Staining with a highly rated product from a brand like Behr, Olympic, or Valspar can spruce up and protect wood. We spend ...

But there is one semi-transparent stain that’s among the best stains we test—even color ones—and we've highlighted it below. Haniya Rae Haniya Rae is a former home and mattress reporter for CR.

A semi-transparent stain has a bit more color than a transparent stain. “If you’d like to add a touch of color, but still see the wood graining a semi-transparent is great,” Pancione says.

Semi-transparent stains color the wood but let the grain peek through, making them a good choice for wood that you want to show off—Western red cedar, for instance.

But even the best semi-transparent stains in our tests aren’t as tough as the top solid stains, and our data suggests that this type of stain will probably last only two to three years on a deck.

Many people like using a semi-transparent wood stain better than a solid one—even if it might not last as long—because it allows for more of the natural wood grain to come through. (Solid ...

Consumer Reports test deck stains to see which type of stain works the best for different types of decks. Posted 2014-05-21T20:46:02+00:00 - Updated 2014-05-21T22:06:41+00:00 ...

Convenience Products, maker of SEAL-KRETE brand products, introduces new Concrete Colors semi-transparent stains for concrete surfaces. SEAL-KRETE Concrete Colors are available in four pre-mixed ...

In fact, the Behr Premium Semi-Transparent Weather Proofing Wood Stain earned top ratings. It costs $37 at Home Depot. If you prefer a clear stain, ...

However, in 2022, the strata stained the fences with a solid stain, replacing the original semi-transparent stain. The four did not like the new colour.