If you own any kind of wooden sheds that are now available it is important to remember that you will regularly need to restain it. By doing this you will be ensuring that not only the shed but the contents inside is well protected at all times. In this article we look at what one needs to do in order to ensure that the wood of your shed remains in good condition.

Today as you will soon discover just by visiting your local DIY store or by going online there are many different types of exterior finishes and colors, which you can use on your shed. So depending on what you are trying to do you can just about finish the outside of it in just about any color that you want.

1. Before you can recover the wood on your shed you need to ensure that you have the right equipment for the job. If you can get yourself a power washer, an electric sander and something with which to apply the exterior finish to it. Most people will use either a foam brush, a staining pad or a nylon paintbrush. Also you will need to get your stain and you can choose between either a solid or semi-solid one. Solid ones hide the grain of the wood and are extremely durable, whereas the semi-solid stains allow some of the wood grain to show through.

2. After choosing between either a solid or semi-solid stain you now need to decide whether to go for an oil based or water based one. An oil based stain is ideal if you live in a place where the weather conditions are harsh as it can penetrate the wood much better and is very durable. However, the water-based ones are a much safer alternative and they are resistant to mildew, their colors last longer.

3. Now you have brought your stain you can move on to the next stage of protecting your shed. This is the stage where you need to prepare the wood for the new stain to be applied. If you need to use the electric sander to remove as much of the old stain or paint on the woods surface and then follow up by washing the whole of the shed down with the power washer. If you can use a power washer that has been specifically designed for cleaning wooden items.

4. Once you have washed the walls of your shed down thoroughly you now need to give it time to dry out completely, otherwise the stain will not adhere to the surface properly. It is a good idea therefore, to wash the shed down on a day, which is hot and sunny.

5. As soon as the wood has dried out you can now start applying the stain to it. It is a good idea no matter which of the tools you use that you apply the stain quickly and evenly over the each wall of the shed. This will ensure that the cover you provide to it is flawless and you do not have any overlapping occurring.

6. After you have applied the first coat of stain you need to let this dry and the carry out the step above for a second time. You may even find that some wooden sheds require a third coat of stain in order to provide them with optimum protection from the elements. Plus it is a good idea that you read the manufacturer's recommendations regarding how many coats of stain to cover your shed in, as this will ensure that you get the best results possible.