eco-friendly sealer?

[Tammyf 14]

I did a presentation yesterday for a nice size job. He is very interested in getting the work done but he wants an eco-friendly sealer for his deck and not the sealer we recommend. Has anyone had any experience or know of any "green" sealer? This is the first I've been hit with this question.

[PressurePros 248]

Armstrong Clarke meets all states VOC requirements. If you want cleaner than that, you have to go with a water borne.

[Tammyf 14]

We recommended Ready Seal and went over all the VOC requirements with him etc. He wants complete natural. I said I would look around but made no promises.

[Celeste 341]

"complete natural" is going to be complete mold/mildew within a month - stains/sealers that are effective have mildewcides and fungicides and all kinds of "cides" to help protect the wood. "Complete natural" won't have those and the wood is going to go downhill from there.

[Tammyf 14]

I know. Out of all these years, this one threw me for a loop. No amount of talking did any good. He insisted that there had to be something out there. I said I would look and that was the best I could do but was doubtful. Now I wish I would have let the phone ring for this one.

[Celeste 341]

If he called you to perform a service, you should take the role of the professional. If the guy wants something completely natural on his deck, tell him you can put straight linseed down and be back every month to clean it.

I'm all for preserving the earth and all that but some of this stuff is just over the top IMO. But by all means, help him to promote nature's growth (of mold & mildew LOL) Did you go the route of - you have to have preservatives in certain woods. If he had wanted to be an all natural sort, he should have picked a hardwood :)

[Tammyf 14]

I spent an hour talking to him about how sealers work etc. I don't want to put my name to something that isn't going to look good and be something we can be proud of. I did my job of looking around and asking. Didn't think it would hurt. It will have to be a real sealer. This all comes from a guy who owns a fleet of buses.

[Celeste 341]

Don't beat yourself up - he's being silly. You've done your job as a professional - decks aren't buses :)

[Tammyf 14]

Thanks. I was hoping I wasn't the only one thinking this was crazy. Oh well I'm busy enough once the wood dries up.

[Adrian 155]

TammyF, please go to "my controls" and complete your signature.

Thx. Good luck with that customer.

[RPetry 564]

... This all comes from a guy who owns a fleet of buses.

Tammy,

Tell Mr. GreenJeans you only ride hydrogen powered buses and call it a draw.

[Tonyg 14]

I have looked into the eco paint products fairly extensively and found these on some of the web sites I had bookmarked:

- Wood Stains- Interior/exterior by Bioshield Natural Paints

AFM Safecoat

Earth Safe Finishes Generation Green Stain Sealer

ECO-HOUSE INC - Oil Finishes

I have not had the opportunity to try it the Bioshield or AFM paints but they are suppossed to have pretty good paint. I would probably check into those first. I doubt any of these would offer serious protection against foot traffic though but it would serve its purpose for all natural.

PS: The AC is 68% recycled product and I am sure Jake could fill you in on any of the ingredients that your customer may find offensive.

Edited May 8, 2009 by Tonyg

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Tammy - Anything you buy in your state will be VOC compliant.

Please go to your My Controls and add your signature.

Thanks. :)

Beth

[Scott Paul 164]

All Defy Products are registered with the MPI as a "green" wood stain. Just because other stains are VOC compliant that does not mean they are green. If he wants a "crystal" clear sealer then go with the new Defy Extreme. It's the first of its kind and I have seen it on wood for 9 months with zero fading:

Defy Extreme Stain

[plainpainter 217]

Tammy - you have to think of yourself as a 'consultant' - basically you are consulted for a job - and you tell the folks what you think and what service you offer and how it fits them or doesn't. 5 years ago I thought it was my job to meet every homeowners requirements. But now I know better. I 'walk' constantly - it hurt in terms of sales - or lack thereof. But I have since corrected the problem with more effective advertizing to acquire more sales leads.

Tammy - there are alot of lopey people out there. If you allow folks to take the easy route by telling them 'yes' all the time - of course they will take the option. You'll learn

once you start telling folks how you conduct your business and if it doesn't suit their needs - that you understand perfectly - you'll find more people will come around and give you a call back.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

We recommended Ready Seal and went over all the VOC requirements with him etc. He wants complete natural. I said I would look around but made no promises.

Complete natural...does this mean he wants no color? ie clear?

If so, ask the customer if they mind that the deck will turn gray within 3-6 months? Some people but not many like that look. Inform the customer of the potential of a tinted sealer to stave off this condition for at least a couple of years making his investment better spent.

Now if the customer is talking natural as in 'all natural ingredients' then there is little if any to be found in a beast worth applying. Been there, done that...Not worth the money since it means having to do it more often or in cases the need to completely remove it. So the trade off is to wash a deck more often and possibly allow it to become neglected and lead to the need for replacement. This creates further demand for deforestation. Is that natural? Our industry is in business to help stave off that part as much as possible by making the wood already in place last longer than it would otherwise.

Tell em to weigh the options in consideration to the environmental impact and I think you will have a more convincing argument to go with a VOC compliant product that has already been mentioned by others in this thread, which will last longer and be easier to maintain without the need to remove it. That is the most environmentally friendly process for wood.

Rod!~

Edited May 9, 2009 by Beth n Rod

[Tammyf 14]

The difference between solid, semi, and clear is something we go over during the presentation. I thank everyone for the links and advise. It never hurts to check on new products and advice but I'm sticking to my guns on this one. Our personal moto is quality over quantity. We get a lot of work by word of mouth. I'm not risking that over a poor product. Even so the extra cost of "all natural" over what we recommend would turn this $1800 job into twice the amount more often. He would never go for it.

[DCOX007 14]

I lost a deal on Ready seal after explaining it is Low Voc and meets standards in CT then they had some one put on another product. Doing other work at the house they now have a squeegee on the deck so they can walk on it after the push the water off since it is so slippery. So this deal was a great on to lose and learn from. Have another one that is like this and forms a sheet of ice in winter so they can not walk on it. Trying to find out product name but both customers are not at all happy.

[deach 14]

Scott, What have we ever found out about getting your products to IL. Seems to me last winter I got a call from someone but with 10 plus inches of snow on the ground, it made no sense to me at that time. Let me know about getting AC and some of the other stuff you guys can't ship to IL will ya? Thanks.

[Scott Paul 164]

Scott, What have we ever found out about getting your products to IL. Seems to me last winter I got a call from someone but with 10 plus inches of snow on the ground, it made no sense to me at that time. Let me know about getting AC and some of the other stuff you guys can't ship to IL will ya? Thanks.

We can ship all of our products to IL except the AC stain. There is another company that has the rights for AC and IL until 2010 season.

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