New Pressure Treated Deck - What to seal it with?

[Tollster]

I see they have some new products out and one is a perment vinyl deck sealer. It must encapuslate the wood,not sure how good it would be, and have not research it. Just saw it on TV last night. This is not the company, but something like it.
Deck Sealing Other Services Construction Contractor Commercial Roofing, Coating and Leak Repairs

I googled:
vinyl deck sealing

Just thought I would give you some more options to research.

 

[Bird]

I was in our nearest Home Depot today and they do have the different colore Sikkens Cetol SRD and the Rubbol Solid DEK;didn't see any of the Cetol DEK finish. And unlike what I've bought in the past, and what's shown on different websites, the cans are black.

 

[JDgreen227]

When I built our large deck back in 2004, the 5/4" pine deck boards I purchased from Home Depot were the premium ones, said to be treated with Thompson's Water Seal and the recommendation was that you wait at least a year before application of any other brand of stain or sealant. The boards did bead water for about 6 months after installation but I waited a year before power washing them and staining. I have always wondered about the claims made for Thompson's Water Seal that it penetrates well into the surface and protection lasts long after the water beading on the surface is gone. Does anyone here know just how effective sealing actually is? I didn't buy the deck boards from HD for the reason they were supposedly given the WS treatment so it wasn't a selling point for me.

Decided to edit this and add my experience with Cabot brand deck stain...I use a solid color stain so my experience may not be applicable to others who prefer a clear sealer but I have found their product to be remarkably durable and a little goes a long way.

We get long harsh winters and both our decks get intense sunlight during the warmer months but I am very pleased with the performance of Cabot. It costs about $32 per gallon at Lowes, offers water cleanup, and is the fastest drying product of it's type I have ever used.

 

[BrianDT]

We used a shewin williams stain over our kids play set that was all treated lumber. We stained it right away and it has held up well for 3 years.

 

[Bird]

I only learned a year or so ago that Thompson's Water Seal is a Sherwin-Williams product. And the Thompson's Advanced Water Seal, being a water based product, is so much easier to apply and clean up after than the original Thompson's. And the Thompson's is a little cheaper than the ones branded as Sherwin-Williams. Last year, a local Home Depot had some of the clear Thompson's on "close out" sale pretty cheap, so I got 3 gallons and sprayed that on the fences.

 

[JDgreen227]

Bird, I still have a gallon can of Thompson's Water Seal dated 1990, the original type that required mineral spirits to clean up. The label reads: "Thompson & Formby, Memphis, TN" Wonder when S-W purchased them?

 

[Bird]

I have no idea when Sherwin-Williams obtained Thompson's Water Seal. I've got a couple of later gallon jugs of Thompson's Advanced and on them it says "Manufactured by Thompson's Company, Cleveland, OH"