Dad Reviews Thompson’s WaterSeal

Need to stain and seal some outdoor, wood furniture, a deck or maybe a fence? See one person’s review of Thompson’s WaterSeal.

[@Hunterkey123]

The warping is from the wood drying out, not the finish. When you re-do the top, be mindful of the end grain on the boards. It's good to install them all in a way so that when they dry/cup/warp, it is all doing so in a consistent way where the boards crown rather than cave in. If you look at the way the boards were installed, and study the end grain, you will see what I mean. In regards to different finishes I'd consider an exterior paint, or an oil based stain. Both require on going maintenance due to the weather, but a poly finish will be harder to touch up. Good luck

[@daddoesvideos]

Thanks for the feedback. Will give that a shot. It’s just weird. The other outdoor furniture that I’ve built has no warping and I’ve going through the same process with the same stain. Will see what happens next time!

[@davidramey7186]

Could be this wood was not as dry as your other projects. This could be simply from how the wood was stored and how long it was before being sold to you I would guess in recent years since covid the wood is probably fresher and not as dry due to the limited stock that we saw for so long causing the crazy prices I’ve heard other wood workers talk about some sort of moisture meter used for lumber that’s affordable but I haven’t checked it out yet

[@FastEddy5]

The direct sunlight is havoc on everything, especially wood. You said yourself one was covered and the other wasn't. It's a waterseal, not an invincible coating. That's common sense.

[@1tsMnM2011]

To minimize warping, you're supposed to seal all sides and ends of the wood. Seal the wood before assembly.

[@daddoesvideos]

Hey thanks. I’ve always been told to seal afterwards. I’ll try to seal before assembly next time and see what happens. The only parts that weren’t sealed were the widths of the boards.

[@stenmin1234]

Honestly using paint is the best option if you're looking for low maintenance. The warping could be from not letting your wood settle to equilibrium with your environment before making the table.

[@daddoesvideos]

Maybe I’ll try that next time. I did let the wood settle for quite some time before staining.

[@daxshell242]

the table warping is a wood problem, not a stain or seal problem. did you use a warp resistant wood like cedar? did you wait for the pressure treated wood to settle before staining? it also clearly says to apply once a year. does it look better after that? it also looks like the faded spots are the knots in the wood, so i am nearly positive your issue was that the wood is still sapping, and you applied a finish to it. which isnt a problem, you will just have to reapply once a year.

[@daddoesvideos]

It’s pressure-treated wood, but not cedar. Still should be fine. Yes we waited.

[@wildernessman760]

Was the wood pressure treated? Did you let the table season for at least 6 months before staining? If you stained it immediately after building it the stain will not absorb into the wood. Then the rain will cause it to come up. Also the wood couldn't have warped from the stain. It's probably not pressure treated wood.

[@daddoesvideos]

Hey there! Thanks for watching and for the questions. The wood was pressure treated. I followed the directions on the Thompson’s waterseal container. It says to wait 30 days to apply stain/sealer to pressure treated wood, so that’s what I did.

[@cjtheusful]

Let the Wood dry 100% 🪵 because it will warp if it's still damp deep inside....I found out the hard way.

[@daddoesvideos]

Yeh, I let mine dry for so long. Maybe wasn’t long enough.

[@tallulahtwosocks6214]

Thanks for your review. But Thompsons should be good for a deck that has no protection.

[@daddoesvideos]

Right on. That’s why I’m disappointed with it. I get how I’d need to reapply every few years. But not after one. And the wood shouldn’t warp like that. Lesson learned.

[@mikepeel1121]

I was told you have to seal it once a year with thompsons, ...and who wants to do that...maybe try linseed oil....but then again every several yrs you have to refresh

[@daddoesvideos]

Yeh. I just would have expected it to not look that bad after one year.

[@jonquillen5300]

Solid stain from sherwin Williams. Woodscapes or deckscapes

[@daddoesvideos]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[@ebglock]

You placed the boards up in both direction. Place bark side up.

[@daddoesvideos]

Yeh, seems like there’s some belief this works where some don’t think it matters. I’ll probably try this the next time I build something similar. Thanks for the feedback!

[@patmurdie]

We used this solid stain on our deck and it didn’t last a year.

[@daddoesvideos]

Yeh. Exactly. Not a fan either.

[@coryh7209]

The water seal isn't warping it lol. The sun is

[@daddoesvideos]

Not so sure about that, but appreciate your perspective.

[@nunayobusiness3384]

I’m sorry, it’s wax, wax breaks down in the sun period! I was a contractor for years on the east coast and refused to use Thompson products. Try using Seal Crete, it makes the wood harder and will outlast even some oil base products. It goes on milky white but drys clear and flat, it can be used in some water based stains and will not effect color also. Trust me!

[@daddoesvideos]

Ah, interesting. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try that product next time.

[@nunayobusiness3384]

@@daddoesvideos (hey, use the old original, it’s not an epoxy it’s a water based product) I am currently about to apply it to my own decks of which I have old and new wood on, we purchased a neglected property in need of a lot of work, the decks are the features as you approach. The decks were in very bad shape but with cost of redwood instead of a total rebuild we decided to pull and replace. We are sanding entire with exception to new wood, old was stained with a solid but not done correctly. This product will not only seal new wood but when applied and let completely dry will harden old wood. Not sure what you used for your build but cedar and redwood will outlast all others by far. Good luck.

[@daddoesvideos]

@nunayobusiness3384 awesome! Thanks for the guidance!

[@AKAGlenn]

Is it chipping at all?

[@daddoesvideos]

Hey. No chipping. It’s just very worn after a short time. And it’s not protecting the wood against the elements.

[@AKAGlenn]

@@daddoesvideos Thanks for the reply! I'm looking for an oil based stain for a picnic table I made last year, do you have any suggestions?

[@daddoesvideos]

I haven’t tried it, but I keep hearing good things about Cabot.

[@AKAGlenn]

@@daddoesvideos Same, worth a try. Thanks

[@Palmina1960]

@@AKAGlenn I'm getting my deck done with Thompsons timber oil in transparent cedar...Oil is the way to go. You can also mix your own...there are videos here that show how to and the ratio

[@westtexas806]

Moisture sensor to check woods moisture content.