I've got a screen-in porch that we recently painted the exterior using a
solid color deck stain. The interior, however, is not painted nor do I want
it to be as I prefer the natural wood look there. However since rain and
snow sometimes enter through the screens, the wood would need some kind of
protectant. I'm not sure what I should use, since the porch is 5 yrs old
already. Is it to late for a sealer (I have no idea if one was originally
applied), or should it just be cleaned periodically?

"DesignGuy" wrote in message
news:w6Nfd.324907$D%.207527@attbi_s51...
I've got a screen-in porch that we recently painted the exterior using a
solid color deck stain. The interior, however, is not painted nor do I
want
it to be as I prefer the natural wood look there. However since rain and
snow sometimes enter through the screens, the wood would need some kind of
protectant. I'm not sure what I should use, since the porch is 5 yrs old
already. Is it to late for a sealer (I have no idea if one was originally
applied), or should it just be cleaned periodically?

I'd use spar varnish to maintain the natural look. There are other
products like Cetol, but it will darken the wood a bit.

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:09:48 GMT, "DesignGuy"
wrote:

I've got a screen-in porch that we recently painted the exterior using a
solid color deck stain. The interior, however, is not painted nor do I want
it to be as I prefer the natural wood look there. However since rain and
snow sometimes enter through the screens, the wood would need some kind of
protectant. I'm not sure what I should use, since the porch is 5 yrs old
already. Is it to late for a sealer (I have no idea if one was originally
applied), or should it just be cleaned periodically?



There are numerous semi-transparent and some "clear" stains that you
could use. Consumer Reports recently did a review of many of them
stating all their likes and dislikes of each.

This summer I had a new all white cedar deck built and I selected
Sikkens Cetol natural cedar stain and it came out just great looking.
I wanted a look that mimiced what it looked like when rain water was
on it and I believe we've accomplished that.

Good luck.

B