Cabot Australian Timber Oil Wood Stain and Protector, Natural, 1 Gallon

Have a beautiful redwood fence installed in 2013 but the contractor kooked it and used Deft polyurethane on the fence. The sun exposed parts of the finish cracked and fell apart within months. We tried switching to a marine varnish. Same result. My best guess is that soft wood like redwood expands and contracts in the sun and that type of plastic finish cannot handle it. Found C.A.T.O. after some research in 2015 or so and haven't looked back. The fence does need the oil reapplied on a year or so basis on the particularly exposed bits but it's as easy as performing a light sand and rolling the oil on. Solid product - highly recommended.

I am updating my original review from three to five stars after cleaning and applying a second coat 10 months after the original application in June of 2021. At that time, I Oxi cleaned, sanded, and applied a single coat only, recommended by Cabot, according to my recollection. It is a watery product, like watered down varnish, and must be applied quickly, matching wet to wet or it will "lap" where the product dried and gets the equivalent of a second coat. Do 1 or 2 boards from beginning to end, to avoid overlap. I got lazy and did 3'x3' sections, and mostly made it except for one or two as shown in the third picture. In the original review I complained that the product looked too orange and yellow, not "natural", there was no sheen (no sheen= will not reject dirt... smooth shiny surfaces reject dirt), and it did not really reject and puddle water either. I now recognize that "natural" is code word for orangey yellow, and they want us to accept that as close to the clear we want when we buy "natural". Clear products will not last, and will not protect against UV, so this is their way of backing us into the closest they can come.As you can see (Left pic first coast, middle and right after second coat) after second coat this product on my deck comes alive! Darker than I want , but far less orange and warmer yellow. Fully rejects and puddles water. Sheen looks nice, yet is not slippery, but will reject dirt and last. I am now hopeful that this will last 2-3 years with mod pressure hose down, then Oxi clean once again, apply quick follow up coat.... 2-3 more years each.My deck is approx 375 Sq Ft. First coat 1.25 gallons. Second: less than a gallon.I would wait a couple weeks till first coat is really dry, then follow with a quick 2nd coat.I use a 5-6 inch deck brush on 4' paint extension handle to be sure to brush the product into cracks for a good seal. Spraying and the pads not quite as good IMHO. (Pine Deck is now at least 11 years old).Good luck. AtlEngineer

I USE THIS PRODUCT ON MY WOOD FENCES, CYPRESS AND PINE. BEAUTIFUL FINISH AND I THINK HELPS KEEP THE TERMITES AWAY, WATERPROOF'S THE FENCE ALSO.

It went on smoothly and keep the color of natural red cedar wood. It did make it darker.It goes far on raw wood.

Great product at a great price and exemplary customer service. I ordered 9 gallons of Cabot and as you would think only 8 was delivered by USPS. I contacted Burt at Nafso Wholesale and he hunted down my missing gallon and it was delivered the next day. Couldn’t say more about the customer service attentiveness.

I purchase a gallon of the sealant for my deck. I knew that I would need more so I purchase another gallon at Lowe's, at the time not knowing that Lowe's was more a water base product. So I had to purchase another gallon from Amazon. I used the Lowe's gallon on my lower deck steps and the small area by the breezeway door and used the sealant from Amazon on the main deck. I thought I would see which one would weather better. The Lowe's sealant is a little lighted in color when applied and takes a while to go into the wood. They oil based goes into the wood very quick. I have some overlap marks, because I tried to do too many boards at one time. It has been about a month and both products are still repelling water.I would recommend the oil base (550 g/L VOC) than the water base (275 g/L VOC) from Lowe's. I used a paint brush and did the whole deck by hand.

This stuff brings out the beauty. Don't know how long it will last, but mine is a wall on a covered deck, so I went for beauty. Wish I could see how it compares to what you can buy at Lowes. others have said it is better, but sure looks like the same can now.

This is the best product for protecting from outside elements. To bad many states have the ridiculous voc requirements. They have destroyed a lot of businesses with products that work