# Found a Good Preservative and Stain



## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

I found a preservative that works well for staining and preserving wood on a garden railroad. It is called “Termin-8 H2O Brown” from Jasco and is available at Lowe’s for $15.97 a gallon. It is an EPA registered wood preservative that protects wood from mold, mildew, and insects. It also helps to prevent water damage, warping, and checking. The product is water-based and extremely easy to use. It also imparts a soft brown color to the wood. As an experiment, I cut about 250 scale Fn3 ties from cedar fence boards and dropped them into a plastic container of the preservative for three minutes. I drained the ties on a piece of window screen placed on top of another container, poured the residue back into the bottle, and spread the ties out on a sheet of plywood to air-dry. They came out great. It took less than a pint of the preservative to do this many ties. At this rate, I expect to get enough ties for about 400 feet of track per gallon. I also plan on using this same preservative for all wooden trestle pieces. 
link to product


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## SteveF (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the info.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I have also found a really good one that really penetrates and resists sun and the elements:

http://www.superdeck.com/

The "duckback" stain that is oil based. Not cheap, but used it for my outdoor storage cabinets.

Regards, Greg


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## imrnjr (Jan 2, 2008)

I use the Jasco Termin-8 Brown on a lot of my trestle work and really like it. The more you dose on the wood the more it looks like it was creosoted. It weathers out to a pale gray over time, but can be reapplied with a spray tank, or brush with little trouble. We have a real problem with desert termites and carpenter ants and I've seen no damage on cedar or white wood treated with the Termin-8.

Mark


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By imrnjr on 05/24/2009 1:27 PM
I use the Jasco Termin-8 Brown on a lot of my trestle work and really like it. The more you dose on the wood the more it looks like it was creosoted. It weathers out to a pale gray over time, but can be reapplied with a spray tank, or brush with little trouble. We have a real problem with desert termites and carpenter ants and I've seen no damage on cedar or white wood treated with the Termin-8.

Mark


Thanks to all for the input on this. I've seen this stuff at Lowe's and wondered about it. 

Do you think it would stand up to full blown thermo-nuclear radiation (high UV sun light) here in Las Vegas?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The stuff I recommended is formulated to resist UV, since it is for staining decks. 

Regards, Greg


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## imrnjr (Jan 2, 2008)

The stuff I treated has been out for 2-3 years now. I live in arid west Texas and get about 325 days of full or part sun a year and have no trees shading any of the RR. It appears to be holding up quite well to the UV.

Mark


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