The same treatments sold for surface preservation work fine for end grain treatment.

Thank you. Any particular one we should be looking for? Considering we want the color to stay natural.

And with these products, are you talking about painting it on the ends with a brush, or the soaking treatment I mentioned above? Thanks again.

"color to stay natural" Read label

Soak

I'd vote for sinply painting the sealer on the ends. If you stand the wood in a bucket of sealer, it's possible that the wood that is coated by the sealer will weather differently than the rest of the board, and you could have some odd-looking decking after a year or two with the face of the boards being a different shade at the ends where they were soaked.

"you could have some odd-looking siding after a year or two with the face of the boards being a different shade at the ends where they were soaked."

Hey kudz,they said "We are replacing many boards on our outdoor deck, It’s a 25 year old deck but we just replace boards piecemeal as the ,ends get soft." I doubt their siding will suffer any consequences from treating end grain on deck boards.

I built an Eastern redcedar deck from boards I cut myself and I painted each board with clear deck sealer on both sides before installing. Also soaked each end for a few minutes in a bucket of sealer. This was actually done at the same time - stand board in bucket, paint the bottom half, flip board over, soak and paint the other end. They have not weathered any differently along the board. Granted this is a covered porch so it doesn't get much rain or sun.

I agree that they should paint the ends. They also said they liked the look of weathering, and don't want to use stain, which made me assume they had some concern about appearance. Hence, I was pointing that they may not get even weathering at the ends of the boards if they stand them up in a bucket of sealer.

From our experience, the the best and longest lasting end grain sealer is Emulsified Liquid Wax. Painted end grains last a couple of years. Using the same sealant or stain as the deck boards is also short term. Glue, even waterproof Titebond 3, will harden and lift away before long. Brush on one coat of AnchorSeal (emulsified wax) and two minutes later, a second coat, allowing t to fully penetrate. It will seal off the end grain forever while minimizing the expansion/contraction of the wood as well, since 80% of the moisture absorbed by exterior wood is absorbed through the end grains. AnchorSeal is sold at a lot of independent lumber yards or on Amazon by quarts or gallons.

prowell-

I have an outside structure I am building in my garden which has several large cedar timbers which I've sawn and sanded. If I seal the ends of the timbers with emulsified wax and then paint them next year after the wood has had a chance to season, will there be a problem with adhesion on the ends?

If the posts are above-grade and bracketed, AnchorSeal is a must. By painting them afterwards, I'm assuming you're referring to the faces of the posts and not the bottom end-grain. Best not to coat over the AnchorSeal with anything else. Posts-in-grade are different. There's a whole page devoted to setting posts in grade so they last 40+ years. Do not AnchorSeal the bottoms with this application as the posts will take on moisture in the wet season and need to allow for that drainage down through the bottom end-grain. There should also be 3"+ of 3/8" pea gravel as a drainage bed and the same 3/8" pea gravel up the hole surrounding the post, with only a 'cap' of concrete at the top.

<http://www.prowellwoodworks.com/articles/_site_articles/postholes.htm>;

I should have been clearer. The timbers are horizontal beams (6" X 10" X 10'). I'm not concerned about the pressure treated posts supporting them. The top sides of the beams will be weather-protected by large pieces of custom galvanized flashing. However, I intend to paint all four sides and the ends of each beam. I'm going to let them season outside for about 6 months, so the question is: What do I seal them with now that will help control drying, but won't interfere with adhesion when I paint them next spring?

Sorry. I misunderstood. By the time you paint, the AnchorSeal will have set to more of a flexible solid. Our own finisher sprays painted finishes right over the AnchorsSeal end-grains if the seal was applied at least a week earlier. Your other option is epoxy, but epoxy is not flexible and will ultimately show checks when set to end grains. So I'd just anchorSeal it and know the end-grain is stabilized so that when the eventual paint coat is applied, the paint won't be as likely to misbehave, as painted end-grains often do.

prowell-

Thanks...that was quite helpful.

A little late coming to the conversation, but we agree with Prowell Woodworks. AnchorSeal wil go a long way to cutting down on end-checking and will extend the life of your boards. We sell some with every order we ship. All of our boards come AnchorSealed on the end grain, but if you cut or trim a board you have exposed the grain and need to reapply. Very simple process, goes on white, but dries clear. Try not to get any on the surface of the board, but if you do wipe it off, let it dry, then hit it with a little bit of sandpaper and that should take care of it. For surface preservation and helping the material acclimatize to it's new environment we recommend Messmer's products

https://www.soluslumber.com/shop/supplies/deck-seals-oils-finish/

I designed a wall hanging to be attached to an outside wall. I was told that I needed to seal the boards and or the end cut pieces to keep insects from boring into it and eating the wood. These boards have been cut and dried for a year. We want to keep the grey coloring effect. Send a response to thecopperhammer@gmail.com.

Standing the boards on end in a bucket of sealer is not unheard of, but in doing so you're also sealing much more than just the end grain. You sealing whatever length of the face grain that is submerged, which means it will age to a different patina, or if you're planning on applying a finish, the finishes will not absorb wherever there is a previous seal. Dipping boards in sealer is more common with fence posts, since several feet of the board are buried below grade. You're better off simply brushing Anchor Seal onto the end grains generously. It'll improve the lifeline of your deck boards exponentially.