Stain or paint outside of perm?

[waligators]

I just put 1/4 inch 4x8 sanded luan plywood sheets on the outside of my house, now the question is should i just stain it a couple times or paint? Stain would look pretty nice with the wood grain, but will paint hold up better? The house will only be in the "elements" during the winter, otherwise it will be stored in my shed during the summer.

[Walleye Guy]

Stain offers no protection from the elements which a fish house should have even if its only exposed during the winter. If you stain it you should put some type of exterior grade polyurethane over the top of it. If yo paint it prime it first. In either case make sure you do the ends of the plywood as well.

[JSK76]

If you like the look of stain use it. Paint sits on the surface of the wood and will peel with age. Stain gets soaked up by the wood and offers the best protection, million dollar log homes use stain not paint so I'm guessing your fish house will do great. If you want the best stain get Sikkens, they have a great log siding stain that is a 2 coat system. Good luck and post some pic when it's done.

[MJBaldwin]

Exterior primer and exterior paint would be my opinion or if you wanna spend a few extra bucks get some steel or aluminum siding.