Clear wood waterproofing / water sealer products

[ekrig]

I rebuilt my deck about 3 years ago and I have been using Thompsons' WaterSeal Clear Wood Sealer until now but I thought of asking here what better options are out there. First of all, the protection after less than a year is not good on any horizontal board, which is most of a deck. The railings and private screen seem ok though. In any event the oil-based formula makes a mess and, unlike what they say, I have failed to apply this by spraying in spite of trying several sprayers.

Hence, I would like to try something else. I would prefer water-based products because I'm sure that I can use them with my airless sprayer and cleaning will be much easier. I'm however concerned that applying a water-based sealer when I used oil-based could be a problem. For example, I asked Thompsons' if their waterproofer could be used but they haven't responded

A non-negotiable aspect is that I don't want to paint, stain, or otherwise use something that will change the natural "color" of the wood. Changes in tint as one see after applying a sealer are fine of course.

What do you all use? And any thought/experience on the water over oil sealer matter?

 

[bud16415]

My opinion is after a year or two there is not enough of the Thompson product left to cause a problem.



I use the Behr premium stain and it comes tinted or not and different levels of opacity. It is fairly pricey but holds up pretty well. I put it on with a mohair pad made for decks and a broom handle. They make a pan to hold the stain and load the pad and it goes fast after cleaning and prep is done. I like the pad because there is little product waste.



I get 3-5 years out of it depending on the sun and the angle of the surface you mentioned. I always say is I did it every other year it would be really simple to just pressure wash and apply. I did mine a couple months ago we will see if I follow my advice in another year.