Gardening
This Three-Ingredient Wood Sealant Will Make You a Believer
Winterize with this easy, low-cost DIY sealant.
Winter is fast approaching.
If you’re like us, your yard or homestead is full of important wooden objects—garden boxes, sheds, coops, etc.—that spend all winter out in the elements.
That means you only have a few more weeks (maybe less) to get them properly treated so they’re protected from the harshness of winter.
Luckily, we have a perfect solution for a homemade wood sealant. It’s easy, too.
Three-Ingredient Wood Sealant
To create the three-ingredient wood sealant, you only need three ingredients:
- Mineral Spirits
- Boiled Linseed Oil
- Paraffin Wax
But just because the ingredients are simple doesn’t mean the process is completely cut and dry.
Here are some helpful tips that will make prep much easier.
Preparation Tips
Get the Right Spirits – We suggest using odorless mineral spirits because, well, who wants a stinky deck? (Though, to be clear, the stinky spirits protect wood perfectly well).
Find a Nice, Warm Spot – Next, we suggest preparing your sealant somewhere warm; the warmer your environment, the less likely the wax will harden.
Double Melt the Wax – The hardest part of making three-ingredient wood sealant is melting the paraffin wax so it doesn’t harden.
To accomplish that, we suggest you double boil your wax. Boil water in one pot for heat and place the paraffin wax in another, smaller pot inside the boiling water. If it sounds a little confusing, check out this video for clarification.
Double melting will reduce the likelihood that the paraffin wax catches on fire.
Mix the Spirits and Oil – Mix the spirits and boiled linseed oil before you add the wax. That way you can stir the wax immediately.
Related Read: Growing Your Own Cooking Oil
The Final Trick– The final part is a little tricky. You need to get the mineral spirits and boiled linseed oil properly mixed with the melted paraffin wax before the wax turns solid. To do this we suggest bringing the mixture close to where you melt your wax. This reduces your travel time between areas and thus the likelihood that the wax cools.
Once you have all three ingredients stirred together you simply use a clean brush to apply a generous coat to the wood that needs sealing. Once it dries, inspect to see if it needs a second coat.
Recipe
Ingredients:
- Odorless Mineral Spirits – 1 Quart
- Boiled Linseed Oil – 4 Ounces
- Paraffin Wax – 1 Ounce
Instructions:
- Find a plastic container large enough to hold the contents.
- Pour 1 quart of odorless mineral spirits into container.
- Add 4 ounces of boiled linseed oil.
- Stir contents in the container.
- Prepare 1 ounce of paraffin wax by melting. Remember, paraffin wax is flammable; double boil to minimize risk of creating a flame.
- Pour 1 ounce of melted paraffin wax into the container. Do this in a warm place to ensure the paraffin wax does not turn into a solid again.
- Use a fresh, clean paintbrush to apply a generous coat to the wood. Apply sealant in outdoors in a well-ventilated area.
- Apply additional coat[s] if needed.
A Little Something for You Visual Learners…
If you’d like to watch the process yourself, here are two great YouTube videos that walk you through the entire thing: