Customer Reviews

Minwax 41700 1 Pint High Performance Wood Hardener

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Very volatile stuff much like lacquer thinner and should be used in well ventilated areas, preferably outdoors with protective gloves. This volatile liquid will penetrate wood pores but you must removes most of the rotted wood first. Apply with cheap disposable brush if you don't want to clean it with acetone. Two applications is suggested.

I much prefer the thin two-part epoxy for wood rot/termite repair that hardens to a glass smooth and rock like filler. With the epoxy you could buy it with various viscosities for different repair applications.

We love to hand sculpt wood. All sorts of wood from hardwood oak to soft brittle driftwood.

The driftwood is fun and easy to work as a marionnete model in preparation for a more involved full-sized sculpture.

But inherently it will chip and easily scratch. And if we've executed a nice piece in driftwood it is subject to gouges and ugly scratches. Even a clumsy fingernail can badly scratch a softwood sculpture.

Unless you treat your finished softwood sculpture with this product. It's very easy!

Using a cheap disposable 50 brush. Just pour some into a paper cup. And, well, brush it on. It soaks in immediately. A second coat can be applied right away. Then let it dry for about 2 hours.

Now get ready for the transformation. The previously dry, soft, brittle wood is hard enough to drive nails. Unbelievable!

No way you're gonna scratch this figure. However, this hardener dose leave a hint of a yellowish hue to light colored wood. Not too noticeable. Natural, not artificial. But your pickled sun blanched wood will now have a hue. You can still do some sanding at this time. But it's gonna be a bear. You should sand it all down before applying this hardener. And yes you can now stain or paint the wood.

True - this product contains some really smelly and sticky chemicals. But, there is nothing that works better to seal and harden dry rotted wood against further damage. Interior or exterior. I am a contractor that routinely repairs weather damaged exterior wood. To use properly - sand the wood bare then apply two coats of product with a disposable brush, then paint. This is a serious product that will give PROFESSIONAL results.

I had to rebuild two 1/4 circle windows located on the third floor of our stone dutch colonial. These windows were in bad shape, the wood was rotted and in poor condition. Replacing the windows was out of the question - way too costly. As part of the restoration I used this product and it worked very well. I removed all paint first, after using it I used bondo to replace missing parts. The windows were 88 years old, they are good for a few more now.

I used gloves and did the work outside. I would not use this without lots of ventilation.

The system won't let me give zero stars, so I reluctantly gave it one star. Amazon should change the system to permit zero stars.

Anyway, I bought this to put on some rotten shingles under my front porch. First, it smells terrible, and must have some really noxious chemicals in it. Even using it outside, it gave me a headache. Second,it barely penetrated the surface of the wood, despite three applications. Third, it does not go far, and it is not sold in larger quantities.

I tried this because I've used Minwax stains and been pleased with those. However, there are better products to use on decayed wood. I've been using instead PC Wood Hardener. It is water based, soaks into the wood better, and it is environmentally friendly. It does not penetrate too deeply on vertical surfaces either; but then, it does not smell, it goes further, you can get it in quantities up to 5 gallons with a little searching on the Net, and it is cheaper.

I have no complaints about the company that I purchased it from. It was shipped to me quickly.