Best Kept Secret for Exterior Wood Surfaces

As the warmer temps arrive we find ourselves moving from the warmth of our homes to the outdoor living spaces we have created.

As the temps rise so too does our workload outside. From weeding, to planting to mulching to watering and don't forget about the arduous chore of treating those wood surfaces like decks, fences, swing sets and siding. While I enjoy being outdoors (as long as it isn't hot and humid) I dread some of the chores that go along with moving outdoors and the number one chore I put off is staining our screen porch.

I like many other Americans thought that water sealing was the best thing for my pressured treated wood structure especially if it is Thompson's and those great commercials that show the water beading on the wood and not penetrating the surface of the wood! Well, I recently learned the error of my ways and once again was reminded that not everything I see on a commercial is 100% correct. You can read for yourself more on the water beading myth on http://www.flood.com

As luck would have it I was introduced to a wood care system of products from an Ohio company who has been around since 1841, that company is called Flood.

They offer a full range of wood care products including a Wood Cleaner that will remove dirt and brighten the wood, and surface prep is the most important step of the process as it helps the stain adhere to the wood and you will get maximum penetration and life if you clean first. Please don't use a pressure washer to clean your deck as it actually can drive the dirt and mildew into the pours of the wood and can cut the life of the deck in half. in addition, you will also cause your deck to splinter and then will have to sand it, which removes a layer of the wood. Use a cleaner instead.

In addition to the Wood Cleaner, they make a Wood Stripper, which will take paint, stain, and almost anything else off of wood. So, if you want to change the color of your deck, fence, play set, this is the product to use. It will strip off all of the old and get you back to clean wood that is ready to accept the new color.

If you enjoy the look of natural wood, you should use Flood's CWF line of products. CWF stands for Clear Wood Finish. It has UV protection, since the sun is as damaging as the weather. It also is fortified with Penetrol, which has been used since 1934 and is exclusive to Flood. Penetrol penetrates the core of the wood and essentially protects the wood from the inside out. This product is so thick compared to other stains in the market and nothing penetrates like Flood. It comes in a range of colors including clear/natural, cedar, redwood, honey gold, chestnut and walnut. For those brown lovers out there, walnut is really rich looking.

If your wood surfaces (decks, play sets, fences, outdoor furniture, etc.)are showing a little age or if you want a little more color and only a little wood grain to show, then Flood's TWF(semi transparent wood finish)line of semitransparent colors are for you. The colors run the spectrum from lights to darks and include colors like Dessert Sand, Falling Leaf and Chocolate to name a few. The TWF line has this great additive included in every can called E-B Emulsa Bond, E-B Emulsa Bond™ is an additive found exclusively in Flood brand products. It provides unsurpassed adhesion to wood surfaces where other finishes may fail. No other exterior wood care brand but Flood has this unique technology. The SWF product is guaranteed to last 3 years on the horizon surface of the deck (part you walk on and rails) and 5 years on the vertical surfaces (spindles). The best part is that it only requires one coat.

If your wood surfaces have seen better years or you just want a burst of color try Flood's line of SWF products(Solid Wood Finish). This is a line of Solid Colored Wood Stains that look like paint, but wear much better. Again, they are designed for wood and have all of the protection you could want for your wood, while giving you more durability than paint and are fortified with E-B Emulsa Bond, just like their TWF product is. It comes in a range of colors including Sand Dollar, Winter Sky, Cedar, Espresso and more. In addition you can have a custom color made or you can have a color matched. I just had our house trim color matched and we will be using Flood's Solid Stain on our screen porch, I will post a picture when it's complete. The SWF products are guaranteed for 5 years on vertical surfaces and 15 on horizontal. You can even use this product in place of exterior paint on all of your outdoor trim on your house. While it's thinner than latex paint, it wears better. This product has been rated #1 by consumer reports for the past three years in the 3 year test and beat out Behr!

The best news of all, is that Home Depot carries Flood and the TWF and SWF products are on sale until September 20th and are $4.00 off at register per gallon, which means no rebates to fill out and then wonder if you ever received them. In addition there is a 2.5 gallon can of the CWF UV 5 on sale for $39.97, which is about $15.99 per gallon. This is called a deck in a can as it is enough product to cover the average size deck.

You can check out Flood on their website http://www.flood.com.
Try it you will love it and will look forward to the approach of summer!

Amazing Low Cost Transformation

Finally, I convinced my husband that painting our kitchen island was a great idea! Ok, great might be stretching it a bit!

The reason for the need to convince was two fold, first he thinks it is a disgrace to paint solid oak, which is what our cabinets are made of and second he really wasn't interested in painting. I always told him I would paint it and he wouldn't have to.

As usual, I just kept bringing the subject up and if he doesn't respond to my statement/question/comment then that is my green light to go ahead and do it!

So, I painted and distress it and he made the wood top for it.

Since he is an incredible woodworker, he was able to make a solid wood top for the island to replace the lovely 80's shade of grey lamanite that graced the top of my island. The wood for the top cost around $22.00 and we already had the paint, so the whole project cost less than $25.00!

Here's the lovely 80's version of my kitchen island,

Sorry about the white spots, my camera isn't the greatest.

And here is the amazing transformation costing less than $25.00!


There is an incredible product called Liquid Sandpaper (they may have changed the name to) Liquid Sander/De-Glosser, that you can get at Home Depot and probably Lowe's. It's in the paint section and costs about 4.00 per bottle, I had 8 doors and 4 drawers on my island, as well as the base and I used less than 1/4 of the bottle.

This product allows you to avoid the mess and dreaded job of sanding the piece. You simply wipe it on in a circular motion and let it dry 10 minutes and then paint away! It removes all of the poly that is on the cabinet doors and base.

We always use semi-gloss latex paint on all of his painted wood pieces so when we sand the painted piece to distress it the finish comes out matte. We have never primed any of our wood pieces and have never had a problem with the pieces peeling, chipping or showing wear and he has been building for almost 16 years.

The hardest part of the project is waiting for the coats of paint to dry! Patience is truly needed on any furniture painting project.

I have now convinced him to replace the top of the desk in the kitchen with the same wood top and I will paint those cabinets above the desk and the drawers on the bottom of the desk as well. I'll post that as soon as I complete it.

What do you have around your house that could use a little face lift? A coat of paint and some sanding and distressing will do the trick!