Treating Rough Cut White Oak Flat Racks?

[Stocker Steve]

I got tired to repairing purchased racks so I bolted together two HD units from home sawn white oak. I am thinking about doing a little sealing before they get used. Any tips on:

just sealing the end grain vs. the entire surface?
using Wolman Copper Coat vs. premium deck stain?
expected life of white oak?

 

[dun]

I soak it with thompsons. Doesn;t change the color of the wood and it doesn;t seem to change through the years.

 

[Anonymous]

I prefer the Behr over thompsons. Seems to last better overall

 

[kenojoe]

Is the oak still green? Deck sealers with color in them tend to offer more protection because the UV inhibitors are in the color. When buying a sealer you get what you pay for. The guy on the local "fix it" show says sealer is about $10 per gallon per year. Meaning $20 per gallon should last 2 years. I don't know if I believe that or not. I put $40 Defy sealer on my deck and the part that gets the worst sun lasted 2 years, but I used clear sealer. I would be interested to know what luck others have had with different sealers. If the oak is still green I don't think you will have much luck sealing it until it dries out. Joe

 

[Stocker Steve]

The wood is dry.
Better stain/sealer runs $16 to 20 per gallon here.
Plan to look for a 5 gallon pail.

 

[Farmerjon]

All wood decked wagons and trailers here get painted top and bottom with used motor oil on a hot day in the full sun. (do the bottom side first!) If it is hay wagons and worried about it being slippery, throw a couple of handfuls of sand across it.