Ready Seal130 1-Gallon Can Mahogany Exterior Wood Stain and Sealer

P.S. We paid for our product-- this isn't a paid endorsement! Our deck was 3-yrs. old, never stained, grey, weathered so badly [first 2-photos]-- some of the steps were deteriorating into a "checkered" pattern, i.e., disintegrating. Blasting hot Southern sun, monsoons, wind. More sun. More grey. Rapid aging. Never stained it because product review were so BAD! Until... Tripped onto Ready Seal on Amazon after reading dozens, hundreds of reviews of so many different products. Skip the 5-Star-- just read the 1-Star Reviews. Loads of research over these 3-years, but nothing popped. Until Ready Seal came on the horizon. Minimal 1-Stars. Started watching every video I could find on RS. YouTube, Amazon, Ready Seal's proprietary videos. Reading data sheets on RS's website. Tons more research. Months pass. Convinced. Buy two 5-gal. totes of Natural Cedar. I wanted the "most orange" color RS offered. I call this "Backwards Prep." Order the supply before I'm ready to do the work. This gives me the incentive to "go all in. Not back out. Forge ahead. Wait for the monsoons to stop. Research a little more. Learn how to turn this amateur gig into professional. Techniques. Tools. Materials needed. Temperature range required. Moisture! Ready Seal has GREAT Customer Service. Phoned twice. Second time, a super-hot-shot very UP on his game figured out I was using the WRONG Moisture Meter (for interior, drywall-- wrong). Off to Lowe's for a Kobalt Pin Type Moisture Meter #SC-MM150 Digital #4882343 Model #SC-MM150. See, that is great Customer Service when the Rep. listens so intently-- they can figure out what you're doing wrong (getting wonky readings) and help correct the problem. Staining a requires PATIENCE, kiddoes. Especially if you're goofy enough to stain your deck during monsoon season. Dry as a bone in the a.m. Start to stain-- finally! STARTS POURING DOWN RAIN halfway through. This prompts a call to RS: usually 12% or less moisture is required for staining-- but since you live in Monsoonville, you can go 15% on the first application. This gives the green light-- this deck wood will NEVER be 12% this wet summer. Moisture meter checks every day. Finally a narrow window opens up-- dry for just a few days, long enough for a staining Marathon. Ready Seal is everything we needed it to be. Easy to open. Easy to stir. Easy to apply (I started by using a beautiful brush. Ended up using a sponge as it made it SO easy to stain in-between boards and was easier on the wrist. Deck is 8x12-ft. Took 20-hrs. TOTAL for everything-- was able to squeeze-in 2-coats during the few days of sun. Stained everything: topsides, railings, in-between the boards, UNDERNEATH the decking, underneath the steps, 4x4 uprights, sides of boards-- every square inch of that deck. Twice. NOTE 1: if your deck is badly weathered, you'll need MORE than you think. Ran through an entire 5-gal. can doing two coats, plus maybe a Qt. from 2nd 5-gal. tote. That's two coats on an 8x12 deck. Our wood, especially the steps, were so badly "chapped" that all the wood soaked up the thin stain like nobody's bidnezz. The stain is "thin," not gloppy. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was water base. Use gloves! Old clothes. We laid down a layer of cardboard under the deck to 1/ Catch drippings 2/ for a clean, slick surface to slide around on to reach all those nooks and crannies. To me it didn't make sense to just stain topsides and leave unstained wood underneath our deck. Obviously if your deck is just a few inches off the ground, you won't be staining underneath! NOTE 2: Great addition to 1/ Protecting the steps from SUN and WIND and 2/ Safety was the addition of the STAIR TREADS [Rubber-Cal "Diamond-Plate Non-Slip Rubber Tread Stair Mats (6 Pack), Black $35.64 for six]. They really set off the Natural Cedar and really make the Ready Seal POP! I wanted some way to protect the stair treads from the brutal sun, to stop the "checking" damage. NOTE 3: ANOTHER great addition to our deck, that also keeps the SUN off and will add more years to our deck is that I erected Deck Sails [SUNNY GUARD Sun Shade Sail 10'x10'x10' Triangle Grey White Tripe UV Block Sunshade for Backyard Yard Deck Patio Garden Outdoor Activities and Facility] using 1-in. Galvanized Electrical conduit as "masts" attached to the 4x4 uprights. No cement needed. The sails keep the deck COOL, and minimize UV rays from ruining our beautiful Ready Seal. [Photos.] Sunny Guard has various sizes and shapes. We've since put up 5-Sails on this 8x12 deck, to keep our kitchen COOLER in summer. Makes a HUGE difference. The deck stays cools even though it's on the roasting WEST side of the house. Use "J-Hooks" on the 1-in. metal poles and bungee-cord to the Sails, then you can easily take them down for an approaching bad windstorm.No shortcuts. But every DAY I thank God we took the time to research this project and to do it right (waited until deck wood was <15% moisture). And got in two coats. The treads. The sails. Looks like a completely different deck, and now is a really gorgeous outdoor space-- that somehow even seems a bit bigger now, too. THANK YOU READY SEAL. You will NOT be sorry.

Best stain/sealer I have used. Application was very easy and took very little time. Applied with Home Depot Garden pump sprayer ($25) spray on liberally and wipe any puddles with a rag. Product soaks in quickly and penetrtes deep into the wood. 800 Square feet in about 3 hours. I will brush on the railings but this whole project can be done in an afternoon. Only issues is the way it was delivered. I can't beleive that it arrived in one piece. 5 Gallon bucket stuffed into a box and laying on it's side, accident waiting to happen but it made it. Second is not a complain but this is expensive stuff. I would put a seconf coat on jsut fro piece of mind but I don't want to spend another $200. Will monitor how long this lasts but so far I am inpressed with the saturation, ease of application and the color is awesome. Highly recommend for a deck that looks completely dressed up.

Great stain, easy to use, looks great, water resistant, went on smooth, color is great!!

On 11 April 2024, I purchased six Ready Seal 512 5-gallon buckets in Natural Cedar to stain an approximately 400' privacy fence made from pressure-treated yellow pine. I applied the stain using a 4-gallon backpack sprayer. While a roller and brush would have gotten more coverage than spraying it, this method was the easiest and fastest. Thirty gallons covered both sides and was completed in about four hours.One of the standout features of this stain is its foolproof nature. I applied it generously to the fence and didn't need to worry about it. There were no runs or areas that looked overcovered, so I didn't have to go back and brush or roll the product out. The wood simply absorbed it all, leaving a flawless finish.My friend recently stained his deck with another different product, and there are places where it is obviously thicker and runs where he didn't brush it out. That took him two days to finish with the help of his three children. It took a lot more work for a lackluster look.The stain has just been applied in the first three photos and looks really dark. After two weeks, it lightens up and looks great, as shown in the fourth picture.I am very pleased with this stain and have already recommended it to friends.

We ordered this stain in ‘natural cedar’ when we reworked our 30 yr old fence. We power washed, sanded, and then applied two coats of this stain. It is VERY easy to use, no drips and it blends beautifully, and we love that it is a 2in1 with a sealer to save us time. The first 2 photos show the before/during phase, and the last photo shows the final result once it was fully dried a few weeks later. (Please excuse our backyard reno 😅) Honestly couldn’t love the results more!! The colour is absolutely gorgeous and so far has held up very well here in Calgary, Canada. Highly recommend this, especially for large jobs! The 5gallon size saved us multiple trips and $$$$ at the hardware store.

Excellent product extremely easy to use

The product is a good product sprays well and even. We used it to finish our privacy fence. Didn't like having to pay $100 more for the second 5 gal pail that was required.

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.)

Working on a new fence project. This product is so easy to use even a complete novice like me is getting beautiful results. I let the fence weather over the winter and started applying the stain in April. I didn’t want to colour it that much so I ordered the natural oak. It looks amazing, very, very happy with this product.