Thompson's Water Seal

IMHO there is not a sealer/protectant that will protect from the sun for more than a year or two. The sun is going to do more damage than the water. The wood tends to be more tolerant of the suns rays than any sealer used on it. This is going to be an on going job regardless of what product you use. I have a deck with partially covered areas and non covered areas. One part in the shade gets wet daily from the daily Heavy morning dew in Houston. Other vertical parts that are exposed to the sun stay dry. The wood exposed to the sun is what looks go be in worse shape than that that gets wet daily. This deck is pressure treated and 21 years old. I applied 1 coat of Thompson's sealer immediately after building the deck and nothing since.

Oh No, here we go again.

Snipped from Thompsons web page: "Advanced waterproofing protects your investment and exceeds industry standard ASTM D-4446 for waterproofing wood. "

Standards? what Standards?

Big Grin !!

Rich

The original TWS was essentially paraffin wax dissolved in mineral spirits. No UV protection. Not sure about the new and improved. A few years back Consumer Reports did a long term study on similar products, including UV protection, waterproofing, etc. If you could find it in your local library it might be helpful.

How about a wash of Titebond III and water and paint that on ;) It will hold up as long as floods don't last more than 24 hours.

A standard is something to which all may be compared. That way it _isn't_ just hype.

We had a home built about five years ago. Our deck is constructed with pressure treated wood and while it is under a roofed area, it has south exposure and gets quite a bit of sun. Our builder did a couple of things that appear to have paid off:

2) He gently steered us away from Thompson's. He admitted it was partly an appearance thing, but he preferred Olympic Water Guard. He also thought Olympic had more staying power. He said to plan on washing and retreating about every other year. However, based on your comment you might not want to use Olympic because it does add an amber tone to the wood.

We followed his advice and are pleased. At the end of six months the deck had sun bleached slightly. I cleaned and sprayed two coats of Olympic which gave it a slightly amber look. Both of my subsequent retreatments were preceeded with a light pressure wash using deck cleaner. These subsequent treatments were done with a brush (one coat), which I believe does a better job than spray. Again, the deck will retain a golden brown appearance which you might find objectionable.

By comparison, I built a deck at a previous residence and used Thompson's. I can't say that Thompson's provided a bad finish but it added absolutely no color to the wood. It was like brushing water on - at times it was difficult to tell where you had treated. We sold the house before we could see how it aged. As far as cost goes, they are both in the same ballpark. I belive Thompson's has been running a "5th quart free" sale for the past

I've never heard a good recco on it...just lots of ads. I use a Cabot oil stain (3002) every year or two. After the first year, using clear helps keep it lighter. That's the cedar number. I don't know the clear.

Behr is making some with silicone, supposedly longer lasting...from HD.

Pick another product. I use CWF on my redwood chairs (yearly) and they have held up well. A semi-transparent stain will protect the wood better than any clear product.

Are there any similar products for protecting All-weather materials? I have a deck made of WeatherBest material, one year old and already it is dirty, and needs a power wash.

Rich Brenz Phisherman wrote:

Consumers Reports a few years ago tested those and Thompsons was the worst performer and NOT recommened as far as I recall. Cabots got great ratings

John

Last year I bought 2x6 cedar decking. I stained it (two coats) front and ba ck and stacked it in my garage with spacer between each row for air flow. I t stayed in garage for 9 months. Two weeks ago I played the deck. Then I us ed thompsons clear water seal to finish it off. After the speaker started t o dry I noticed a oil looking substance laying on the boards in spots. It w ipes up clear and has no odor. Do you have any idea what's happening.??

You "played the deck" and then the "speaker started to dry"?

Sounds like you installed the sound system wrong.