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Community and Q&A

Green exterior wood protector?

user-7022518 | Posted in General Questions on

I just came across a Swedish product called Sioo:x which seems to be made of potassium silicate. It is applied as a low-maintenance wood preservative for decks and cladding and lasts for 15 years. Here is a link:

http://www.sioox.org.uk/wood-protection/products/folders-och-downloads/

Does anyone know of a similar product in the US?

Very intrigued!

Lisa

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Replies

  1. ethan_TFGStudio | | #1

    Not sure where you are located.., but have you considered USA made, such as Vermont Natural Coatings?

    https://vermontnaturalcoatings.com/exterior-products-all/

  2. Expert Member
    Michael Maines | | #2

    You could try an iron sulphate solution, or a premade version such as this: http://www.valhalco.com/index.php.

  3. user-6982666 | | #3

    Another US produced product that's even approved in marine environments is called Seal-Once.
    Available here:
    https://seal-once.com/

  4. user-7022518 | | #4

    Thanks Michael and Ethan! I checked out all the links--couldn't see if the formulas were made from potassium silicate. The Swedish product allows the wood to gray early which is what I was looking for. It is activated by water. I am not a chemist but I think this is a different process. I googled and found references to "water glass" and confusing wood science articles which also said that the process made the wood more fire resistant. Interesting that these companies are not obligated to list their ingredients--seems poor labeling for substances that humans will be in constant contact with in our homes...

    Lisa

  5. qthisup | | #5

    Hi Lisa
    I might be able to offer some advice. I'm UK based and used Sioox on a project. The effect was exactly what we wanted and the Cedar siding ended up looking great after about 8-12 months.

    I did a project in Canada looking for the same effect and decided on a product from Sansin called Wood Sealer. You'll need to look up the ingredients but the Cedar did grey evenly as hoped. That being said, I did get black mold growth on the horizontal surfaces (decking in this case) I used it on. The manufacturer said I probably didn't follow the application instructions correctly as I didn't sand the boards first (we did use a wood wash to remove mill glaze). I haven't had a chance to try to remove the mold and see if it is just superficial as I'm going to wait out winter before cleaning the deck.

    Perhaps not super useful and my two cents!

  6. user-7022518 | | #6

    Quinn,

    Thank you so much! I will check them out. Lisa

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