I have a 2 year old log home that was stained with a wood guard stain. I want to remove it and apply a more durable stain. what is the correct way? should i use a stripper and a cleaner or just rinse and apply over top of the wood guard?

I dont recommend applying a new stain over an existing one. To remove the prior failed coating, it will have to be stripped, this job will require a great deal of time, and if it is not a ranch style home, quite a bit of dangerous ladder work. That being said, look at the coating up close, does it look dull and flat, or does it look thick and shiny? This will tell you if you need a mild [for dull and flat] or a heavy duty stripper [for thick and shiny]. For a mild I would suggest DSI STRIPPER, which you can inject through a powerwasher or apply it with a pump up sprayer. For a heavy duty strip I would recommend HD-80 which is a powder form stripper that needs to be mixed per instructions and applied with a PUMP UP SPRAYER. Either way, once all stripping is completed and everything is rinsed well, a DSI BRIGHTNER should be applied. A good sealer to apply would be WOOD TUX. I hope your project goes well.

You may also want to try the hose connect deck stripper if you do not have access to a pressure washer.

Thank you, I did look a that and I have some on order as well as the brightener. I will let you how it all turns out.

Okay I received my wood stripper and brightener and I planned on tackling one side of the cabin this weekend. Couple of questions:

1. Does the weather matter? It will be in the 60's this weekend.
2. Someone else suggested I rinse the windows instead of putting plastic on them. Is there a specific time frame that I should do this after appying the stripper?
3. The bottle says to let the stripper dwell for 10 minutes. What do I do if it starts to dry out?
4. How soon do I apply the wood brightener? Right away or the next day.

Thanks all for the help! I am looking forward to this messy job on saturday!

1. 50's or better for the stripper to work well
2. Rinse windows and trim immediately after apply the stripper to the wood and continue to rinse whenever needed.
3. If the stripper starts to dry you should mist the wood slightly with your garden hose or pressure washer.
4. Apply brightener immediately after done washing! It is important to neutralize the stripper as soon as possible.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Everything worked great! We cleaned 2 sides of the cabin today in about 4 hours. It was much easier and quicker then expected. The woodguard coating came off very easisly. What should I do about the dried dirt on the windows? Is it okay just to rinse and wipe down with a cloth? I will makes sure to rinse better next time while everything is still wet.

Just apply some water and wipe down with a rag. You are probably seeing dried wood fiber. This usually shows up after it dries. Just be aware and rinse a little better next time.