I want to give my uncle some work by asking him to coat our new fence and deck that we built last October. We went to Lowe's to pick up some supplies, and I asked an employee for varnish. I ended up buying a 5-gallon bucket that my uncle has started using, but he mentioned that it's not really varnish. I looked it up and found out there's a difference. Now I'm worried—should I feel embarrassed for buying a sealer instead of actual varnish? Am I in trouble for this, or am I overthinking things?
1 Answer
You're not alone in this! Last time I checked, Lowe's and Home Depot often don't carry the good old-fashioned oil-based varnish because of VOC restrictions. Most likely, what you have is a water-based sealer, which can be less durable. For something like a fence, it's typically better to go for a specialized store if you want that traditional varnish. But since you're trying to protect your deck and fence, the sealer should still do the job to some extent!
Well I'm just wondering if I'm screwed or not?