Thompson’s water seal less than a year later on unfinished deck.

[@theresanault5219]

I am restoring our deck. All we have used I. It is the Thomson water sealer. Imagine my surprises when the pressure washed away, the grey like nothing. Today, I learned it is so easy to clean without sanding because we have only used the water sealer. I am so grateful we did. My deck looks new, just from pressure washing and no sanding or scrubbing. I'm unsure what happened here, but sealing without stain is the best option.

[@toypianokeys]

It may have had a clear oil based protection. I did the clear Thompson 3 years ago and looks like the day we stained it

[@1LSUredneck]

Looks like you put it on fresh pressure treated wood without letting it dry out first. The water seal can’t penetrate wet chemically treated wood.

[@johnacker2080]

Well that’s what it looked like maybe but it dried more than a year. Is that long enough?

[@jasonbrushett2005]

It is subpar product. We have experienced the same with this product.Wood that is vertical faired much better ,but horizontal high traffic exposed to the elements lasted for maybe 6 months!

[@justkeepingitreal2024]

I'm sure you did the job exactly as you should have. However, it's never a good idea to color stain a deck because foot traffic will do exactly what happened to you here. I don't care what the guy down at the paint store says. Clear seal any wood surface that you'll be walking on. Yes, it will have to be cleaned and resealed every 2-3 years but I've gone through enough "semi-transparent wood stain" on both vertical and horizontal applications to just use a clear seal on the wood. Tired of sanding the wood to reapply a stain again, I guess. Fun story: New home, painter applied the same sealer on the outdoor cedar columns and woodwork he used indoors. What the heck, he had some left over, right? What AF mess! ALL the wood peeled and looked horrible. I had to have all the wood sanded down to bare wood and then I applied Thompson's "clear wood protector". Looks great, it "grays" naturally and a simple power washing every 2-3 years cleans the wood like new and I use Thompson's again. Looks brand new, every time.

[@johnacker2080]

Thanks for the thought. I won’t be using this product again.

[@jdel2315]

Looks like mine after less than 7 months

[@mikehowell9053]

Did you let it dry before treatment ?

[@johnacker2080]

Yes I did the wood was sanded and clean and dry. Property applied stain. Thanks for your comment.

[@kueichenglee7583]

Thank you

[@desert4seat]

I think you didn’t let the fresh wood dry. 😢

[@johnacker2080]

So the wood dried for months before I was able to stain. The wood was sanded and the stain applied properly. Thanks for your comment

[@desert4seat]

@@johnacker2080 Oh, wow! Maybe it was still a little damp but seemed dry? 2" lumber like that can take up to 6 months to fully dry.

[@johnacker2080]

No the wood was not damp it was so dry, I had to use a planer on it. It was maybe too dry. Look I’d like to see your results. Mine were substandard.

[@JK-hd2zb]

Usually user error

[@johnacker2080]

Not this time my friend. But thanks for your Ill lnformed comment. Stain was properly applied to a clean sanded surface.

[@jdel2315]

No...probably not user error.... this product used to last...now its one of the cheapest on the market. Junk!

[@CalmVibesVee]

What do we use that lasts ?