leads. This family holds the greys, the blues and the deeper browns that are doing most of the work on modern siding.
200 Pickled White, 209 Maple, 210 Parchment, 212 Bertero Blaze, 213 Acorn, 214 Teak, 215 Light Oak, 216 Atlantic Grey, 218 Mocha, 219 Oxford Brown, 220 Mahogany, 226 Ebony, 237 Taluswood, 240 Burnt Wood, 251 Butternut, 253 Pacific Spray, 255 Fog, 256 Charcoal, with an extended range including 211 Cinnamon, 221 Rosewood, 223 Smoke Blue, 225 Blue Ridge Grey, 231 Pavestone Red, 234 Sea Blue, 238 Blue Spruce, 242 Granville, 245 Sage, 252 Oyster and 254 Coal Harbour.
Semi-solid colours cover the most. Texture still shows, grain largely does not. This is where you go when the wood underneath is mismatched, previously coated, or simply not the point.
300 Opaque White, 301 Silver Birch, 314 Silver Grey, 335 Emerald Grey, 336 Barnboard, 337 Mushroom, 340 Heritage Blue, 342 Navy, 361 Carbonite Grey, 362 Vader Black, 363 Beachwood, 364 Iron Ore, 365 Midnight Special, with an extended range including 322 Cape Cod Grey, 333 Burgundy, 338 Tan, 341 Oxford, 343 Moss Green, 344 Khaki and 360 Forest Green.
The general rule holds across every exterior wood finish: the more pigment a colour carries, the more it shields the wood from ultraviolet light, and the longer it holds its appearance between maintenance coats. Clear finishes ask the most of you. Semi-solids ask the least.
Colours people choose most often, by project
Cedar siding, new
Most people want it to look like cedar for as long as possible. 111 Natural and 111A Natural Lite keep the colour close to fresh-sawn. 101 Cedar pushes it warmer. 105 Ponderosa is the deeper, redder end of the same idea.
Cedar or fir siding, exposed
South and west elevations lose colour fastest. A semi-transparent carries more pigment where the sun is hardest: 216 Atlantic Grey and 255 Fog if you want the weathered look on purpose, 218 Mocha or 219 Oxford Brown if you do not.
Decks
Horizontal surfaces take the worst of it, foot traffic included. Semi-transparent and semi-solid both make sense here. 213 Acorn, 214 Teak and 237 Taluswood are common choices. 256 Charcoal and 362 Vader Black are the current dark ones.
Fences
Fences are usually about matching the house rather than showing the wood. 336 Barnboard, 314 Silver Grey and 301 Silver Birch all sit quietly against most exteriors. 360 Forest Green and 343 Moss Green are the traditional alternatives.
Log and timber homes
Here the grain is the architecture, so the transparent family does most of the work. 112 Woodlands, 125 Heartwood and 127 Cambridge are the usual starting points, with 129 Espresso for a deeper, more contemporary result.
Interior millwork, ceilings and panelling
Indoors there is no ultraviolet problem to solve, so the choice is purely aesthetic. 117 Whitewash and 200 Pickled White lighten a room without hiding the wood. 138 Scandinave is the pale Nordic look. 126 Light Honey is the warm one.
Coastal and West Coast modern
223 Smoke Blue, 225 Blue Ridge Grey, 234 Sea Blue and 253 Pacific Spray are the blues. 340 Heritage Blue and 342 Navy are the solid versions of the same idea.
The two mistakes that cost the most
Choosing a colour from a screen
Wood species, age, mill finish and the direction a wall faces all change how a colour reads. The same colour on cedar and on hemlock are not the same colour. Order a sample and put it on the actual wood, in the actual light, before committing to a whole elevation.
Choosing colour before preparation
A finish can only look as good as the surface under it. Mill glaze, grey weathered fibre, iron stain and old coating residue all change the result, and no colour choice compensates for skipping that step. Clean first, brighten if the wood has greyed, then coat.
Try it before you buy it
- See the full colour library on the colour page.
- Photograph your own deck or siding and try colours on it with the colour visualizer.
- Order a sample from the samples page.
- Not sure which product you need, only what you are protecting? Use the product finder.
- Work out how much you need with the coverage calculator.
Colour adjustments are available on the standard range. Lightening, deepening and blending two colours are all handled in house.
