Ready Seal Stain Review
Manufacturer Description: ReadySeal wood stain and sealer contains all the essential elements of a quality coating for exterior wood projects. Ease of application was in mind throughout the formulation of ReadySeal to ensure all consumers a hassle-free application, saving time for the contractor and promising a Goof-Proof process for homeowners.
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Stain looked good after initial application. Ready Seal has good penetration and applies easily. The product has a very strong odor, would not recommend if the user is sensitive to smells. After 14 months of weathering the product has completely weathered away. The test board has darkened significantly and small black spots of what appear to be mold have shown up. Bottom line: although this was one of the cheaper stains on the market, unless you want to redo your deck every year, stay away from Ready Seal. 
- Looks good initially
- Penetrated the wood easily
- One of the more inexpensive stains (Under $35)
- No lap marks
- Doesn't last more than a year
- Strong odor
- Mold growth present
- Boards turned very dark
Ready Seal is very easy to apply and that is the only good quality that it has. The stain does not dry and tracks on carpet and rubs off on clothes. Lost all color in 9-12 months. Very poor UV resistance as it was gone in less than a year.
Is a second coat needed so soon just being nearly 3 months of staining?
Ken, on the initial application, 2 coats were applied. The weathering photos show how it ended up 14 months later.
Hi and good day , did you use a moisture meter to see if the fence is ready to take the stain before you used ready seal?
Ready Seal will not stand behind their products. Did my porch on cabin front and back, very blotchy, not enough pigment. Each can was different. Sent pictures and they suggested I remove it at my cost and reapply again (their Product). Doesn’t make much sense. Buy the cheaper Thomoson brand or any other. Not worth wasting your money on.
Been using for 30 years with atleast 3 years of color lasting with many 5 years on board on board cedar. All is in 12% or less total moisture when applying and good coverage.
Bought pecan semi-transparent–put on fence 2 yrs ago-took( 4-5 gallon cans at $180 ea) –thought it looked faded and dried out so put on another coat. I had some left over and it went on fine ,had to buy 2 more and its a completely different color,I thought it would fade as it always goes on darker-but now I have half my fence that is way darker,like walnut dark,looks ridiculous.
This just happened to me too, was there any resolve? Very annoyed, what’s with the inconsistencies
Used on our Cedar New Deck , its powdered up and comes off on cloths and everything else. It’s awful. Can we power wash our deck and start over with a different stain/sealer ? Very upsetting and Expensive! Our Deck is Hugh .
Fades in one year
Strong odor when applying
Tracks into your home and on your clothing, Never again
I’m exhausted. I’ve used ready seal in pecan three other times (every other year) with no problems. The only thing i did differently this year was use a different color, mission brown. The color was splotchy and the stain would not dry! I scrubbed the entire deck with mineral spirits yet it still remained oily. Had to pressure wash the stain off. 15 hours of work and worse than when I started. When I called the manufacturer, the sales guy was condescending and asked to speak to my husband even though I’m the one who stains decks in our household. Moreover, he asked a second time to talk to my husband because he wanted to use an automotive example (and assumed i wouldn’t understand his analogy of motor vehicle parts). I would NOT recommend this product and am insulted by the representative.
Used on my side of shared fence. Bleed through made a mess on the neighbors side. I called the company to ask how to get it off the neigbors fence. Neighbor does not want a painted fence. I was told by Ready Seal that I could have sprayed the neighbors fence with water to stop bleed through. Gee, could you put that on the can? Now everytime I need to touch up I have to ask the neighbor to wet the fence. The neighbor it not happy with me now and I have a fence with one coat of this horrible product on it. This could have been avoided with a disclamer on the can. Ruined my 10K fence and relationship with neighbor. I will have to pay a contractor to strip it off and use a different product that does not ruin my neighbors side.
Ready Seal is a bit different than most stain/sealers for decks and fences. I was not impressed with it’s ability to penetrate even when the moisture content was less than 12%.
I called Ready Seal and was told my moisture meter must not work properly. Yeah, right. I’ve been a contractor for many years, used many products on decks and fences, ect, but never had such an unsure feeling about a products ability to protect wood as I’ve had with this product. It rubs off onto a clean rag as if it doesn’t fully dry. Makes me concerned about it’s longevity. We’ll see what happens. I’m just not sure this stuff is anything more than a simple diy type product that may go on easily and not leave lap marks but doesn’t have what it takes to protect.