Cabot's Cabothane Clear Oil Based

The spay can version is terrible, it doesn't give a fine, even spray. Instead it spits and gives drops on the surface. I've had to sand it back once already and after the second spaying there are drops again. Very poor product. Show details

NOT CLEAR! – Edit, I persisted with this product and am happy with the result 1 year on, its just a darker colour than expected. original ...Turned my mahogany an old dark colour and not a vibrant red like boiled linseed oil did. The stuff in the can is jet black I thought would dry clear, it didn't. I want my money back it will take ages to remove this product and get a clear one. If it was called a stain and varnish I wouldn't have used it. Show details ·  1

Absolute crap – I will never purchase another Cabot’s product as long as I live. The product states hard wearing but even after 2 weeks the finish scratches off with my fingernail. What a pain in the butt! Show details

Excellent and very good – The gloss is terrific - flows nicely and great shine. The Matt is very good but it really is closer to a satin finish. If you want a true matt finish buy something else. Show details ·  1

Fantastic results! – I had no problems with this product. I first wiped the entire surface with mineral turpentine and allowed to dry twice before I began. brushed on & immediately wiped off one coat of cabot’s walnut stain and varnish (satin) on plywood and allowed 12 hours to dry before lightly sanding with 220 grit and removing all dust before brushing on this… Read more ·  1

cabothane clear generously enough so my brush would *just* glide smoothly over the covered surface, allowed 12 hours to dry and again sanded and brushed on second coat and then the third in turn. I am very pleased with the results and rather surprised with the negative experiences most are having with this product! Perhaps a bad batch has been made or the tin had been sitting on the shelf at Bunnings for too long? I am no expert working with timber of any kind and honestly found this product easy enough to use...I guess I got lucky!

Satisfactory for most timber applications – My custom made Victorian ash timber doors were made in Melbourne at a cost of $18000. The painter used Cabots clear to seal the stain. It failed in less than a year and was called back to fix it. After 2 more years, it failed again. Being a woodwork teacher I removed the crap he put on, sanded them back to bare wood, restained and lacquered them… Read more

with Cabots satin. It gave me a high quality finish using a high quality bristle brush at 14c ambient. The oil flowed off the brush with no streaks or discoloration. I would like to try other brands as this product is very expensive.

Use another lacquer – Cabothane Satin tears very easily when applying. When dried and light from the side you can see the blotches. I didn't have same problem with the gloss for some reason so I know it is not the technique. Ended up sanding back multiple times. Very disappointed with this product. Show details

Terrible product lumpy and streaky – First coat on new timber table was streaky and would not flow 2nd coat the same not game to do 3rd coat New sold blue gum hall table 2 coats product was a purple colour when opened Show details

Bubbling and lifting of first coat when applying 2nd coat ( after 2 days of drying between coats ) – I am a bit perplexed about the result of using Carbothane "matt" oil based. Nothing like this ever happened using the oil based "Gloss" version. What happen after I had reworked an ironbark tabletop (thicknesser and sanding removed about 1mm each side) and had applied the first coat slightly thinned (less then 5%). It went on nicely except a bit… Read more

of grain lifting. I left it for two days to cure and then lightly sanded the surface using 240 grid paper. Applying the second coat felt like it was normal, however after about 3-4minutes I observed lifting and krinkling of the varnish just applied. Why does this happen? Temperature was about 22degC and humidity was pretty normal. So I have no explanation as to why this occurred (the surface of first coat felt a bit velvety) but I assumed that was the matt look. After 2 days of drying I am sure it's dry or am I wrong?

I don't think light sanding will remove the effect will see, otherwise a total resand and back to the gloss product will be on the card.(will not use matt again unless there was just an issue with this can) Got it from Bunnings but you would think they would have quiet a turn around of this product. So I am very disappointed .... any issues in production?

Worked perfectly!!!! – Used this for my kitchen island benchtop. Perfect finish!! I did NOT stir the can, but shaked it VERY hard for many minutes and then let it settle for a short time before using. Brush to apply. I was busy so didn't have time to reapply quickly - left it for a week between coats. Light sand between coats. I did three coats but I think only two… Read more

would have been sufficient.

Only tricky bit was brushing it quick enough to ensure there were no ridges/brush marks. But it still came out perfect.

I know it's not "food safe" but I don't prepare food on it directly (use a chopping board/plate) so I don't care.

I'm going to sand back my benchtops now and put this on them too!!!

I don't understand the negative reviews except maybe those people didn't mix it well enough?

Blistered – I used this product in a spray can to restore a table for friends. On the second coat it blistered in six places. My only solution is to strip coats of vanish and begin again with a different product.

"Clear" does not always mean clear! – I needed a tough, clear finish on a large white painted surface, and was advised to use Cabot's Cabothane Clear (Oil Based) over a properly sanded and fully prepared surface. I filled, sanded, primed and then sprayed the surface with white acrylic and let it dry over a few days, then sanded, cleaned and applied the Cabothane Clear. My problem… Read more

is that I now have blotches of brown tinge here and there where I presume the paint thickness was a little more than elsewhere. Sanding and re applying does not help - the dark areas get darker and new ones appear.

The can says "clear" - this does not appear to be clear, at least in this application, so quite disappointed and a lot of time lost.

Could this be a batch problem, or is oil based Carbothane Clear not to be used on painted surfaces when clear coating is required?

Worst oil based product ever! – Used this for a timber wall in kitchen, matt finish. Gave it a long stir as it was thick at the bottom, until all product was consistent. First coat went on like a dream. Loved it and looked great! Thought I was on a winner. Waited 9 hours for it to dry, tin said 6 hrs but I gave it longer. Sanded it, all fine, until second coat, DISASTER! Paint… Read more

started bubbling, blistering, as if I applied paint stripper on it! I thought I had a bad batch. Called customer service and the rep already knew what I was going to say (as I'm sure this happens so often). Advised me paint had not dried long enough and to give it a couple days, give it a sand and all good. Not really, left it for a week, sanded and sanded. I had to sand back to bare timber to get rid of the blistering effect. Opted to use another product, was not game to use this useless product again. Not sure why it says recoat after minimum 6 hours, the other product I chose to use said 16 hours, which never gave me grief. Maybe Cabots need to be a little more realistic about their drying time to avoid such bad reviews.

Absolutely Terrible – I purchased a 4L tin of Matt to do a large dining table. Sanding in between coats instead of 3 coats it took at least 12 attempts at a final coat. Using a brush to start with there were always brush marks in the final coat. Then I tried a 170mm foam roller and once again overlapping marks. Thinking it may have been the hot weather, temps not over… Read more

30c, that was causing my problems I waited till it was cooler at night but was still having the same problems. I had to purchase more clear so I got a 500ml tin but when I went to mix it, it was a purple colour, not the honey looking colour that I had always used so I took it back and exchanged it. this time I used a 230mm roller but this coat seemed to take forever to dry. Turns out that it was gloss clear packaged in a Matt tin. I exchanged the leftovers for a new tin with a different batch number. Finally, a job that should have taken only a few days took almost a month to finish costing me twice as much as it should have with all the sanding discs and painting accessories. Never again will I use or recommend your products.

Oops, used wrong product – I inadvertantly used the Cabothane Clear for my wooden floors instead of the CFP product. The boards do look great with 2 coats of Cabothane. But they are for walking on. As the floors are in my shed and not my actually home, I am inclined not to correct my error and just see what happens. Can someone suggest what might occur if I walk on the coated floorboards? Thanks, John  Show details ·  1

Wasted hours of my time – Using Cabot's oil based Matt finish on a table. First layer went on fine, looked great. Second layer was bubbly and scabby. Had to start again and sand back. I thought it might have been some terbs contamination the first time, so put the did the same again. Same terrible result.  Show details

Very poor result – I am in the process of finishing a recycled jarrah bathroom cabinet with Cabots Cabothane matt finish and have gotten to the point where I will need to strip it back and re-do it. Not sure if this is par for the course with this product as its the first (and last) time I have used it.......it dries fairly quickly for a polyeurethane so it makes… Read more

it difficult to get a even coat.....wont smooth and level easily and then it takes a long time to fully harden......after 24hrs its still soft enough to leave finger prints??? After several days once it has sort of hardened its still very easy to scratch the surface......mmmmmm......Im a cabinetmaker by trade and have done countless pieces of furniture and finished with plastic lacquer like mirotone or isogard or 2 pack acid cure lacquers with good results... but.... not perfect for wet areas so thought a polyeurethane may be the answer. .Well Cabots sure isn't the answer :-( Sorry I didn't read the reviews before purchasing. Has cost me a lot of time and frustration......never again.

antique restoration ruineded like to send pic of result if possible to show such a poor result:( was – I used cabothane clear gloss on side table antique restoration with ornate trim Jacobean legs.After meticulously sanding and wiping over with damp cloth great colour timber when wet. Obviously let peice dry, then with much anticipation applied with brush clear coat gloss made timber so dark all the beautiful timber grain was lost and ornate edging… Read more

was as deminished. Very disappointed all the hard work painstaking restoring it back to former glory destroyed. I even asked sales person at Bunnings expert advice to recommend this horrible product he assured me it will enhance grain and a brilliant gloss. Fail on both regards. Wasted time and money :(

Worked as expected but I had to stir for an hour – This stuff was easy to brush onto a reclaimed jarrah project and left a good finish after just two coats with a light sand in between. However, when I opened the tin, at least 1/4 of the product was solid at the bottom of the tin. Having read a couple of reviews I figured i'd just keep stirring until it was a homogeneous liquid. It worked, the… Read more

solid stuff slowly dissolved. it did take over an hour before I was satisfied that all solids were gone, and a bit of elbow grease to initially break up the stuff.

Also, for part of my project I used this clear over white paint. (I contacted Cabot's prior for help - and they assured me it would be fine as long as the paint had fully cured.) More than a week after painting, I applied the clear and found that it had a very faint yellowish tint, which was a little disappointing.

TLDR: Works fine, be prepared to stir, I don't recommend over paint.

not over chalk paint !! – Not easy to apply & leaves brush marks over chalk paint.we were advised this would leave a gloss finish , it leaves a shiny sandpaper finish . Sanding back did not work either, is there a high gloss enamel clear available that will go over cabothane clear.we were told it would leave a heavy gloss finish & it doesn't ?  Show details

This product is rubbish – In the past I have used Wattyl Estapol oil based and was a breeze to use. I used it on a raw pine wardrobe. The Cabothane set off almost instantly (2-3 minutes) making it impossible to feather, fix runs and excessive thickness. I will go back to Wattyl Estapol. I purchased this product from Bunnings, so hopefully they will accept a refund. Bunnings are usually pretty good like that.

Very disappointed with Cabothane Clear Matt – I have been using Wattyl Estapol Matt for years and love it. This Cabot's offering is something like between a satin and a gloss. I really can't believe how shiny it is. The Estapol leaves a lovely almost waxed look. As someone else stated above - this gives a cheap plastic look. It has been a waste of my time, effort and money. I have to go out… Read more

and buy what I should have in the 1st place. It was just that I was passing by Bunnings. Stay away from this product!

Oil base over Water base anyday – I didn't like the water based finish one bit at all. It was horrible crap honestly, I just thought I'd give it a chance. But quickly switched back to oil based satin finish. I can't fault that at all. I'm very happy with it. I'll never change to anything else. I use the Bosch spray gun from bunnings.  Show reply

Reliable and longlasting – Please be aware this is the solvent based cabothane I do not recommend any water based clear based on our previous experiences. Our stairs and stair handrail was finished with the clear Cabot's polyurethane nine years ago and the handrail looks brand new, because of wear marks we have redone the stairs but the finish was very good especially considering our ridgeback used to run up and down them.  Show reply