Does not dry

I built our picnic house 25 years ago. In the last 2 years I did a lot of replacement to get it back up to new. So, after 25 years I finally got around to staining the floor. It is treated 5/4 that definitely is dried out. I put on the first coat with a 3/8" nap roller and a brush for edging and between boards. The stain got sucked in, but it took over ten days to dry; with fans. The manufacturer recommends 2nd coat and it was needed. For the 2nd coat I used a 5" sponge roller to keep product thin. I took these pictures 10 days after 2nd coat. It is still "soft" and has not hardened. I took a picture of a mark where a piece of furniture was rotated on a leg. You can see it burred the finish. I'm stuck with however this is going to handle to traffic. I'm afraid grime will just grind into the finish. Less

After a Year… Water Still Beads Up!

We purchased a quart of Cabot’s Australian Timber Oil to see how it performed. Since we made a small table top from left over short ends of our Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) deck, I coated that with Amber colored Cabot’s. The table top is in the sun and has potted plants that get watered regularly. Always wet and always with beads of water that roll right off! I am impressed! Cumaru is a hard, dense wood second only to Ipe and the tight grain is nearly impossible to penetrate. However, the Cabot’s passed through light melted butter on a hotcake. The color is a rich amber gold. Now that we are ready to permanently seal the deck I am confident we are using the right product. Great product!

Love it - requires proper prep and application

I have used Australian Timber Oil for several outdoor furniture products in the last few years.I made two grill tables and used Jarrah brown for the base of my first one (pictured - 4 years old) and the entirety of my second one (just finished).I also just refurbished a 25 year old western red cedar patio table, chairs and benches with Honey Teak. I cleaned the wood with Olympic wood cleaner then sanded to 80 grit to leave the pores open, then one coat of Honey Teak.I also used Honey Teak on a redwood ottoman that I made. The pic is after sitting uncovered in direct sun and midwest winter for a year.The product is great and lasts a long time if applied correctly and prepped properly.

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Amazing on my old Deck

This is by far the best I have ever used. Bought old house with a really nice but uncared for deck and shower. Most wood was Cedar, possibly White Cedar, definitely not pine. Anyways, the deck is always in the shade. The boards were well weathered and beaten as previously cheap exterior stain had been used. Applied a deck cleaner and pressure washed and applied, and the results were amazing. The color and tone, and finish are excellent. I did notice a huge difference in the type of brush used and results. My best results were with just a plain transparent fiber general purpose brush. the expensive oil paint brush left the stain to thick and more like a solid stain whereas the general purpose was money. I am super impressed and happy. Such a huge difference over the cheap stuff. Less

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Excellent coverage, consistent quality

I am a small business owner who makes and sells handcrafted wood patio furniture, and for the first couple of years in business, I tried more than a few stains and paints. Cabot is by far the superior product. I’ve been exclusively using Cabot Australian Timber Oil and Semi-Solid Deck Stain for over 5 years. The consistency of both products work flawlessly with my paint sprayers, providing even coverage and gorgeous results. My customers love the rich beauty of the wood tones and the even color coverage and durability of the semisolids. Our products are used year-round outdoors from as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida. Thank you, Cabot, for producing such a dependable and consistent wood stain that I can confidently tell my customers their furniture will last for years outdoors with very little maintenance! Less

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same color bought, each can different color

Stained almost my entire deck with the natural, ran out while on the floor area, bought another can exact same as previous, and it was a completely different color as you can see on first pic. Very upsetting! After spending hours in the heat staining and they make the colors different, now I have to sand it all off and re do it all, spend hours and a fortune to do it all over again or keep it mix matched. Bad thing is I liked the first color, and afraid to buy it again, not having a clue what color it will be. I never had issues with other brands being different colors each can. Be careful if you need more then one can, UPDATE: not even a year later, (pic 2-3) its all peeling off. looks terrible, WILL NOT LAST

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Easy to apply. Looks great. REPELS MOISTURE!!

Purchased this product last week. Had previously applied another brand of semi transparent clear stain 2 years when building our deck. Weather in the Midwest can be harsh. We were disappointed with original product when it peeled/bubbled up, more than likely from our incorrect application. So we sanded it off and applied this product, Timber Oil. Photos #1 show original product & it's appearance after 2 years. Photos #2 show how water (from a cool moist night) was sitting on the old areas where there was NO water sitting on the Timber Oil product we had applied the day before! We will see how it's future goes. But that impressed us! They say no stripping, no sanding, only applying a thin coat as future maintenance. Hoping so! Very happy with it deck. Looks new!

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Can't walk on it!!!!!!

Wow soooooo disappointed. I stained my deck approximately a month ago when temperatures were in high 70s. This was a new deck and I did all the prep work necessary before applying the stain. I was so happy with the color-natural. I roped off my deck and did not walk on it for two days after staining. It did not rain while drying. Now, wherever I walk, I can see all the footprints which will not scrub off at all!! If I have any dirt on my shoes, which I am an avid gardener, so that's inevitable I cannot get the dirt off the deck! I would rather have left it unstained if I knew this would happen. The rest of the deck looks great. It's just the Deck floor and steps. Site would not allow me to load photos.

Looks great, not long lasting

We installed a new deck 2.5 years ago. Our paint contractor suggested Austraian Gold to be applied after 6 months to allow the wood to off gas and moisture.He applied Australiaian Gold natural color. It made a beautiful deck.After a year we had to reapply it to the hand rails and upper structure as it awas splintering.The deck proper could have used another deep coat but decided to wait.We will apply another coat to all surfaces but know this.This product has not lived up to the hype. We were lead to believe it would make at least 3-4 years before having to reapply.We are close to year 3 which we will reapply but know we are not happy with this products longevity.

Excellent Product - READ INSTRUCTIONS!

I have used Cabot Australian Timber Oil for 3 privacy fences over the last 15 years and always had excellent results both in color and longevity. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and in addition to that, learn about the wood and dry time needed for prep. Pressure treated wood needs 6-8 months to dry properly depending on humidity, then after cleaning give it a full week to dry before applying. Dry on the surface isn't good enough, the oil soaks in deeper than you can see or feel. Relative humidity matters! Each wood type and treatment will cause each to dry at its own pace. Every few mins you have to stir to keep the pigment even. If your project peels, your wood was too wet at application or too much was added and couldn't be absorbed by the wood.

Should have read the instructions

Looked for substitute for Sikkens, which is now PPG, $$$, and not available near me. I only wanted an oil-based stain for new pressure treated boards on a fully redone deck surface. I put on the 1st coat, was not thrilled with the appearance, but assumed it would be better after 2 coats. When I read the label to see when I could do that, I saw it said apply 1 coat only. I called support to inquire and was told a 2nd coat would not adhere well due to the formula. It is a modified oil base, hence the soap and water clean up. I have to wait until water no longer beads up to reapply. My mistake, but I am still disappointed. I would have been more careful about the overlap marks, but even without that, I still think the color is not rich or deep enough with just one coat.

Worked great

Redid teak garage doors. Wished there were more color options but I did mix a custom color without difficulty. Used foam brush to apply- I will rethink that with the next set of doors I redo as I think a paint brush would work better. Next morning teak had blotches of gummy areas that did not absorb and streaky. Called customer service and spoke to Alex- he was wonderful and suggested mineral spirit application to remove gummy areas over the entire surface to even put stain. Worked beautifully. An extra step but results are beautiful. I will need to reapply in the future but am hoping to get a couple of years out of the product. I wish instructors were a little more detailed.

Great product

I’ve used this on 3 or 4 projects over the years and I think it’s a great product. I use the Natural color. One project was staining/preserving old cedar barn wood planks around the bottom half of an approx 800sf greenhouse. First we treated the old boards with Boracare then used a cheap pump sprayer to spray 1 coat of ATO on inside and out. We have since moved from that property but when we did the greenhouse was 15yo and they still looked great. We’ve painted chairs with it and other outdoor furniture. Now I’m painting 4 x 8 pine raised beds for a garden. It seems like the rougher the wood, the better it looks as more soaks in. Also, I’m using sponge paintbrushes for the smoother wood, it goes on faster and no cleaning brushes. My next project with it are wooden planters. I’m going to use a water based pigment to darken the wood, then when dry put a coat of Cabot’s on it. I love this stuff!! Less

My 40- Year Old Deck Came Back To LIFE!! Amazing!

My mountain house deck looks amazing! Wow! I never got results from any other product like this! I bought a very neglected mountain house about 20 years ago that was built in 1975. The owner NEVER did anything to treat the deck in all that time. I tried various other products and I was not happy with the results until I found your Austrailian Timber Oil. Once I was able to strip the wood down to "bare" again, I used your product on the43 year old deck and was totally impressed with the end result. I had compliments from my neighbors on how wonderful the deck looked. I treat the deck with the same product every several years and it keeps it looking beautiful and new! Thank you for this great wood treatment! I wish I could send photos, but I close the house for the winter since it is on the ridge of a mountain and they get snow. All my photos are there. It really is quite interesting and impressive. Thanks again! Less

The Best

Excellent product. The best on the market. I have a deck restoration company, and restore decks for years. What I noticed:1) Many homeowners use a different brand (I don't want to mention that brand) which has good marketing strategy, but mediocre product quality.2) Many negative (1 star) reviews are written here by home owners, not by pros. And I am not surprised. My work consist of 50% of re-doing the job after some one, who previously tried to restore a deck by himself or hiring a handyman with little knowledge of the process, and luck of necessary equipment. It's not DYI project unless you have knowledge and experience in preparation and application process.3) My favored color is Honey Teak, I use it in 90% of my work. It goes well with any wood from redwood to IPE. The second one is Natural, which is less brownish and slightly yellowish. I use Cabot 19457 all the time, which is a water/oil based mixed formula, that sold in stores only in California. I used 3457 oil formula for outdoor furniture sometimes which I buy on Amazon. Less

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Sensitive to the sun

We bought this product in May 2023 and applied it to brand new red cedar dock boards. The dock boards had been received a couple of weeks earlier and were stored in a storage container along with furniture, textiles and paper products. A desiccant was used to remove humidity from inside the container. On a beautiful, warm and sunny May weekend, we applied this product to the top and lower sides of the dock boards over the course of a couple of days. When we were done the boards looked great. Beautiful. However, fast forward to mid-September 2023 when it was time to remove the dock boards and dock, we could see fading and blotching that made the stain look uneven and faded on the top of the boards. In some spots it looked like raw wood. The bottom sides looked great, no fading or blotching had occurred. It appears this product does not hold up when exposed to the sun. We plan to expand the dock and will be using red cedar dock boards again. So we will have 36 dock board panels that need to be redone and a number of new panels to be stained. I do not believe we will be using this product again. This product is not worth the money and aggravation. Less

So far so good!

I just resurfaced my 25 year old cedar deck. So in those 25 years, I've got plenty experience with the maintenance aspects. I bought my Cabot Honey Teak Australian Timber oil from Hirshfields after talking with them about what their contractor customers buy which was Cabot. So far, I'm very happy with the product. I'm rating 3 stars only because time will tell how it performs through it's first Minnesota winter.For those who are thinking of using this product, you must follow the directions! It's not like painting a bedroom, where its easy to keep a wet edge.My application was easy. I bought a $20 dollar moisture meter and began the sanding and staining once the moisture was between 9% to 11%. I rented an orbital floor sander and sanded the deck with 60 grit. If you don't sand cedar, you're going to have poor penetration and peeling. Period.I followed the directions, staining 2, 12' boards at a time. I applied the stain with a garden type pump sprayer with a fan pattern spray tip. I sprayed the entire length of 2 boards so there was nearly a full coverage layer of stain sitting on the surface. At this point it may look like there is too much stain on the board but it's all good! I then used a 5" stain brush on a extension pole. I lightly brushed each board to even out the stain, using a continuous brush stroke by walking along each board, with light brush pressure. Then i worked the stain into the edges. Then follow up with finishing strokes along the entire board length again. By this time all that stain that appeared to be too much was now soaked in. Still wet, but beginning to dry because you can tell because the stain is getting a bit thicker in consistency. This is where you can begin to have issues coning back to overlap an area that is beginning to thicken due to the drying process starting. I'm happy with the results and hope it holds up a couple years maybe more. In Minnesota, with a southern exposure, nothing will last longer than two years without a maintenance re-coat. It's just the way it is. Less

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Beware new "Low VOC" formulation

The "new" low VOC product is NOT the same as the original oil based, I wish I'd read reviews, but I'd been buy-in this product for a decade & didn't think about it changing so drastically. I have no idea how you are marketing these under the same product name! The new water/soap washable "low-VOC" product in natural color goes on like opaque yellow paint. It doesn't soak in, just slides around streaky on the wood. The original oil based clearly soaks in without streaking. Thankfully, I could return it and found a few gallons of the original product locally, but I had carefully prepped my surface and now I have to strip and re-prep the surface. Ironically, the low VOC product still has a strong odor so I have no idea why the product was changed...this is an outdoor product!! Less

I recommend Australian Timber Oil - the BEST

I purchased the Cabot Australian Timber Oil a good while back and have been meaning to post my review. We got our Cypress fence redone after a hurricane destroyed the other one. After allowing time for the treated wood to dry I wanted to seal it with something that would last. After reviewing several products as well as speaking to a company rep, I decided to apply Cabot’s Australian Timber Oil. The Rep told me that Timber Oil was UV/Mold&Mildew/Weather resistant (what it says in the cab is Accurate). I wanted to give the fence a natural look without any tinting , that why I went with the Neutral. When the application was completed, We couldn’t be happier!!!! It’s exactly what we were wanting to achieve and the fence is gorgeous and holding strong. It’s been a few of years and it looks like it did when We applied the Timber Oil in 2020. Less

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Really Great Stain

I just finished staining a 17-year old fir deck with Cabot Australian Timber Oil. The deck has been sealed and protected, but never stained, and was starting to show it's age. I used a 50:50 blend of Honey Teak and Jarrod Brown and was surprised by how much red undertones showed up. The deck looks good; I just expected a different color.Dark colors are the way to treat an older deck. It disguises any age blemishes and gives you a rich look.Unlike another comment, saying never use a roller, I applied the stain with a roller and followed it with a lambswool applicator pad and itt worked out just fine, with no areas with too much stain and no overlaps. But if you try to use a roller, you must follow the roller with either a brush or an applicator pad, otherwise there's no way to apply an even coat using only a roller.Preparation is the key and my deck was pressure-washed (1200 psi), scrubbed with sodium percarbonate, brightened with oxalic acid, and allowed to dry for 72 hours before applying stain, and that was the hardest part of the staining project. But it was worth the work.I have no idea how long the stain will last, but if the deck needs to be stained again, I'll never use anything else. Less