Weatherproofing

Hopefully the end of Winter is in sight and Spring is on the way. So it is now time to start thinking of outdoor jobs again.

One job on my agenda is to weatherproof the new box that has just been replaced for my water purifier. The old box was only five years old, but the wood was starting to rot, probably partially earlier than need be, due to not having been weatherproofed. So I don’t intend to make that mistake again.

And I have received 2 tins of Matt Clear Sealer free to review from Rust-oleum. Just the ticket for this particular job. My first top tip is always remember to measure up the area of your project before you start. 1 tin would not have been enough for the size of my box.

It has been quite difficult to find a suitable gap in the weather for outdoor painting, especially as this product requires a minimum of 10 degrees. It has either been too cold or too wet. But I took the opportunity yesterday as it looked bright and 12 degrees. However I had barely started the painting when it greyed over and began to rain. Luckily it was only spitting, but it did make me rather rush the job, so the end result does look a bit streaky. Not the fault of the product though and at least the box is now better weatherproofed. With hindsight, I should have waited until today, as 14 degrees and no rain. But it is forecast to be back to single figures again tomorrow.

So here are the photos before the box was painted.

I took the lid off, in order to paint the base first. And did the area near the top first, in order to give it a chance to start drying, since the rain meant that the lid needed to go back on asap. Otherwise I had originally planned to paint all the base, then wait an hour before replacing the lid and painting it.

And just after painting.

And finally the next day once the paint had dried. Ready to face the elements.

The clear sealer paint comes in a 125ml tin. There is also a satin finish variant. It is available from Homebase, currently retailing at £4.99. Also available at B&Q and other stores.

And my other top tip is to use the right size brush for the job. I thought my paint brush was the right size for the area I had to cover, but found it was just too big to fit easily into the tins.

So I’d love to hear what spring-time projects are on your to-do list?

Disclosure. This post is a review of a product I was sent for free. All opinions are my own.