Better alternative to Minwax wood hardener (WH)?

I've read somewhere a few months back about a wood hardener that is more environmentally friendly (water based) but I can't recall the product name. It is supposed to be same or better than Minwax WH.

Anyone knows this product?

Thanks!

PC Petrifier

Hoosteady wrote:PC Petrifier

That's it! Thanks!

No Problamo... Let me know if you get some and use it. Think they sell it at Home Depot.

I will. Just ran out of Minwax and thought I would try something else. It might take a while since I do not plan on treating any of my carvings until they naturally aged. If I find a good driftwood to experiment on, I will give it a go and report back.

After you gave the product name I searched online and yes, Home Depot (or Ace Hardware) seems to be my best bet. If all else fails, Amazon carries them as well.

what makes it "the same or better" than the minwax product? I just stocked up on the minwax product so maybe i need to return it?
thanks. I know its usually used on aged wood to preserve it but say there is a large cut that I dont want to rot at all, would putting one of these products on a fresh wound be taken up by the vascular system and kill the tree potentially?

As for the first question... I don't know that it's necessarily better, but it's water-based... If Minwax is working for you, keep at it. Some people like that the PC Petrifier might be more natural or environmentally friendly (supposedly).

I can't answer the second question... I'll leave that to some of the botanist folks on here.

Hoosteady wrote:As for the first question... I don't know that it's necessarily better, but it's water-based... If Minwax is working for you, keep at it. Some people like that the PC Petrifier might be more natural or environmentally friendly (supposedly).

I can't answer the second question... I'll leave that to some of the botanist folks on here.

Same here. I liked Minwax but do not appreciate the fume, I would rather deal with water based product when possible. I only read about it so cannot give a comparison yet but there are several testimonials that it works well so I'll try it.

Git Rot, available at your local boat store- a two part penetrating epoxy that allows you to work the punky deadwood once cured.

I know its usually used on aged wood to preserve it but say there is a large cut that I dont want to rot at all, would putting one of these products on a fresh wound be taken up by the vascular system and kill the tree potentially?

I don't think it can be used as a wound sealer. But remember, it takes a good number of years before newly cut wood starts to show visible rot. Careful husbandry of the cut (with or without a wound sealant, depending on your philosophy) should have it well on its way to callusing over before you have to worry about rot.

And, there is a misunderstanding here about the purpose and use of MinWax wood hardener. It is not designed to kill the fungus that causes rot. It actually creates an impermeable barrier that is supposed to prevent the fungus from getting to the wood. If you apply it to a rotten spot without thoroughly cleaning out (scouring) the rot to hard wood first, it and other products are likely to seal in some of the rot and allow the rot to continue underneath the applied hardener. If you read the directions on the container, they tell you to clean away all the rotten wood before applying the hardener. After applying several coats and letting it dry, under its intended use you are expected to fill the rotted spot with a durable filler (I usually then saturate the dry filler with wood hardener). We may or may not want to fill on our trees.

Usually, we would clean out the punky wood, decide based on the final color we want to attain whether to use lime sulfur or a stain or other process, and as a last step, apply the wood hardener -- following that with a wire brush to remove the shine.