I'm building new front porch railings using red cedar 2 x 4 lumber to replace my old pine railings that have some decay forming and the paint flaking and peeling off. Since the new railings are raw cedar wood it was suggested that I stain them with a solid color stain which would be white to match the porch columns and trim near and around the porch. In fact, I had purchased some SW Deckscapes solid color stain a month or so ago to use once I finished building the railings and the weather warmed up. Now that I am building my last section of railing I decided to google how others rated SW Deckscapes stain and much to my surprise the feedback was almost universally negative. People stated that the product was peeling and fading very quickly and were extremely unhappy. After reading the negative comments about SW Deckscapes, I returned it to the dealer. I said my primary reason for building the new railings with cedar and staining them instead of painting them was to get away from peeling and flaking paint. And due to the significant number of unhappy users of the product I wasn't going to take a chance after spending a lot of money on red cedar and a lot of time building the railings. I thought an oil based stain (not waterbourne like Deckscapes) would work best but the SW dealer said they no longer carry any for retail sale due to new environmental rulings. I don't mind re-staining the railings every few years to keep them looking good but I really want to avoid having them peel or flake. I need some expert advice on what product I can use on the new cedar railings that will last and not flake or peel? Thank you Dom

When I asked a pro what type of primer to use on my newly installed drywall I was told not to use a primer but just use two coats of high quality paint because it yields a better finish. Besides costing me more money, is there any benefit to using topcoat paint as a primer instead of PVA primer or it's equivalent?:confused: