Thompson’s Water Seal Review: The Solution for Giving Your Deck a Face Lift

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We recently purchased my husband’s family home from his mom. While the house needed a lot of repairs, the deck was my main focus simply because we don’t have a backyard, and I spend a lot of time outside with the girls in the nice weather. Since we moved in, the girls and I have gone out several times a day. Whether it’s to eat a meal, play on the climber, sit and read stories, or look for the numerous animals in the woods! So, it was important to me to make the deck safe, functional, and eye-pleasing {I’m a clean freak, and the deck was ANYTHING BUT clean!!!!}.

As you can tell from the pictures, I had a LOT of work ahead of me. Being that I am pregnant and now hooked up to IVs and meds, I was thankful for any help that I could get. The Hubs and a friend hung up the lattice on the outside of the deck. When we had the deck built (nearly nine years ago), Jason and I didn’t think about the safety aspect of kids because we had been living there with his Mom. So I needed something quick to make the deck safe and secure for my ‘lil ones!

The next step to prepping the deck was a damn good cleaning. The deck had not been cared for properly, and it showed! Being that the back of the home hardly gets any sun (thanks to all the trees!), there was a lot of mildew and staining. I was pleasantly surprised to how good the deck came clean with a good pressure washing along with the Thompson’s Wood Cleaner. Once the deck dried, I almost didn’t want to put any stain on it! But we had gallons of Thompson Waterproof semi-transparent stain to use, so we went for it!

Thompson’s Water Seal cleans all wood types, including redwood, cedar, mahogany, and other highly resinous woods. While many cleaners can darken these woods, Thompson’s® WaterSeal® 3 in 1 Wood Cleaner actually helps restore their natural color and beauty.

Key Features

• Removes stains from dirt, mildew, algae, and fungus.
• Eliminates tannin and rust stains & mill glaze on new wood.
• Brightens and restores wood’s natural beauty.
• Ready to Use.
• Use before waterproofing on decks & fences, outdoor furniture, and exterior wood.
• Great for use on redwood, cedar, and highly extractive wood if you need to remove tannin staining and restore the lighter color of redwood/cedar/mahogany or other highly extractive wood species in addition to removing stains from dirt, mildew, algae & fungus and/or as instructed, to neutralize any wood species after using other cleaners.
• Approximately 150-250 square feet per gallon, depending on the condition and porosity of the wood.

Then, the real work began! The hubs poured a gallon of the Thompson’s Semi-Transparent Waterproofing Stain in Nutmeg into a sprayer and sprayed the outside of the lattice and the railings. All I have to say is IT.WAS.A.MESS! I highly recommend NOT using the sprayer method. If you can avoid it, please do so! While he was up on the ladder spraying the deck outside, I was on the deck getting the overspray off the deck, window, and back door. This didn’t make Momma happy, considering I was also trying to make dinner… 🙁

After dinner was finally completed, the Hubs and I got to work on the deck. *Note: make sure you are wearing OLD clothing AND shoes when staining! After we tried “working together,” we concluded that it was better for him to spray the boards, and I came in with a roller and basically “double dip” the Thompson Water Seal stain. This made getting in the cracks A LOT easier and allowed the stain to soak into the 9-year-old boards. In about an hour and a half, we had the deck completely stained!!! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Stain – Semi-Transparent – Tinted provides complete outdoor wood protection. It waterproofs long after the initial water beading is gone.

Key Features

• • • Prevents Water Damage
    • Provides Fade & Scuff Resistant Color
    • Coating Resists Mildew & UV Damage
    • Add color while showing some wood grain
    • 150-400 Sq. Ft/Gal.

I will admit I was a little hesitant about the color of the stain. But, once I saw it the next morning, I was HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY {OK, yes, I watch WAY too much Duck Dynasty!}. The lattice didn’t turn out the greatest, but overall, I love the deck makeover! We have Mini Me’s planter garden all set up on the newly stained deck and couldn’t be happier with it. I’ll say that with all the rain we have had, the Thompson Water Seal has helped the deck tremendously. Instead of the water soaking in and causing rot, the water is repelled. This will help to make the deck last for years and years to come 🙂 Not to mention, it’s a lot easier to sweep off all the fallen twigs and leaves!!!

Now all that’s left to do is expand the deck (in the coming years) and the entire length of the house. That would be nice!

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I was provided with a product for this review. All views and opinions regarding Thompson’s Water Seal Review or the company are my own and were not influenced by the company.