Ready Seal 525 Exterior Stain and Sealer for Wood, 5-Gallon, Dark Walnut

I have over 1,000 feet of rough cut cedar post and rail fence. It was installed 2 years ago, so it had a decent amount of weathering (i.e., grey coloring) on it. I followed Ready Seal's instructions and washed it with bleach/water mixture. Then used an oxalic acid mixture to clear the black staining (from the wood's reaction to the metal hardware). Lastly, I put two coats of stain on. I thought I was going to get away with a single coat, but the stain soaked in so deep that it was quite noticeable. The wood started to have almost a sickly look to it (not sure how else to explain it). Good news is that I know the stain soaked in really deep. :)The result is absolutely beautiful. I love this stain because it really soaks in. I actually stained a smaller portion of the fence that I build myself several years ago. While there was still the gray/weathering on it, it was noticeably different to clean/stain. It seemed like there was still a subsurface layer of sealant protecting the wood. Pretty cool. That being said, if I had just stained it when I first had it put in, I wouldn't have had to do the bleach or acid wash - which is a huge pain. I didn't do it originally because the price of a 5-gallon bucket of this stain went from $75 to $200. It was simply too much after spending $20K on the fence itself. I ended up purchasing 16 of them this summer for $174 each (yes, over $2700). Not much of a savings but a LOT more work. I had to get a bleach spray and an acid sprayer. I should have just stained it 2 years ago. I used a drill attachment to mix the stain and blend buckets, which made that part go much faster. Ready Seal recommended a pump sprayer for applying it, so I purchased one and used it. Once I learned how use it correctly, I think I was able to put the stain on with less waste then using a brush; however, given the sheer amount of fence I have, my left arm (pumping arm) was pretty wore out. I will look into to other solutions in the future. In the end I like the idea of not having to scrape/chip/strip paint off of my fence and just lightly wash and add another coat of stain next time. I highly recommend this product.

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.

Very nice stain and sealer for my wood fence. Sprayed it on easily with a cheap garden sprayer. The color is a rich brown and made the fence look so much better.

After 20 years of water based deck stains, this is the one I will only use from now on. I love the long lasting color, the level of weatherproofing my cedar plank deck, and how easy it is to apply. I applied with a deck brush with ease and less strain on my back.

This is an extremely easy to work with . It does not leave any over lapping marks, it won’t leave any build up or high spots from runs and drips , you can’t see the run either if it does due to it just soaks in and disappears . The down fall is if your redoing something that has stain and sealer on it? It’ll need to be removed . At first I wasn’t happy with the way it looked in the color I choose because it was much darker and appeared splotchy all over. No need to worry because it takes a few days but the color did change to the redwood color I chose and it all evened it self out. This product once it’s on will not need any type of prep to redo in a few years just reapply. As for pricing it’s phenomenal cheaper then most stains and sealers of what most places stock. And compared to the tinted oil ( which it is ) it’s extremely cheaper to choose this brand product . I’ll use it again on anything outdoors that would need it .

This is an unbiased review. This product is EXCELLENT! Best stain BY FAR that I’ve ever used. Goes on easy, does not blotch and absorbs in the wood EVENLY providing a great pattern. Applied to 1 yr old redwood deck. Sanded first, pressure washed, then let dry for 3 days. Used a brush taped to a pole for gaps between boards, then a 4 inch wide 1/2” nap roller. Couldn’t use a sprayer due to wind. Very very easy app. O All I can say is wow- a product that actually does what it claims!

Best stain on the market. We've tried many with our 3 story log home. This stain lasts the longest and each time you re-stain it lasts even longer. Easiest stain to use, spray or brush on, NO lap marks, easy clean up, and so forgiving! We will NEVER use anything else.

I loved the color, and the guys who stained my porch did a beautiful job. Good quality and coverage. Dries relatively quick, but the longer you can stay off of it, the better. Outside areas clearly show water beading for protection!