How can I tell if my new house's siding has paint or stain on it?

We want to redo it. The previous owner says it was done in stain, but I'm very suspicious that it's paint. How can I tell?How can I tell if my new house's siding has paint or stain on it?
Usually stains tend to be somewhat transparent so you can see the grain of the wood through the color. If you can't see the grain then it may be a solid bodied stain and they are usually made with acrylic (water base). Try this test.. take a clean rag and some rubbing alcohol and rub on an area of the siding, if you see any color on the rag, then it's acrylic which means you can paint over the siding with any acrylic or solid bodied paint. If no color on the rag then it's oil base stain and you will have to stay with oil, or undercoat first and the acrylic top coat.


Gd LkHow can I tell if my new house's siding has paint or stain on it?
This is an interesting question. There are some modern stains that look exactly like paint with a very solidly looking opaque color.