Penetrating Epoxy Wood Sealer

Clear Penetrating Epoxy Wood Sealer is a thin epoxy that penetrates deeply into the surface of wood. It completely seals abnormal porosity in timber. It seals wood from water ingress yet leaves a microporous finish that allows wood to breathe.

Furthermore it will chemically bond your top coat of paint or varnish to the timber. Because of this it will significantly increase the life of your topcoat. If you are using it internally – you may not need a topcoat at all.

Smiths Clear Penetrating Epoxy Wood Sealer

• chemically bonds to the structure of the wood
• chemically bonds the top coat of paint or varnish to the timber
• it is simply the best wood primer there is as it chemically bonds paint to the top layers of wood fibres
• is as flexible as the wood itself
• allows the wood to breathe
• seals porosity and stabilises wood
• resists rot and decay
• reduces maintenance costs dramatically

Priming Wood for Varnish or Paint with Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer

We market it as MultiWoodPrime in America because it is so good at priming wood for paint or varnish.

Christian, pictured above on Taurus, achieved a 16 year life from the varnish finish on this boat in sunny climates. Clear Penetrating Epoxy Wood Sealer was the primer that gave the epifanes varnish that long life.

We have published an ongoing durability test of Epifanes over CPES in the UK. You can see it along with full instructions of how to do it here: how to varnish properly.

Interior timber protected just with CPES Wood Sealer

It is perfectly possible to use just CPES to acheive a beautiful finish and perfectly sealed wood if it’s exposure to UV light will be minimal.

For example we treated the doors below with just one coat of Smiths CPES and nothing else. They are as a result:

• Stain proof
• Water proof
• Beautiful – with wonderfully enhanced grain
• Interior use only – they have very limited resistance to UV light

Furthermore this treatment took very little time indeed. Thus it represents a technique that offers stunning results with minimal effort.

Click here for the full story of how to seal and protect interior timber from water and staining.

Exterior timber protected with our Penetrating Epoxy Wood Sealer

It is possible to use just CPES penetrating epoxy to protect and lengthen the life of timber used externally. This technique requires maintenance, as the UV light in sunlight will degrade the epoxy. We call it sacrificial sealing which acknowledges the maintenance requirements of it.

The technique of sacrificial sealing can offer the following benefits:

• Secure to walk on when wet as it’s not a gloss finish.
• A more natural looking finish than a varnished finish.
• Much simpler application than varnishing.
• Much simpler maintenance than varnish.
• Failure is not catastrophic. If the finish is not maintained there is no requirement to sand back and start again.

The results can be stunning, like Vicky’s stunning Iroko deck pictured below. Read about it in hardwood decking preservation.

Because we know that this is a higher maintenance finish, we are conducting real world maintenance experiments to help you assess this technique of epoxy sealed wood outdoors.

CPES Temperature variations

Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer is provided in two temperature variants, a Cold and a Warm weather formula. Only the solvent blends differ between the two. There is a good overlap of temperatures where you can use either to prime new wood prior to applying varnish or paint. See here for more information on whether to use Warm or Cold CPES.

Sealing Wooden Worktops

Oils are traditionally used to seal Wooden worktops. This is a finish that requires regular replenishment, and offers limited durability. Failures occur:

• Around water, as insufficient protection is offered by the oil, and the worktop starts to rot
• Cosmetic failures caused by staining or contamination of the wooden surface during use

Smiths clear penetrating epoxy sealer seals wooden worksurfaces very effectively. The indoor environment with little UV light ensures the finish lasts well. Retreatment is typically needed every two years. It protects excellently against water ingress, and edges around sinks and tap holes can be very thoroughly treated to ensure that rot does not start there.

Full details of how to obtain a consistent natural wood matt finish are in this article.

It should be noted that Smiths CPES is not tested and approved for food preperation surfaces. As such we woudl not recommend it be used on direct food preperation surfaces such as chopping boards etc.

Restoring and Sealing Wooden Hot Tubs

Use Smiths CPES to restore Cedar hot tubs that have started to rot.

Add significant durability to wooden hot tubs by treating them with CPES prior to commissioning them. This will significantly reduce the moisture levels in the timber, and thus prolong it’s life.