Over the next few weeks, I’m going to try to become more active on the blog, and plow through a bunch of post ideas that have been brought up to me, or that have occurred to me. Today, we’ll tackle epoxy sealers, how to pick a good one, and what to be aware of going into any project involving them.
For years, I have done the standard Thompson’s treatment on my various decks and patios in the homes I have lived in. It should come as not surprise, though, given the nature of this blog, that I have been itching to try something a little more robust, a little more… epoxy-like. So, naturally, I began my latest outdoor wood treatment project by seeing if there were any heavy duty epoxy products that I might try for my deck.
Drawback #1: epoxy sealer is not cheap. Accustomed to the bang-for-your-buck deck sealants that I’ve always used in the past, I encountered a bit of sticker shock as I began shopping. But, hey, I love using epoxy products, and have found that they always pay for themselves over time, so this shouldn’t be any different, right?
Well, I got over my aversion to spending additional money pretty quickly, and got down to business. I found a few different products from Bels-Smith, Gluvit, Marine Tex, and System Three. I’ve developed a bit of a bias over the years for System Three, and even though they specify marine use for their sealer, I figured it would probably work just fine on my deck. In fact, this is one of the reasons that I like their products so much. They seem to engineer everything to stand up to the ocean, and my home is a much friendlier environment, so my projects are always overdone, and I like that.
Anyway, I went with their S-1 Epoxy Sealer, and have been very pleased with the results. Not only is my deck tough as nails now, I was able to mix in a white pigment into the sealer and give my deck a little color. Plus the pigment should give my epoxy a little extra UV protection – always nice when you’re dealing with epoxy as it’s the only weakness you might ever encounter.
Application was a piece of cake as I’ve become pretty darn good at using epoxy products over the years. The only thing I’d recommend, even though they suggest minimal surface prep, would be to give your deck a pretty thorough scrubdown prior to using the sealant. It’ll only make your life easier in the end.
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