Should I put Thompson on my cyprus...

[Bill Huber]

This is the first time I have ever used cyprus and from everything I see it is a great outdoor wood. I am building another Adirondack chair and this one is out of cyprus.

Now the question should I give it a coat of Thompson's Water Sealer?
Should I just not put anything on it and just let it age.

I don't want to paint the chairs I like the wood look and the grain of the wood and just don't want to hide that.

Thanks....

[Terry Beadle]

I made a andirondak chair out of cypress about three years ago. I put nothing on it. It sits out of the rain but outside under the eve. No problems, no worries. Sits great! Has a nice patina to it.

The only caution I would give is that when you are laying out your pieces be sure to not put any fish eye segments where the contact of the user might cause a sliver problem.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Bill,
I can't speak directly about Cyprus itself, but I can comment on Thompson's Water Seal.
WS gets a lot of bad comments - mostly made by people that don't understand how/where to best use it.

WS is a seasonal material. It's not made to last for more than a year.(despite what their ads say)

Although it can. The Doug Fir stringers I used on my deck were saturated with WS prior to being installed. After ~ 15 years - when we tore down the deck to make room for an enclosed patio, the WS was still in place and would bead water.
Personally - I consider that a fluke occurance due to the exposure of the wood - North exposure & protected by the deck flooring above.
Still - it did last ~ 15 years.
FWIW - the decking itelf - which was Cedar - was also hit with WS. W/in 6 months, it lost it's ability to bead water.

I'm a big fan of WS. It may not be the same formulation today as it was ~ 20 years ago though. Back then, Thompson's recommended coating new concrete with it as soon as the concrete dried. The coating allowed the concrete to cure "harder and stronger". I coated my driveway with it within a wek of being poured. All the houses in the neighborhood were built roughly in the same timeframe (1985/1986) and the concrete drives were poured by the same company.
Mine is one fo the few driveways in the neighborhood that has zero spalling.
Now - they reccommend allowing the concrete to cure for 30 days.

Anyhow - whenever I use WS on outside exposed wood, I spary it on with a pump up garden sprayer, usually twice a season, once in the Spring and once in the Fall.
It has little to no UV protection, so it doesn't stop the wood from turning gray. It does seem to inhibit cracking and splintering though.
I've also noticed that in some cases, it also helps prevent treated wood from warping. Not all the time though.

[Stephen Edwards]

My experience with waterseal is that you get what you pay for. I'd suggest that you check out some other brand names.

Best Regards,

[Matt Ocel]

Bill,

If you want it to look good and last - "SIKKENS" its the only way to go.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Thompson's was formulated using paraffin. The wax basically coated the wood and repelled water. It worked well in areas that didn't get any traffic or wear but quickly wore off where it got foot traffic. Repeated use also built up a gummy mess unless it was stripped off between coats.

There are many products on the market which work better. On a chair look for one what is safe for skin contact.

[Howard Acheson]

Thompson's was formulated using paraffin. The wax basically coated the wood and repelled water. It worked well in areas that didn't get any traffic or wear but quickly wore off where it got foot traffic. Repeated use also built up a gummy mess unless it was stripped off between coats.

There are many products on the market which work better. On a chair look for one what is safe for skin contact.

Your point is well made. Yes, it continues to repel water but it does nothing to protect the wood from UV from sunlight. In Consumer Union tests the Thompson's clear was the second deck treatment to fail.

[Bill Huber]

I made a andirondak chair out of cypress about three years ago. I put nothing on it. It sits out of the rain but outside under the eve. No problems, no worries. Sits great! Has a nice patina to it.

The only caution I would give is that when you are laying out your pieces be sure to not put any fish eye segments where the contact of the user might cause a sliver problem.

This will be setting under a patio roof and will get no direct rain, just what would blow in on it.

It would sure be nice not to have to worry about it.


Thanks....

[Bill Huber]

Hello Bill,
I can't speak directly about Cyprus itself, but I can comment on Thompson's Water Seal.
WS gets a lot of bad comments - mostly made by people that don't understand how/where to best use it.

WS is a seasonal material. It's not made to last for more than a year.(despite what their ads say)

Although it can. The Doug Fir stringers I used on my deck were saturated with WS prior to being installed. After ~ 15 years - when we tore down the deck to make room for an enclosed patio, the WS was still in place and would bead water.
Personally - I consider that a fluke occurance due to the exposure of the wood - North exposure & protected by the deck flooring above.
Still - it did last ~ 15 years.
FWIW - the decking itelf - which was Cedar - was also hit with WS. W/in 6 months, it lost it's ability to bead water.

I'm a big fan of WS. It may not be the same formulation today as it was ~ 20 years ago though. Back then, Thompson's recommended coating new concrete with it as soon as the concrete dried. The coating allowed the concrete to cure "harder and stronger". I coated my driveway with it within a wek of being poured. All the houses in the neighborhood were built roughly in the same timeframe (1985/1986) and the concrete drives were poured by the same company.
Mine is one fo the few driveways in the neighborhood that has zero spalling.
Now - they reccommend allowing the concrete to cure for 30 days.

Anyhow - whenever I use WS on outside exposed wood, I spary it on with a pump up garden sprayer, usually twice a season, once in the Spring and once in the Fall.
It has little to no UV protection, so it doesn't stop the wood from turning gray. It does seem to inhibit cracking and splintering though.
I've also noticed that in some cases, it also helps prevent treated wood from warping. Not all the time though.

I have used Thompsons in the past for some outside things but never something like this so that is why I was asking the question. I am not sure if the stuff Thompsons makes now is as good as the old stuff but they do have some with UV protection.

[Bill Huber]

My experience with waterseal is that you get what you pay for. I'd suggest that you check out some other brand names.

Best Regards,


Do you have any brands that you have used and really like?

I just never even thought about other brands and I am sure there are a lot. I am searching the net and have found a bunch of different ones.

Thanks..

[Bill Huber]

Bill,

If you want it to look good and last - "SIKKENS" its the only way to go.

I have been on their web site and I am not sure which would be the best and which one is clear and would be the best for furniture.

[Matt Ocel]

Bill -

Send Sikkens an e-mail and ask them, I'm sure they can recommend the right product for your Cypress.

[Bill Huber]

Bill -

Send Sikkens an e-mail and ask them, I'm sure they can recommend the right product for your Cypress.


Now why didn't I think of that, I was all over their site and the Contact Us was everywhere..... :D:D

Some days I wonder I make it though the day.......

[Anthony Whitesell]

I would choose something else other than Thompson's. Paint thinner is a cheaper alternative than Thompson's. IIRC, Thompson's Water Seal is 75 or 95% mineral spirits. Do you thin any clear coat 3:1 or 4:1? I don't. I'm not kidding either, check the MSDS sheet on their website.

[Jules Dominguez]

[quote=Bill Huber;859790]This will be setting under a patio roof and will get no direct rain, just what would blow in on it.

It would sure be nice not to have to worry about it.


Bill, I have a completely roofed and mostly shade-treed porch, and we're still using furniture out there (Atlanta area) that I made 20 years ago. Two picnic tables, four benches, four chairs and a small table. The material used was western spruce for the 1x material and either yellow pine or spruce (I think YP but my memory's foggy) for the 2x parts. Some of it gets hit by blowing rain, and a minimal amount of direct sunlight. It has visibly aged, but not enough to affect comfort or structural strength
You're right to put the best finish on your cypress that you can, but you'll probably have very little problem with it, and it will probably be years before it needs refinishing for appearance if it's out of the sun.
I made a swing out of white oak a couple of years ago,finished it with spar varnish or exterior poly (foggier than ever), and hung it where it gets a couple of hours of sunlight in late afternoon, and it already needs refinishing.
Sun and rain exposure make all the difference in the world.

[Ray Scheller]

Penofin (clear) is what I put on mine 5 years ago and they look as good today as they looked the day I first applied it. I did re-apply some last year and since it is an oil finish I didn't have to strip or sand it and like I said they look great. They sit outside unprotected and here in NM the sun is the main cause of concern but the UV protectants in the Penofin do a great job in protecting them. When we do get rain it beads up like a great wax job on a vintage car. Try some you won't be sorry. The only drawback is it is a little pricey at $38 a gallon but it does go along way. Good luck on what ever you choose.