I have a friend who is building a deck using Cedar and was wondering how to seal it? The contractor told him not to use Thompson’s Water seal, but to get a “good brand” and to wait a while before applying the sealer. He called me to ask for advice and that is why I am asking all of you for help. How long should he wait to apply a sealer to the cedar boards and what brand would be appropriate for this application if Thompsons is not the best? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
Mike
P.S.- We live in New York, so the winters are bad, but terrible. And the summers are hot and humid like most places in the summer.
Replies
I've heard Thompsons Water Seal is over rated. Check over at breaktime as it's construction oriented. Even better is http://www.jlconline.com
Rick and everyone else,
Thanks for the info. Breaktime is a terrible resource from the little I have used it. I have gotten great results with this crowd in the past so I thought I would stick with what has worked. You guys came through again. Thanks again.
RxMPO
rxmpo
I like Cabots or Penofin, but bottom line is nothing works very well for very long. Its not the water, its the UV light. The more pigment, the better, but of course that obscures the color and grain of the wood.
Consumer Reports has done some long-term studies on deck sealers and stains and may be good resource for you.
After many years and different products, I like Defy deck coatings. The wood, fresh or aged, needs to be washed to remove oils, mill scale and prep the surface for the top coats. I would stay away from anything that forms a film.
http://www.opwdecks.com/defyproducts.htm?gclid=CI6up-nulJICFQGAHgodJB7N7A
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
From what I've read (and my personal experience) not much outperforms Cabot. It's not the easiet product to find, and may have to be special ordered, but worth it.
Last year the local hardware store was phasing out Cabot and selling their oil based deck stain for $5/gal. I bought 6 gals. of Redwood stain for our deck that was badly faded.
Applied two coats spaced 2 months apart and now that the snow has melted beyond the deck, finally, it looks just like it did last fall!
Great stuff and I should have a nearly lifetime supply left over. Still can't figure out why they phased it out. Maybe the product that is too good ?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Well, while I take some of what I read in Consumer Reports with a grain of salt (sea or kosher, preferably), Cabot consistently wins durability tests year after year. Having used the stuff on my own outdoor "stuff", I'm pretty well sold on it.
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