Cabot's Deck & Exterior Stain

If you have just stained your deck - best not read this – The intention of this review is to give readers the heads up on what may occur when using a stain on treated pine timber decking boards. Firstly I must state that this review is based on personal experience, and am not a professional painter. Brief background. I needed to replace boards on my first level balcony. I chose to use treated pine… Read more

boards, being concerned about tannin leaching from other timber types, and staining clay pavers below the balcony. I was looking to protect the boards from the weather with a ‘transparent’ coating, so the timber grain was visible after coating. I chose Cabots Deck & Exterior water based stain, light grey in colour, to do the job.

The problem. After applying 2 coats of stain, and subsequently another 2 coats, after each downpour of rain, dark areas would appear along the boards giving the appearance that the timber below the stain was becoming wet. (See before and after photos)

After consulting several paint experts, on line and in person, I decided to take this problem to Cabots to see if others had had a similar experience. I have to say that Cabots acted professionally during the entire process of my enquiry and assisted in the rectification.

Cabots offered to perform tests in their laboratory on a board taken from the balcony to check if the stain was performing as intended. The test proved it was, despite the results that were occurring on site.

Cabot’s could not offer any final explanation to why the problem was occurring and recommended that the stain be removed by sanding back to bare timber, and the boards be recoated with their paint product, Timbercolour.

The remedial works were organised and financed by Cabots.

Conclusion: Materials and labour to Install a deck is an expensive investment. Where decking boards are exposed to the weather, it is vital they are protected adequately with a suitable coating to ensure maximum longevity and prevent cupping and decay.

Would I use Cabots products again - yes, as they back their product. Can I recommend the Cabots Deck & Exterior stain product I used, or perhaps any stain, - not after my experience.

Help ! – Hi I have bought your Beech water base twice now thinking it was me. But after reading the reviews I'm now wondering. My deck is incredibly patchy and looks so terrible. I have reapplied it 4 times hoping to get a better finish but I think it's making it worse. I'm so sad. Show details

Buyer be warned – Finished staining deck just one week ago. Followed all instructions. 2nd coat went streaky in places, looks awful. One week after completed my deck is ruined. It also does not repell dirt. My deck has doggy dirty paw prints and they won't come out, not even after scrubbing with a broom and soapy water. So disappointed. This stuff was really… Read more

expensive and it's total rubbish. Now I have to work out how to fix this disaster, not happy at all.

Update- 4 weeks later, still trying to get the dirt out of the new deck. I've used Cabott's deck clean twice, scrubbing broom and hot soapy water three times, and pressure cleaned twice. Photos show deck is still looking terrible, I cannot get the deck clean.

What a mess – So half the deck looks OK and the second half looks like we have taken to it with yellow paint. Prepped for days and now we are faced with trying to remove the slippery hot mess. Would touch this product again. Have never ever had an issue with stain before.

Refinished outdoor merbau table beautifully – After sanding thoroughly, I did three coats over three days of Black Japan deck stain using a sample pot and a paint brush. It did look patchy after first coat but after second it was fine. I did a third basically just to finish the sample pot and I still have some left for touch ups! So the coverage is good. Nice soft Matt finish. No problems. My… Read more ·  1

table looks better than new. I'd advise do thin coats and leave 24 hours between but that's normal procedure for any deck product. Going to sample beach house grey for my decks.

Ebony looks like poo-brown paint! – Purchased the ebony water based deck stain and I am disgusted that this product is even for sale. Can’t believe I didn’t read the reviews first! The colour is soooo opaque it’s basically like a paint. It’s revolting! We had sanded back our deck and I actually prefer the previous, 4 year old look than this. So disappointing!!! Show details

Terrible.... and technical specialist just give you excuses – New treated pine deck issues! - After much deliberation and looking at the sample timber at Bunnings we opted for Cabot's Deck & Exterior Stain in Beach House Grey ! - To be sure, at great expense ($14 for 250ml!) I bought a sample pot and tried it on an offcut. It did what it said on the can and dried to form a translucent slightly grey washed… Read more

board (perfect!). I washed the timber with oxylic acid (made up a 6% solution from Diggers powder instead of the rip off premade stuff from Cabot's which is $30 for 2L, whereas the powdered stuff can make 20L at 10% for $30!). - 2.5 weeks of weathering, good wash with oxylic acid and waited 2 days for full dry. - using a deck brush to evenly brush on the stain making sure not to leave any pools behind of course - noticed uneven staining but thought it would absorb!

Results - end up using double the "approx 12 sqm/L" stated on the tin. - see pics... - terrible uneven finish - this can't be due to wood being different, given on the same board there are light and dark patches. - called customer care and they just tried to deflect it on all manner of things. questioned them on application rate being underquoted, they said, it's not uncommon in the paint industry. - 4 days later and after only one coat, it still feels sticky on the foot. - now need to decide whether to add another coat to even it up, and be left with what looks like a grey painted deck, or sand off the grey looking ones.

For a premium product, they give you very little info which isn't centered around buying more and more of their overpriced cleaning/prep products, which are 1-10% oxylic acid solutions with pixie dust and colouring!

Rubbish! Cabots Oil Based Deck and Exterior Stain in Ebony. Do not be talked into this product – Follow the advice of 90% of these reviews: do not purchase! Laid 50sqm of pine decking boards at a cost of about $2000 plus hours and hours of my time. Purchased the product on recommendation from Inspirations Paint. Followed the instructions exactly: let the boards cure for a month, washed with Reviva, let them dry, and then picked the exact… Read more

right conditions to stain the deck, stirred it, applied with proper wool applicator. First coat had bubbles everywhere so had to give it a light sand before second coat. Second coat I applied with a brush, which sorted the bubbles.Now it looks like I’ve painted my deck with cheap mission brown paint.

After a month the deck is covered in dirty foot prints and dog prints that won’t wash off. Even tried scrubbing with deck wash again. No luck.

For an experiment I took one of the boards off and sanded it with 80grit on a belt sander. The stain came off straight away. It never penetrated the timber at all. Lucky for me because now I can sand this absolute rubbish off and start again with a non Cabots product.

Beach house Grey ruined my new deck – Shouldve done a sample first- my bad.. More of a paint than a stain. Coated the landing and stairs first and hastily removed what I could. Will paint over with another brand. Show details

Darkest possible colour is poo brown – Applied the Deck & Exterior Stain "ebony" colour to a picnic table. Product is very thin & goes on easily. But ebony which is supposed to be the darkest colour in the range (very dark brown-black in the brochure & Bunnings display) appeared poo brown after 1st coat. So I got Bunnings to make a new tin thinking they messed up the first time. No… Read more

improvement to the colour after 2nd coat. Product was stirred thoroughly. Have had good results from other Cabots products but not this one.

Sudsy consistency when applied – Am presently replacing decking boards with new treated pine boards. Staining boards prior to fixing in order to get a better result, if possible, with New Jarrah. Note that this new can of stain although looks alright in the tin is very sudsy in fhe aint tray and therefore going on the boards in a very bubbly manner. However after two coats it… Read more

seems to be ok and colour quite normal. Could it be that the mini roller that I am using causes the sudsiness? Also, after well and truly dried the stain has a very matt finish and gets dirty very quickly. Is it always recommended to top coat with Aquadeck in addition?

Cheers, Philip.

Applied then removed as we didn't like the finish – This is how i prepared my deck (just under 80m2): 1) Removed everything / furniture 2) Cleaned it quickly with a jet washer 3) Sanded (once with 80grit (3 sheets) the twice with 120grit (3 more sheets) using a self levelling floor sander from Bunnings) and edger with petrol blower to get rid of excess dust every now and then 4) Cleaned using… Read more

instageain reviva with a very hard brush, scrub being about tee grain 5) Used wood filler (cabots colour matched) as required, sanded wood filler back (120 grit), 6) Washed around wood filler (reviva again). 7) Taped up everything around the decking that could come into contact with the applicator and covered up below the decking using drop sheets (as I have a terracotta tiled area below)

Conditions; It was a relatively warm spring day (25 to 30C 50% humidity) with sun exposure most the day

Applying stain: I used an applicator (cabot 300mm wide) that almost covers 3 rows wide (90mm/ deck). I found it difficult to apply as it became tacky within 2 minutes, intially i worked it in but found that once i got to the end of a row (13m long) I couldn't go back over it, this resulted in is everytime i took the applicater off to refill it was more obvious (starts & stops). Dabbing 5 wide on the deck along tge entire length (where all the support beams nail or screw lines), then going over 2.5 wide in one stroke in both directions worked best (5 beams in 4 strokes) worked best for me. This also reduced dripling below and probably protected the support beams more.

How much stain did I use and drying times: The first coat took about used 8L for almost 80m2 and I applied a second and third coat after a 2h drying; probably a bit to soon. The decking started to sheen after three coats, so I applied a fourth coat after sunset that took 20 minutes to become tacky and so much easier to apply. The first coat took me 4h and the last 2h to apply. As expected the amount of stain required reduced for each additional coat, all up to 4 costs used about 18L. If it dries too fast don't keep applying or you'll prologue the drying time, jeopardise the finish and simply waste stain with potential lumps, let it form and dry for the next application of stain.

Tips: • Make sure the wood is weathered, a new decking is unlikely to be, if in doubt try the water absorption test • Read the directions • Prepare the decking, it must be clean using recommended chemicals, water akone is unlikely to be sufficient! The end result is likely to reflect the preparation • Use a paint mixer to stir thoroughly • Test on a small area first • Try to apply without direct sunlight and the ambient temperature isn't too hot (it gets tacky too fast) • Don't apply too thick, it's better to be thinner and a apply an extra coat. All coats will absorb differently, the first being the most and the first doesn't need to look perfect, even the second coat probably won't if it's not new decking or from sanded back; however, three coats should be enough. If you try to get it in one coat good luck, just remember it's not paint! • Make sure all tables chairs that go back on have feet to prevent scratching • Make sure heavy and large plants plots etc are on pot risers to minimise pot Mark's and trapping moisture

All up it took me four days with assistance.

Note: Colours are very hard to get right to, it depends on the wood (type porosity, weathering / try the water test before applying and sun exposure. I have a bar area which i also stained and it came out very different in colour.

I thought I'd mention this, Cabots, Intergrain and Feast Watson are all part of the DuluxGroup. The guy in bunnings told me that so I checked their websites to confirm it.

UPDATE Within a week we didn't like the colour or finish, it scratched easily and showed dirt immediately requiring washing at least once a week. The dirt simply stick to it and was hard to get off requiring scrubbing.

A couple of weekends ago, after month of my wife complaining how terrible it looked, I sanded it all off and prepared as above. However, this time I applied 17l (4 coats) of Feast Watson Wet Look Decking Oil (from Bunnings) instead, the difference is immense. The grain of the wood is noe visible, low sheen reflection, resistance to scratching and resistant to dirt sticking (having 3 dogs and acreage is a big thing for us) as well as being so much easier to apply (similar temperate and humidity). Two weeks later and we haven't had to clean it. If you can get a good finish sanding and want a screen finish (wet look) showing the grain, I recommend this, just wish I did it first time round. It was a mistake that cost me 4 days, a few arguments (with my wife), wasted between $600 to $700 (stain, chemical cleaner, tape, applicators, renting sanders and sand papers). I might review the wet look when I get time.

I hope that helped.