PenaSheild wood preservative brushes on and soaks into the bare wood surface. It is clear and when it dries the wood color is natural. Be sure to apply before any waterproofing coating to allow it to soak into the wood. Drys quickly in warm weather. Also, apply a waterproofing coating over it, because it is water soluble. I used PenaSheild to treat the undersides of decking, and exposed cut wood of my decking and structure. I let the cut ends soak in a bucket of PenaSheild. There is very little odor with this product. Also, this is one of the few wood preservative products that I could find that are available for retail sale, and have borate based wood preservative, which should help control dry rot, and insects that bore into the wood. Only time will tell how effective the borate is in controlling dry rot and insect infestations.