So I was at the paint store yesterday...(stain benchmarking question)

[decker]

So I was at the paint store today, looking to see what stains people are carrying, went to 7 different shops and only one had a guy who knew something about wood staining, he tells me he likes the Para Raincoat. He said he did a test with sikkens srd vs the rain coat, by putting them on paper and seeing how many sheets they penetrate. He said the sikkens sat on top, and the para penetrated (i dont remember how many pages).

If you have any experience with any of these stains (using it over a couple of years and had consistent good results), I would appreciate your input.

I am determining which semis and solids I will be using this year. If you have any experience with any of these stains (using it over a couple of years and had consistent good results), I would appreciate your input.

Here are the candidates:

Semis (all oils):

1) Sikkens Cetol SRD (I like this, because of one coat and past experience)
2) Flood CWF-UV5 (advertised with their 'special' penetrol formula)
3) PARA Raincoat ('translucent' finish and linseed oil base)
4) Floodpro Semi-transparent or wood tones oil (why do they have so many different products?!?!)

Solid:
1) Cabots solid colour oil decking stain
2) CIL solid oil (its from home cheapo, but had good experience with it)

[Tegrey]

Decker,
Our choice is Flood products. We use the most in our county. Flood CWF-UV5, Solid stains and toners. We also have been a tester for Flood for a few years. They are dependable if preped correctly.

[cande]

I have used some Flood's Solid with the Emulsabond in it and I like it. It is my solid of choice. No priming, good hiding, dries pretty fast, easy clean up. When I need a solid - that's it.

[Tonyg]

Terry,

How does the Flood compare with the SW Deckscapes for solid acrylics?

[cande]

I haven't had to strip Flood's solid (SWF-Solid) yet. Is it bad?

[Tegrey]

Tonyg, I believe the Flood is better hands down. Flood also owns the additives they use as emulsa bond. Great stuff. SW is pretty good but doesn't have the same adheashion and holds color better. We'll use SW in a bind.
Cande, I don't even try to strip it any more. I always sell a solid stain with a solid stain. As long as we get anything loose off using Flood with EB will be OK.

[cande]

Cande, I don't even try to strip it any more. I always sell a solid stain with a solid stain. As long as we get anything loose off using Flood with EB will be OK.

That's what I do as long as they want another solid. I was wondering for that customer who may what to go back to a semi later or something.

[decker]

I am skeptical on using a stain that is acrylic (that is the floods solid). Have you ever compared to cabots solid?

[cande]

I am skeptical on using a stain that is acrylic (that is the floods solid). Have you ever compared to cabots solid?

I have not tried the Cabot Solid - you mean the oil right?

[decker]

of course!

[cande]

I heard that Cabot was bought out by Valspar which doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

[schrec]

Try the Ready Seal semi, from Sunbrite. It is virtually unscrewupable, goof proof.

[PressurePros]

Try the Ready Seal semi, from Sunbrite. It is virtually unscrewupable, goof proof.

I hear this again and again yet when a contractor complains that the product (or similar types of nondrying oils) doesn't produce desired results I read the same people saying "you didn't apply it right, or heavy enough, or you didn't prep right", etc. that's not "goof proof" by any stretch.

Decker, when I read your paint store guy's test as to product viability I nearly lost my breakfast. Applying to paper is like testing the ride of a Mercedes by reading a brochure. Penetration speed and depth on pieces of paper are meaningless. I know you are in Canada so you have limited product acquisition capability. Personally I would not touch any of the products you listed.. especially the Flood stuff. Its consumer crap here in the northeast. I have played with the Sikkens SRD and it used to be decent. After formulation changes a few years ago, its a flash drying, under-pigmented and overall lousy sealer. You may have a different product in Canada?

Steer clear of any product containing high amounts of silicone or acrylic. They are maintenance nightmares.

[Beth n Rod]

I hear this again and again yet when a contractor complains that the product (or similar types of nondrying oils) doesn't produce desired results I read the same people saying "you didn't apply it right, or heavy enough, or you didn't prep right", etc. that's not "goof proof" by any stretch.

Decker, when I read your paint store guy's test as to product viability I nearly lost my breakfast. Applying to paper is like testing the ride of a Mercedes by reading a brochure. Penetration speed and depth on pieces of paper are meaningless. I know you are in Canada so you have limited product acquisition capability. Personally I would not touch any of the products you listed.. especially the Flood stuff. Its consumer crap here in the northeast. I have played with the Sikkens SRD and it used to be decent. After formulation changes a few years ago, its a flash drying, under-pigmented and overall lousy sealer. You may have a different product in Canada?

Steer clear of any product containing high amounts of silicone or acrylic. They are maintenance nightmares.

+1!

Beth

[decker]

gotcha, thanks for the advice. I actually saw the experiment, and interestingly enough it was being pushed by penofin. That is there was a binder with penofin branding, and the paper that had the test done had penofin branding on it as well. What do you make of that?

The main thing I am interested in finding out about is if anyone has experience or knowledge about Para's Raincoat translucent stain. heres the link to their site with that stain:

PARA Paints - Our Products