I’ve given up on trying to keep a can of primer handy. Instead of primer, I’ve been using Miniwax brand “Wood Hardener”, the stuff sold for treating slightly punky wood before making epoxy repairs. Not sure exactly what it is but the recommended solvent for cleanup is acetone. The thing I really like about it is the fact that you never have to wrap or clean the brush. After the brush dries hard, I just let it soak in a small can of the stuff and the brush is soft in a minute or two. When treating endgrain, I just brush on a couple or three coats, until it stops soaking in, then its good to go. I figure it’s got to be better than just coating the endgrain with primer, this stuff seems to really soak in eliminating any possibility of wicking moisture. Anyone know of any reason why this stuff isn’t superior to primer paint for endgrain.
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I'm not sure what your application is. Is the endgrain you're talking about going to be directly exposed to weather, or is it a butt joint where the endgrain is hidden?
An example, I recently repaired the bottoms of some exterior door jambs, chopped out the rotted sections, replaced with blocks of wood and a little epoxy. I sealed the endgrain on the blocks with the wood hardener, and also used it to seal the ends of replacement exterior trim boards. Have also used it on the ends of various exterior trim boards (corner boards, window casing, etc.). Even used it on the ends of some replacement facia boards. Mostly butt joints, anything that faces the weather gets paint on top. Will keep my eye on these repairs and see how they hold up over the years.
I've thrown away a lot of those disposable chip brushes over the years for not knowing about that. I've probably used a couple gallons of that stuff, mostly on windowsills, but some on porch fir T&G decking that had started to rot, or on wood gutters.I was back to see that porch floor this winter after about five years. I had replaced a few pieces, used the hardener on a few, and the painter painted the whole thing.The hardener seemd to have held up just fine.
I used it to paint on where the wood was just starting to go punky a bit, but never thought about using it on end grain of the replacement pieces. Thanks for the thought
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Ive used the stuff on fir gutters and such prior to making bondo repairs. I think it is putting a plastic barrier in the wood. As long as the finish coat looks good in the end I would think it would help it hold up much longer. Thanks for the tip on re-using the brush. Barmo