Ready Seal 7966104 5 gal Pail Exterior Wood Stain & Sealer, Light Oak

Staining a fence is a significant decision because fences are expensive and stain is permanent. I recently installed a 8’, 300 foot new cedar fence with treated pine posts. For staining purposes, that means 600 feet of surface to cover. After waiting a couple months for it to season and the moisture content of the wood to fall well below recommended 12%, (mine was about 5% according to the Kline meter-also great Amazon purchase), I was ready to stain/seal my new fence. The world of fence staining is competitive marketplace. Lots of products, reviews, theories, pitfalls, etc. and the quality and durability of those products seems to have a wide variety of success and failure. Again, failure is not an option for $25,000+ investment, nor is not protecting the fence by not sealing/staining it. Here is why I chose Ready Seal: Laytex vs. Oil based. My experience has always been that oil based products last, and penetrate better than laytex. But, oil is messy and has a higher VOC (smell). I wanted the product to penetrate the wood as deeply as possible. Oil does that better. Ready Seal does that very well. Ready Seal is advertised as “Goof Proof” and it truly is. The “goof” they are talking about is having runs and streaks in your fence, which again is a permanent problem. To avoid this problem, Ready Seal soaks into the wood pretty slowly, it is essentially dry to the touch after an hour, and it continues to soak in over the next few days. The key selling point for me, however, was the ability to re-apply the product as needs without any streaking for the life of the fence, without any need to strip it, etc. In this regard, a fence is like a sponge, it soaks up Ready Seal, and it can be “added to” over time. That is really a useful aspect, that saves a lot of time, money and effort, and allows one to selectively protect your fence over its lifetime. I used a low pressure, 15 gallon, electric garden sprayer made by Velore (on Amazon) to apply the Ready Seal. It worked extremely well for this application. [I removed the filter on the intake hose because of the pigment would clog the filter] You do two coats of Ready Seal, but the majority of the soaking in occurs on the first coat. I’d say it’s about 70/30 in that regard. On my fence, I used 50 gallons of Ready Seal. Read all the instructions and prep. No sealer/stain will work if the surface is dirty and the product cannot soak in. They don’t have a lot of color selection is one downside. I went with Light Oak #505 on a cedar/treated pine posts fence. Ready Seal will send you samples to try out. (The samples are tiny, you might want 2-3 of the packs) Their cedar color was too red for my taste when put on top of an already cedar fence. It’s a personal choice at that point, but the pigment/color is necessary to help block damage causing, UV light. Last, the folks at Ready Seal were extremely helpful. There are not many companies these days where you can call in the middle of a project and get an answer from a human being—-especially a person who is familiar with the product, applying it, etc. Much thanks to Ready Seal folks for being so available and so helpful at answering questions. I have no regrets on using this product, it looks great, easy to apply, works as advertised, and is well supported by a reputable company and staff located in the USA. I highly recommend it. Darrin D, Memphis TN.

Products performed amazingly. Completely satisfied with the final results after 2 coats. I originally wanted a datker tone like Pecan, the lady of the house liked the raw look. I explained after a few seasons of the wood being unprotected that look wouldn't remain and it would grey. Chose light oak color for the cedar fence. Turned out amazing, My fiancée is also happy with how the fence looks. Easy to apply with proper preparation, just be certain to have proper ventilation and mask ,the fumes can be a bit much even outdoors. Originally decided to go with a battery powered backpack sprayer, but opted for the Hand pump sprayer I had on hand after seeing delivery times. I was eager to get the project going. The hand pump wasn't as tedious as I'd imagined. Even with doing 2 coats each side on 63 linear feet of 6ft board on board on board cedar. Just take your time and make sure its done right. Protect any and all surfaces you don't want damaged with stain like cement, trim board, cars. It will stain! I wet cement surface and surrounding materials before application for extra precaution.

I will never buy any other stain and sealant for my exterior wood surfaces as long as I live. I bought NATURAL (light oak). This stuff FAR exceeded my expectations. Our deck had never been stained, washed, sealed, nothing had been done to it in 7-10 years. It was extremely weathered and gray. This stain completely brought it back to life. We also washed/scrubbed and sanded. Not sure exactly but our deck is around 250 sq ft. I started with 5 gallons thinking it would do two coats. My mistake - it was SO dry I ended up going back for another 5 gal. In total I used 10 gallons which did 2 coats. It still would have drank in a 3rd coat but I didn't do it bc of time. I eventually ended up using a yard sprayer to save time along with brushing, rolling, and a deck pad. I used quite a bit more when spraying bc 1)you waste some and 2)it soaks more in. I even sprayed over on my metal dowels and the stain cleaned up beautifully. I was afraid when spraying it would leave noticable lines, same with the over splash leaving spotting but it blended in BEAUTIFULLY. It's seriously magical! I saw some ppl complaining about the can being dented upon arrival - seriously who cares as long as its not punctured. Both of mine were dented but were a-ok. I LOVED the 5 gallon tin bc it had a pull-out rubber pour spout that made opening it and pouring super easy along with a screw on cap so when I rolled and shook the can in between uses it stayed sealed nice and tight. It's nice too bc there is only a 2 hour wait time before it can be exposed to rain which happened to us and it didn't affect the stain whatsoever. I love that it's got a sealant in it ...without giving the plastic look. I'm basically in love with this stain. It also repels water nicely. I've told every single person I know about Ready Seal now. I'm in no way affiliated/paid with the company (although my husband questions how excited I get over it ha). I actually stumbled on this while searching for Behr stain on Home Depot website. So glad I did! I ordered on Amazon bc you it was cheaper and way quicker shipping through Amazon. I posted several pictures - no filters used. It changes color a bit as the light changes throughout the day. Hope someone finds this helpful.

I've used a few deck sealers over the years. I believe this to be the best one I've used. Very easy to use and really nice results. I highly recommend it.

As advertised, no streaking or color variation when using brush or sprayer!! This is a great product. I no longer have a wood fence (30 years of wood fence) but if I did....Ready seal is what I would use. Lasted 3 years before recoat for us in PNW...dry part of WA.

Love this product, I just don't understand why the shipping department needs to put it in a box. The box will not hold up with the weight of this can. Just ship the can with shipping sticker in a spot with not writing.

I live in Florida and have used Ready Seal products on my fence for years. This stain/sealer not only keeps my fence looking nice, is also protects and prolongs the life. Its super easy to apply, I basically slop it on with a roller. Using this method, it still covers evenly leaving a consistent color.

Since I used almost 15 gallons of this, I think I can give a good review of how it works. First, a little about the deck itself. It is almost 800 Sq. ft. and old by deck standards. It ranges from 40 to about 35 years old and is all of the old pressure treatment, containing arsenic. The oldest section was constructed of standard (cheap) decking, but has stood up well. All the other was Sturdy Deck brand, full 1 1//2" thick, only rounded on one side, grooved underneath to prevent warping, straight grained, and quite expensive. I had last stained it probably 6 years ago with another product that did not work well. It didn't soak in well, and flaked after a year, yet would not come off completely. I let it set and power washed it to take off as much as I could. Finally, I let it go until this year and it all came off. At least all but a few sq ft. I only power washed it, and it looked great. The one spot that showed some rot I filled with grout and have to figure out how to stain it to match. The old wood was very thirsty, taking almost 15 gal for 800 sq ft. I used a pump sprayer and roller and brushed where necessary. I like that process, although the sprayer is useless below about 60 degrees. The stuff is like spraying honey when cold; brushing or rolling is necessary then. I will say it is just about goof proof. I did like wet on dry better than wet on wet, but really little difference. It came out very even. Spraying from two directions allows getting the edges well coated. The board ends really drink this stuff, and I have a lot of them. The finish is very flat as it soaks in very well. I like that. I would doubt it will have any tendency to flake off. It is a little drippy when it is hot, but that is why I am not a pro--not really that good with a brush. Lessons learned: The old pressure treatment lasted better than a couple railings we had to replace from a tree limb strike. Its a shame we can't get it any more. Old wood is thirsty, be prepared to buy more than advertised. Temperature does make a difference if you plan to spray. It soaks in very quickly, which is helpful. Color seems to stabilize in about a week, not two. Color (light oak) was as advertised. Clean up with mineral spirits is easy. Now, if this stuff lasts I will be very happy. I even suspect it can be gone over lightly in a year to prolong its life, but I don't know. So far, I am very happy with my selection. What I have written may or may not be applicable to new wood, or your deck for that matter.

Three years later and I am on my second drum. Love the results, and the ease of application. I just paint a new coat on my deck once a year in Spring without any pressure washing, just a rough broom to remove most of the dust and twigs. Looks great for summer, and then fades a bit with time into winter. Gives great coverage as well, I managed three years on my first pail. Very happy customer. (Did not get paid for this review.)

This stuff might be my savior! I am in absolute love with the color and the ease of use is everything. I have a white Cedar deck. For some reason all of the stains nowadays do not work and they only last one year. I just got this deck for years ago and have stained it three times in four years as the previous product wore off very quickly. I was at my wit's end and then I found this product. So far it has been absolutely amazing. It's beating the water off very well. I will be updating this comment as I go through one year as I need to know durability before I comment on that, but as of right now I am one happy customer!

This is an overall great product, it is my second time using it to paint a fence. The stain goes on smoothly even In cool weather and very natural colour. It took about 4 hours to dry. The colour adjusts to the condition of the wood that you are applying it to. In my case, my fence had some areas where the original wood was clearer than others; and the stain was affected by that, giving the fence some areas where it was a bit darker than others where the wood was clearer. I like that, as it makes the fence look more natural. There was no actual wrong way to apply it. You can even go back the next day and apply more paint to the same area and it will look good. It will take about 4 weeks for the "final" colour to truly come out, meaning that it will be lighter than when it was fist applied. Very pleased. I do hope that it lasts at least two years.

So this is an update on an earlier review I posted late last summer. Applied great, no overlapping and produced close to pressure treated sierra brown. This was applied to close to greying pressure treated wood. ( originally sierra brown pt). Anyway still beading water here in Canada and no peeling after a winter here. Some color lightening in high traffic areas. As for color I have experienced your final color will depend very much on the color and condition of the wood you are staining. The light oak color I used when applied to bare untreated wood (spruce) produced a nice slightly more yellow maybe you could say yes a natural light oak color if you could peel the bark off. On a untreated picnic table that was greying a darker brown color. So for people saying it produced a lot darker color than they thought I would say the grayer you let your wood become, the darker your result will be. Hope this helps

feels like lots of wax in it. Darkens the wood just a bit. Went on easily with sprayer or brush. It is the best fence treatment I have ever used. It actually soaks into the wood rather than just sit on the surface.