Cabot water based stain help!!

**Enfield Guy** · 7th November 2015, 02:33 PM

Gidday

For years I have been using Cabots water based stains, when staining is required. I have swatches for colour matching purposes when repairing or making and matching. In the past, I have always had a litre or so of each colour so that I can blend and match. I have had no need to do this for a few years as I have been relying on the natural colours of the timbers to get the effects I am looking for.

Now here is the kicker. I have taken on a job to remodel a dining table, and make 2 occasional tables from the balance of the top. I have made the frames from Tas Oak. The colour of the dining table is Cabots Southern Maple. A colour that I am a little low on, not quite enough to finish the job.

It seems that Cabots, in their wisdom, have changed the formula of the product and now rely on a tintable base which is milky in appearance, much like water based poly u. When tinted to the southern Maple colour by the sabots formula, the product is a completely different colour and has a sticky, paint like consistency.

Can anyone recommend a brand of water based stain that might get me out of strife? Or, does anyone have a can of the Cabots water based Southern Maple stain that they are happy to sell to me.

The alternative, I suppose, is to use another brand and blend till I get a good colour match. Not something I prefer to do.

All suggestions welcome.

Cheers
Bevan

**Wood Collector** · 7th November 2015, 08:33 PM

could you thin the stain with water to get it to the thickness that you require and can you change the amount of tint that you add to get the colour that you want without it being to thick?

**Enfield Guy** · 8th November 2015, 12:14 PM

Nup, I don't think thinning it will do the job. The appearance,opacity, texture and colour are vastly different.

**ubeaut** · 14th November 2015, 12:47 AM

Have you spoken to Cabots about this?

Do they possibly have any of the old original stain still kicking about? Ask them you never know.

I have had some of their water based stain for some years now and and what I have has always be a slightly sticky, paint like consistency.

Cheers - Neil

**Enfield Guy** · 14th November 2015, 08:43 AM

Yes Neil, I have spoken to Cabots. Even saw a rep, after they initially disbelieved what I was saying. I haven't been staining stuff for years, more than I thought it seems. I managed to find enough of my own stock to blend and get the colour I was looking for, so project saved.

I showed the rep the product I have and compared it to the stuff he brought around. Definite significant difference. It seems that those wanting to use a waterbed pigment stain in the future will be out of luck. No one that I can find make it anymore. Such a shame really, easy application, little to no blotching, easy clean up, no offensive smell, easy to blend and colour adjust. All of these things are no more. For me now the options are a turps based stain such as wattyl craftsman, or, don't take on colour matching jobs. I think I will be choosing the later.

Cheers
Bevan

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