Cabot's Deck & Exterior Stain

Made timber go yellow. Have tried a few Cabot’s product and has yellowed both of the jobs. Show details

Oil based – I think the problem is people are clicking on oil-based and then the photo comes up water-based. The water-based product is like paint and not good but the oil-based product is so amazing I’ve used it everywhere in my house I’ve used both the charcoal and silver Beech. Amazing results Two years later one remote again amazing results Make sure you use the Oil based product Show details ·  1

Did the job looks great – Surprised to see so many poor reviews, I used on Merbeau and hardwood decking some was new and others old never been oiled. Used the Aqua water based and came out great, just gave a good water pressure after using the Cabot’s deck clean. Show details ·  1

Works for me – There was a tin of Cabots oil based deck stain in the garage when we bought the house over 12 years ago so that's what I used and have done ever since, totally oblivious of the poor product reviews, up until now that is so decided to document my findings with the current recoat. Cabots stain does colour the decking but that's a personal thing,… Read more ·  1

like it or don't like it - but I wish to state my experience with the product's supposed non curing stickiness. I have just now applied Cabots to 26m3 of deck, last recoated 3 years ago. Preparation consisted of water blasting followed by a quick scrub with their deck cleaning product and then another water blast at lower pressure in line with instructions on the bottle. First coat of stain was applied to a completely dry deck the following day, temperature 26°C, 72% relative humidity, clear skies. Second coat the next day, 22°C, 90% relative humidity, skies partly overcast. In both instances I applied full rich coats and by way of experimentation, very heavily in one small area. Wife saw it and accused me of putting it on with a shovel. Each coat was completely dry in 24 hours with none of the stickiness reported in other reviews. This of course is longer than water based coatings and longer than polyurethane based enamels but exactly in line with traditional oil based enamel paints. This has been my experience with the three preceding recoats of my deck. I followed all instructions relating to the use of the deck cleaner and stain to the letter. I am a bit pedantic about these things. Since my review is favorable and contrary to most, allow me to state that I have no association with Cabots or any related industry. Before retiring I worked in the emergency medicine field if anybody wants to know.

Excellent – After reading many reviews I almost did not use it. Applied as directed. Two coats Red Rats. Looks fantastic. Glad I ignored the reviews. I can only assume that the others were putting it on too thick or the timber had not weathered. Show details ·  1

Appalling product – This Cabots product which is marketed by Dulux should NOT be on the market. It is rubbish. A professional painter applied two coats on our deck and outdoor furniture a year ago. It never properly dried and months later on warm days was still sticky. That meant dust in the air became ingrained and it was impossible to clean. Also the product was a… Read more

paint not a stain so was misrepresented. No grain showed through. I threatened Dulux with small claims action to have them correct the problem. Eventually Dulux employees stripped the deck and furniture sanded and applied a different stain. Interesting that it stripped easily as it was not a stain so had not penetrated the timber at all, it was just sitting on top of the decking planks. My suggestion to other unhappy customers is force Dulux to strip it and re-stain or have them pay to have someone to do it. If they do not do that then take them to small claims court. It has taken a year but at last we are happy with the outcome. I credit Dulux local Rep [Name Removed] for seeing this resolved.

Rubbish product!! – Absolute rubbish product, which is more like a paint than a stain. Will be sanding this off our deck and applying a Sikkens instead. Do not purchase this awful product!! Show details

Charcoal finish looks like paint – We have just finished staining a pine deck with Cabot's charcoal water based, it does not look like the sample on display at the hardware store and has gone on like a solid black paint on its second coat . The display had a translucent look . We have applied correctly but really disappointed and too late to change now! We did do a sample which… Read more

finished translucent but when it came to staining the deck a completely different and disappointing look. I have built this deck for a neighbour and to say that I am disappointed is an understatement.

Not worth the can it's in! – Paid $172.00 for a 10l at bunnings,not really showing any darkening in the wood what so ever.Don't waste your time or money.

Do not buy, ruined our $12,000 deck and its not fixable – This is not a stain, it is a paint. Gathered advice from several Cabots retailers, instructions followed exactly, used Rose Mahogony, deck looks like it's been painted with brick red paint - but patchy. It makes us so angry every time we go outside. Because this 'paint' has 'stained' the wood, we've been advised that sanding it back will remove… Read more

too much timber. So we're stuck with the option of ripping it up and starting again at a cost of $14,000 (the original cost was $12,000); or attempting to cover it with paver paint. If we go with the option of a new deck, using Cabots Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based will have cost us $26,000 as well as time and effort trying to sort it out. It's physically sickening. Do not buy this product.

Don't buy – Stain looks like paint. Failed after 24 months by peeling off. Am now in the time consuming process of sanding a grooved deck to remove. It's not so much the wasted money as the wasted time that is frustrating.

Terrible product. My beautiful hardwood deck looks painted, not stained – I followed the instructions precisely, picking the perfect weather to do the job, cleaned wood as instructed, wood was easily wetted and thus receptive, allowed wood to dry, used a brush to apply, which worked well. After one day, the stain is still tacky, not properly dried. The stain that I chose was Meribau. I put only one coat on and then… Read more

noticed the problem. Instead of being a stained deck, my deck now looks as if I had painted it brown, mission brown. I am so disappointed. I wish I had read the other reviews on this page. Instead, I trusted Carbot, that they wood advertise truthfully and display a truthful image of the product. Like others, I will have to strip this paint off and start again. I won't buy Carbot again, that's very clear.

A paint! Not a stain! – Spent $9000 on our deck. Was told at Bunnings that it would 'stain' the deck the colour we were shown on the sample. It has completely covered the grain and looks like we've painted our deck in maroon paint. Nothing like the sample. We are now having to hire a sander and get the colour out! So angry.  Show details

Not a good look – Agree with many comments here. 2 coats is like opaque paint not translucent stain. Tin says it lasts 2 times longer. In 4 years I have recoated twice and its now dull again. The other problem is it seems relatively soft and so in foot traffic areas it is being removed too easily.  Show details

How do you guys sell stsin – Same problem as all the other customers deck took to long to dry and colour was to Orange I will never use this product again like most of your reviewers just want to know is anyone at all happy with your products. Show details

I wish I'd read these reviews first – Bought from Bunnings 3 days before I used it. Repainting the timber deck just covering usual wear and tear. After 4 days, still tacky. Can't do second coat. Not happy. Show details

Poor product – Almost transparent stain that requires numerous coats to hide blemishes in the wood. Poor absorption that leaves a rubbery coating on the surface that can be rubbed off easily. I doubt it will last long on my outdoor furniture. Show details

Awful product, does not go over LOSP treated pine deck – 63sq mtr treated pine deck weather for a long time, deck clean prior to staining merbau with ebony. Took ages to dry, remained sticky for ages also looks dirty all the time. Strange how cabots only replies to certain inquiries? Show details

Terrible product – So very unhappy with the end result of this product. It definitely is not a stain...we applied two coats and it just looks like our beautiful deck has been painted and every bit of grain has vanished. The paint took days to dry and was sticky underfoot. Our deck covers a large entertainment area and it is now impossible to keep clean....every… Read more

footmark shows whether you're wearing shoes or barefoot the result is the same....feet marks wherever your feet have been. I wouldn't advise anyone to use this product.

Excellent product – We used Cabots New Jarrah deck and exterior stain on our tired old treated pine deck and hand rails. All I can say is wow, was a bit hesitant to use it when I read some negative reviews, but all I can say is this product is fantastic. It has brought our horrible old deck back to life and looks absolutely amazing. It actually looks like all new… Read more ·  1

Jarrah decking, so warm and vibrant. Can’t recommend this product enough and will be using it again on another deck we have. Really don’t understand the negative reviews as this product has worked beyond our ecxpectations.

Disgusting Paint – Brown paint would look the same as this so called "deck stain". After hours spent attempting to sand this "deck stain" off my deck, a painter I know, suggested I use paint stripper to get it off. I made a complaint to Cabot's and they were unresponsive. Show details

Looks like cheap paint, not stain!!! – I selected a nice dark brown coloured stain from the sample at Bunnings, and it turned out looking like orange paint instead. It completely hides the grain of the timber. I called the helpline and was told that I must not have mixed it properly. I mixed it very thoroughly, and had another go on a scrap piece of timber.... and no difference. Its an… Read more

awful product and has destroyed the look of our deck. We are now sanding it all off and starting again with Feast Watson stain. Im never touching Cabots products again!

Looks like paint and not a stain, not as shown on colour guide – Applied Deck & Exterior Stain to a pine floor Beach House Grey tinted to make Hunter Grey. Applied 2 coats assumed the colour would look similar to swatch giving a wood stained appearance. Applied first coat painted appeared dry was a warm day second coat applied 2.5 h later left over night 8 + hours put furniture on instant black scuffs from a… Read more

soft item.

This product has a paint appearance and and appears to have not stained the pine as we expected from a stain and it's why we went stain not paint.

Disappointed we will soon have to sand and re do the floors to get the desired effect as this product came on thick and heavy in colour even with a thin coat as per instructions with a deck applicator.

My retaining wall – I just nearly finished my retaining wall with cabot stain and varnish in a maple colour came up great used a 4litre,only problem was it had a white silicone on bottom of tin,used the paint stirred to mix it well but it does look awesome need more to finish have photos of the end result I'm happy Show details ·  2