Value for Money
2.0 (25)
Coverage
2.2 (27)
Finish Quality
1.8 (30)
Longevity
1.8 (18)
Ease of Application
2.5 (27)
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Reviews

100 reviews
Kathleen
Kathleen

Oil based version of this product is great.

Deck & Exterior Stain Oil Based

I've ruined many timber structures with water based products and then finally have used Cabot's deck and exterior stain (oil based) Beach house grey tinted to blackburn and applied it to a treated pine deck and have the result i wanted. It actually soaked into the timber rather than leaving a tacky film on top.

Gaby
Gaby · 2 posts
 · Verified

Worst stain ever

Deck & Exterior Stain

Same problem as people described before. Sticky and uneven. Looks cheap and if I had painted it three years ago. Big mistake this colour. Ruined nice look of deck. I'm angry about such a cheap quality.

Cabot's
Cabot's · 
Gaby
Gaby · 

Thanks for your informative answer! Will try with a third coat in another colour.

AW41
AW41 Sydney · 2 posts

Terrible mistake

Deck & Exterior Stain

After spending days preparing my timber deck and then paying nearly $100 for 4 liters, my deck looks like it's been painted with cheap white patchy paint. Worse it's so sticky days later that I can't walk on it or leave anything sitting in the deck without gEttinger glued to the deck!

Bill
Bill Hobart, Tasmania · 2 posts

terrible product ripped off

Deck & Exterior Stain Oil Based

Recently purchased 4lt can of Cabots Jarrah decking oil from Mitre 10 painted about 8sqm of lattice and a small picket fence used a full can, needed to buy another to finish job,given 1tr is supposed to do 10sqm i believed i have been ripped off and will be complaining to Cabots.
The viscosity of the product is poor and when i opened the can thought i had purchased a can of dirty water.
Even after stirring all the time the colour drys patchy.

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MotherGoose3
MotherGoose3

Rubbish rubbish rubbish. Shame on you Cabots!!!!

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based

Deck and exterior stain, as pictured above. Throw it in the nearest quicksand and don't look back. This is cheap water-based paint, not stain. Unfortunately i can't even sand it off as floor nails are domed-head stainless steel and protrude. My new $10k deck floor is ruined!

I concur with all the points made above, took weeks to 'dry', sits on the surface and is not a wood stain. Absolute crap. Currently organising cabots to put it right ... 8 months later, still waiting. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish.

MGH123
MGH123 Sydney, NSW · 7 posts

Bad colour and sticky

Deck & Exterior Stain

Just applied 3 coats of merbau to my front porch. Looks like paint not stain...a cheap brown colour clearly fake. Further the coating is very sticky, my son dropped a piece of newspaper on it and by the time I found it was like glued to the floor, had to scrub it off. Result!? Not all the paper off and ugly scratch marks in its place. So far crap. I should have listened to the reviews. But then what do you use? I followed bunnings instore and ccabots online advice.

MGH123
MGH123 · 
Cabot's
Cabot's · 
Vicki B.
Vicki B. Sydney Surrounds, NSW · 2 posts

Never again!

Deck & Exterior Stain

Painted a deck in Merbau, what the hell? The colour is the same as the Jarrah sample, I didn want RED! Now I'm stuck with a red deck for God knows how long Cabots need a kick in the A...! for false advertising.

Jan
Jan

Not worth the can it's in!

Deck & Exterior Stain

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.

Peter Higgs
Peter Higgs Sydney · 2 posts

Rubbish

Deck & Exterior Stain

I brought a 4lt tin of cabot Decking Stain to cover a deck next to a pool, Old deck that cleaned up good after a Gernie. We chose a Sandy colour stain which came out as a green. The 2nd problem was the sqm they quote, Cabot's quote approx. 12sqm per litre, 18msq deck 2 coats should of done easy with 4 litres
I did 8sqm for the first 4 litre tin, put in a complaint to Cabot's which completed the first coat. the colour was so horrible had to change colour to a Merbau to cover up. still looks rubbish, now have to work out covering up with a paint to make it look ok or rip up deck & start again
never will use Cabot's again

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Liss O
Liss O Sydney

Never again!

Deck & Exterior Stain

My husband and I just spent a month and $4000 building a huge 9x4m deck. We thought buying the most expensive stain would give us the most expensive looking finish. That was NOT the case. This stain is more like brown paint. We chose Merbau as it looked the best on top of treated pine and it's come out blotchy, patchy and uneven. My husband followed all directions and used the correct applicators. It's also been 1 week since we applied the stain and the deck is still sticky and unpleasant to walk on. My husband just spoke to a rude gentleman at Cabots who said it can take up to 2 weeks for the "stickyness to go away"
Do yourself a favour and buy a different product.

diall
diall · 42 posts

Not all that happy

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based
Bentley
Bentley Mount Evelyn

Nothing like the product states

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based

We purchased Merbau waterbased stain and has gone on like thick mission brown paint. Looks absolutely terrible and we are so disappointed. Such a waste of money. The rep at Bunnings told us, unfortunately after we had done the decking, that he has complained to Cabots about their product many times because a lot of people have the same issue. We will never use this brand again.
Nothing.
Colour was incorrect, solid in appearance rather than a stain.

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Carla
Carla · 2 posts

Bought Ebony (black)

Deck & Exterior Stain

It was mud red colour......my husband spent an entire weekend sanding it off....revolting...would never use this brand again.....how can they call a mud red stain ebony????...Shame that dulux own most of the decking stain brands...we need more variety and competition for this product. very dissatisfied. It was very misleading and therefore a Very expensive mistake..thanks Dulux.

The colour and texture

I hate paint
I hate paint Sydney, NSW · 4 posts

Stirring the can was like making fairy floss

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based

Problems a plenty with water based interior jarrah stains. Initially tried stain & sealer in one. It was like mixing fairy floss - the more I stirred the more was on the stick. I took it back to Bunnings - every can on the shelf was the same. Bunnings then sold me Jarrah stain and a searate can of sealer - great. The colour is not Jarrah in the tin but deep brown. I went and bought a small can of jarrah stain to ease my tension over this - the jarrah in the small can is orange when stirred which is correct - my 1 litre Jarrah stain only God knows what it should have been labelled. Money down the drain - what a disappointing product range.
Colours of stain in the can are a lucky dip
Cannot trust the brand

Cammo
Cammo melbourne

Very good product

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based

I used this product on some treated pine steps that I have near my above ground pool. I have found it to be very easy to apply and the coverage is very good. I actually applied the stain to all the step parts before assembly to make sure all the ends were sealed. Has been up for six months through a lot of poor weather and still looks excellent. Time will tell as far as how long it lasts before needing re-coating.
Easy to apply and quick drying.
Nothing as yet

Gayle Cave
Gayle Cave · 3 posts

Very disappointed

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based
Gayle Cave
Gayle Cave · 
Gayle Cave
Gayle Cave · 
Alastair30
Alastair30 AU

Absolute ribbish!!!

Deck & Exterior Stain

This product was applied as per instructions on the can, after nearly 24 hrs.the deck is still sticky to walk on. Totally unsatisfactory.The decking is a very large one and the colour is not consistent, dark in patches and light in others.This product was the most expensive in the store and is a product we had used before with no problems.

does not do what it is supposed to do, colour patchy,still tacky 24hrs. after application.

Adsiboy
Adsiboy Perth, WA · 5 posts

Waste of money

Deck & Exterior Stain

Just had a beautiful patio and deck built. Used pine for the decking and bought Cabots deck and exterior stain in jarrah finish. Followed all the instructions as stated. Not sure who designed the colour as it is RED. It has dried patchy. Nothing good to say about it at all.
No pros I can see
Waste of money and time

luke99
luke99 Gosford

Absolute rubbish

Deck & Exterior Stain

I have just forked out 185 bucks for 10 liter can from bunnings, applied it using the directions and it looks far to thick and more like paint! In the processes of stripping it back to bare and using intergrain. Really poor unsatisfactory product!!! Even the rep from bunnings agreed it's complete [censored word removed].
Cabots - brand only.
Over priced, below par quality and result.

Bigalbaby
Bigalbaby Sydney Surrounds, NSW · 6 posts

Dearest is not always the best

Deck & Exterior Stain Water Based
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