Replies

1. 
   KDESIGN | May 14, 2012 10:54am | #1

   Cabot Solid Color Oil-Based

   I don't have the answer, but there is no product category that I trust less these days than paints and stains.  I have narrowed down my preference to Cabot solid color oil based.  There is a version for decks and another for siding.  I have used both, made test pieces, and spoken probably fifty times with Cabot home office and several of their dealers.  I am not convinced that Cabot customer service fully understands their stain product.

   They all want to steer me away from oil based product.  Dealers all want to steer me away from solid color product.  I just want the best protection for wood.  I am convinced that the best protection requires covering up the wood with an opaque stain.

   Cabot always says that two light coats are better than one heavy coat.  But then they strongly advise against a second coat, and I have never gotten a clear reason why.  But if you use only one coat, it has to be heavy in order to cover.  I use a large paint pad, and actually do two coats, but they are wet on wet, about 3-5 minutes apart.  If you don't do that double coating, it won't cover, no matter how heavy you try to pile it on in one pass. 

   My tests show that a second coat on top of an coat that has dried fo 24 hours will not bond well.  I have test pieces with the 24- hour second coat that have been outside for over one year since the second coat.  I can scrape that second coat off with my fingernail.  The first coat is impossible to move, but the second lifts right off of the first coat. 

   I assume that this is why Cabot discourages the use of a second coat.  Stain dealers have told me that stain manufacturers are adding teflon to the sold stains, and as the stain cures, the teflon migrates to the surface and forms a better water resistance at the surface.  Cabot told me that this is not true. 

   But Cabot also tells me that the deck stain and siding stain should be dead flat.  And they caution against putting it on too heavy because it will make a sheen.  I find that one heavy coat of either deck stain or siding stain look much different.  The siding stain is absolutely dead flat.  Whereas deck stain has a prominent satin finish.  I think the satin finish looks much, much better than the dead flat finish.  The satin finish looks darker and richer.  In black color, the satin deck stain is deep, rich black.  The black siding stain is like #6-8 gray on a 1-10 scale.  It looks like soot.   In I wish I had used the deck stain on my siding. 

   Besides the satin finish of the deck stain, it also beads water up like the best car wax job.  You can't sweep the water off of it because the beading wants to keep the water in little puddles. 

   So, I think there is evidence that there is something like teflon in the product that makes the sheen and the water beading, and also explains why a second coat will not bond to a first coat.  What this means for recoating in a few years, I do not know.  I have never gotten a clear answer to that question from Cabot. 

2. 
   trinker | May 15, 2012 03:50am | #2

   CR Reviews

   Consumer Reports did do a review in their June issue. Behr was tops in solid and semitransparent stains. Cabot did fair in the still being tested category. There were two Behr solids and the second ranked sixth so check to make sure you pick the correct one. Semitransparent will not last as long but is easier to recoat since it soaks into the wood.

   I have a wood house done in Cabot simitrans water-based and it has done okay on siding but sun exposed sides need to be redone after about three years. I agree with the other commenter that Cabot's (and the other guys too) advice is confusing. I had to order the water based stain from an internet supplier when I needed an additional 5 gallons. Local suppliers didn't know it existed and some insisted that there were no water based semi trans stains from Cabot. 

   For some reason, the pros I have worked with don't like to use Behr. I don't think they read Consumer Reports.

1. 
   treesk8ice | May 15, 2012 07:34pm | #3

   new deck stain review

   I found the June issue of CR at HD today.  I was disappointed they didn't have more detail information about the differences, but they did have good marks for the BM Arborcoat even though the formula has changed since they started their test...Hmmm.  This is a hard decision but thanks for your imput!!

3. 
   k1c | May 20, 2012 10:18pm | #4

   I was looking for the same thing and I found this:  deckstainhelp.com.  They recommend TWP stain.  One thing I keep hearing is that oil based stain can be recoated without stripping, but water based stain don't recoat well without stripping.  I did find the TWP recommendation little confusing, because water based TWP is also reviewed as having good recoat qualities.