Arborcoat Oil Stain Review

26
5.6
Initial color looks good
Easy to apply

Manufacturer Description: Arborcoat Oil Stain offer a variety of opacities in an array of captivating colors that let you express your own unique style. These finishes are designed to enhance the appearance of your deck, siding, or outdoor wood furniture with outstanding color retention. All Arborcoat Oil finishes are easy to apply and offer superior protection while enriching the texture and grain of exterior wood surfaces.

5.6 Total Score
Arborcoat Oil Stain Review

Product applies easily and the initial color looks great. It doesn’t seem to absorb in to the wood very well, definitively nowhere near how other oil based stains are absorbed. 14 month weathering test showed a pretty significant loss of color and darkening from mildew growth was beginning to occur.

5.6Expert Score
Ease of Application
8
Ease of Penetration
4
Odor (Strong Odor=0, No Odor=10)
6.5
Initial Appearance
8
Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
6
Resistance to Peeling
7
Resistance to Mold & Mildew
5
Darkening
6
Ease of Cleanup
3
Eco-Friendliness
2.5
4.7User's score
Ease of Application
6.8
Ease of Penetration
5.2
Odor (Strong Odor=0
4.9
No Odor=10)
6.4
Initial Appearance
3.9
Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
4.4
Resistance to Peeling
4
Resistance to Mold & Mildew
4.7
Darkening
4.2
Ease of Cleanup
3.2
PROS
  • Initial color looks good
  • Easy to apply
CONS
  • Doesn't absorb well
  • Signficant color loss after 14 months
  • Mildew growth beginning to occur after 14 months
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9 Comments
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  1. 3.3
    Ease of Application
    100
    Ease of Penetration
    100
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    60
    No Odor=10)
    100
    Initial Appearance
    100
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    100
    Resistance to Peeling
    10
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    50
    Darkening
    20
    Ease of Cleanup
    20

    Buyer beware!
    Oil-based stain: Horrible and pervasive mold growth after 17 months, even in sunny and dry areas. It literally ruined my brand new, beautiful rough-hewn sided barn. Please be very careful using this product! I now need to somehow remove the mold (praying it hasn’t penetrated deeply into the wood) without damaging the siding (hand-scrubbing, no pressure washing) and re-stain my barn after less than 2 years. So disappointed in this product.

    + PROS: Easy to apply. Looked beautiful, but only after initial application and during first year
    - CONS: Oil-based stain: Horrible and pervasive mold growth after 17 months.
    Helpful(6) Unhelpful(2)You have already voted this
  2. 0.15
    Ease of Application
    0
    Ease of Penetration
    0
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    0
    No Odor=10)
    10
    Initial Appearance
    0
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    0
    Resistance to Peeling
    0
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    0
    Darkening
    0
    Ease of Cleanup
    20

    On cedar deck that was cleaned and power washed and sanded. Disappointed in the color look. Has a murky appearance not happy.

    Helpful(1) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
  3. 3.45
    Ease of Application
    50
    Ease of Penetration
    90
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    30
    No Odor=10)
    90
    Initial Appearance
    100
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    50
    Resistance to Peeling
    80
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    70
    Darkening
    60
    Ease of Cleanup
    70

    It worked for me!

    + PROS: Works
    - CONS: Smells
    Helpful(0) Unhelpful(1)You have already voted this
  4. 0.8
    Ease of Application
    100
    Ease of Penetration
    20
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    20
    No Odor=10)
    20
    Initial Appearance
    0
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    0
    Resistance to Peeling
    0
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    0
    Darkening
    0
    Ease of Cleanup
    0

    Initial review by Editor is right about it laying on the board like thin paint. We bought some in the greyish-white color (forgot it’s name) and tested it on some boards. Put on with a brush as advised. Application was easy, but it’s very watery. It streaked and acted like thin paint. Didn’t soak into the wood. Wood was one year old PT pine, so was aged over a year. Returned it.

    Can’t vouch for any of the other choices in the list since we didn’t use it.

    + PROS: Applied fine with brush. No problem there. Didn't notice a strong odor.
    - CONS: Streaked. Didn't soak into wood. Didn't clean brush up - just threw it away.
    Helpful(0) Unhelpful(1)You have already voted this
  5. 4.35
    Ease of Application
    80
    Ease of Penetration
    90
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    90
    No Odor=10)
    90
    Initial Appearance
    90
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    90
    Resistance to Peeling
    90
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    90
    Darkening
    80
    Ease of Cleanup
    80

    This is a great stain product. I recently had my deck refinished and this is the stain the contractors used. It looks really great!

    Helpful(2) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
  6. 1.4
    Ease of Application
    90
    Ease of Penetration
    70
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    30
    No Odor=10)
    90
    Initial Appearance
    0
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    0
    Resistance to Peeling
    0
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    0
    Darkening
    0
    Ease of Cleanup
    0

    Worked pretty well at first, although must be on the look out for potential mold in the future.

    Helpful(0) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
  7. 1.4
    Ease of Application
    90
    Ease of Penetration
    10
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    30
    No Odor=10)
    0
    Initial Appearance
    10
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    10
    Resistance to Peeling
    40
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    40
    Darkening
    40
    Ease of Cleanup
    10

    We just built a new timber frame style home using kiln dried hand hewn tongue and groove siding. We used Leather saddle brown Arbor Coat that was applied by a professional painter before it was installed. After 1 year the siding on the south and west side of our home has faded, peeled and looks grey. The east and north side that get little sun exposure looks decent but we are very disappointed in the product. Benjamin Moore rep came out to assess and said that the stain should be reapplied after 2 years. WTH! If we had known that we would not have used this product, who wants to stain their home every 2 years. He offered use 5 gallons of stain for free. That won’t even cover 1/4 of what needs to be redone let alone the cost of having someone restain our home. VERY disappointed.

    - CONS: Faded and peeled after 1 year
    Helpful(2) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
  8. 3.5
    Ease of Application
    60
    Ease of Penetration
    10
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    90
    No Odor=10)
    100
    Initial Appearance
    0
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    90
    Resistance to Peeling
    90
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    90
    Darkening
    80
    Ease of Cleanup
    90

    I used plain Arbor coat on a new fence (pine) and a porch railing (ironwood). The Pine looks slightly yellow which is fine. No fading/bleaching. On the upper deck ironwood: First coat looked great and then bleached out under a month… So I put on a 2nd coat about 2 months later. [This is not a fun job as it is an upper deck.] Looked great after a 2nd coat for about a week and still ended up bleached. Now I’m using Australian Timber Oil on the ironwood. So far so good -will know in a few weeks.

    + PROS: Went on easy, looked great at first. Fine on a pine fence-no fading or bleaching - no peeling/no mold/did not turn dark.
    - CONS: Upper deck ironwood railing bleached out in less than a month - twice. Had to re-do with another product.
    Helpful(1) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
  9. 0.45
    Ease of Application
    10
    Ease of Penetration
    0
    Odor (Strong Odor=0
    0
    No Odor=10)
    60
    Initial Appearance
    0
    Resistance to Graying (After 1 Year)
    0
    Resistance to Peeling
    0
    Resistance to Mold & Mildew
    0
    Darkening
    20
    Ease of Cleanup
    0

    Terrible stain. Seems like we have to restain our deck every year…after we get the mold off. Gave it two years thinking needed to soak into our new wood but nope. Flake, peel and tons of mold. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

    + PROS: Looks ok right after application
    - CONS: Does not last more than one year on cedar rails/decking including covered areas. TONS of mold. Flacking peeling.
    Helpful(3) Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this

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