Rustins Wood Hardener for Rotted Wood 500ml - Repairs Rotted Timber | Fast-Acting Formula Reinforces Soft, Damaged Areas Before Filling or Painting

Easy to use and worked really well. Turned wooden windowsill from soft and rotten to solid and strong again. Left a shiny finish to the wood

A great product, however once applied this effectively in a varnished condition which means that you will need to sundown the surface or of course varnish the rest of the wood to meet the same finish. It does however seem to work well on the wood that has started to rot and has certainly strengthened it.

This is a thin resin type material. It reminds me of the liquid used for fibre-glass, or perhaps a thin version of PU glue. It's stinky and pretty horrible if you get it on your fingers. It's readily absorbed by wood, and the end effect is rather like painting it with yacht varnish, except it's rock hard in two hours. It sets like plastic so the surface is water repellent and tough. Looks like a varnish, so you may not need any finishing at all, or seems to be a good base for paint. All in all it's a fantastic product. This is the first time I have used it, it won't be the last. I had imagined this to be absorbed like a very thin liquid and to then convert all the soft wood to something really hard. That's not really what it does. Yes, there is some absorption, but not much. It forms a solid, yes, but only the top of the treated wood. So, I think the way to proceed is to thoroughly soak the wood with preservative, then when that's dry, hit it with this to form a water resistant surface that protects and provides a great key for filler. Highly recommended.

Gloves & Ventilation is a must, very strong smelling liquid, much like a varnish to use. Drilled a load of holes in a partially rotten back door sill, used a disposable syringe, this product seems to do a decent job at re-hardening rotten wood fibres & binds them back together. Also used this stuff to prime around all the joint of my concrete sectional garage & where it rests on the concrete floor, previous attempts to seal the garage to floor interface have only last a couple of yrs before the sealant lost its grip on the concrete floor, worked well on the inside, I assume the exterior will be just as successful. Found another use for this awesome liquid, this is a temp solution to a leaking garage roof. Old corrugated roofing panels have become porous, cracked in place & started to allow water ingress, jet washed roof exterior, allowed it to dry, painted this liquid liberally on the roof, soaks in well, seems to be a winner, water tested next day, water just beads up & runs off, no more soaking thru to the inside. Also stopped the annual covering of moss that has been a problem as garage is in the shade of trees, so killed 2 birds etc. Only complaint is it's pricey & no-one sells it in larger cans than 250mls.

Really goid product, literally does what it says on the tin. Used to restore an old storage crate which had been riddled by woodworm. Part of the wood was almost like paper where you could squish it by hand. This has hardened the wood to the point where it is now stable and no longer disintegrating. It has left a slight sheen to the wood , rather than shiny and darkened it slightly but the darker colour may be because this wood had been left untreated for so long. The easy was was to treat the entire lights of wood so it all looks the same. But as the crate is an old apple crate using different types and thicknesses of wood it blends in quite well. Would rather have it the way it looks now than in danger of falling apart and worried about moving it. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't lift it up by the treated piece as I dont think it would bear the weight. But it has definitely stabilised and strengthened the wood to an almost miraculous level. Very happy with this product and would definitely use/ buy again Follow the instructions, wear gloves and clothes you dont mind getting soiled. And if possible work outside as a very strong smell. If workung inside iluse in a well ventilated area as it has a very strong smell ( similar to turps or paint thinners).

I used Rustins Wood Hardener for Rotted Wood (500 ml) on some areas of exterior timber that had started to soften due to rot. In terms of function, the product does what it is designed to do. It soaks into deteriorating wood fibres and helps stabilise them, leaving the timber noticeably firmer once it has cured. The liquid itself is very thin and penetrates well into soft wood, which makes it effective for consolidating damaged areas before filling or repairing. Application is straightforward with a brush, and it spreads easily over the affected timber. However, the biggest issue with this product is the very strong smell and fumes. The odour is extremely powerful and lingers for quite a long time after application. Even with good ventilation, the fumes are quite unpleasant and can quickly make an indoor environment uncomfortable to work in. Because of this, I would strongly recommend using it outdoors or in very well-ventilated areas only. If you do need to use it inside, proper ventilation and possibly a respirator would be sensible precautions. In summary, it is an effective wood hardener that does its job, but the fumes are significant and something buyers should be aware of before using it indoors.

Seems to do the job very useful Dries quickly

Seems to work well (although you have to use a whole lot for problem areas), but the cap is AWFUL. the seal broke, so I had to dig a hole with a screwdriver, and the 'pinch to open' cap won't open without a pair of pliers.