on 7/21/2008 3:17 PM Boden said the following:
George wrote:
wrote:

Over the weekend, the wife and I put on Cabot 1407 opaque oil-based
stain on the floor of the deck. At the recommendation of the person
who recommended the stuff to her at Lowe's, she now wants to put on
Thompson's watersealer. Is this necessary? Cabot claims to be
waterproof.


Sorry to hear Cabots is now available in big box stores. I have
previously had good results with Cabot products. I wonder how much
the quality has gone down?

Thompsoms watersealer is testimony that if you market something
intensively even if it is the most useless concoction made people
will believe it works. Their "watersealer" is a complete waste of time.
Thompson's is little more than paraffin. I used it once almost 20
years ago and still regret it.

Cabot used to be a good product. I hope it still is.

My worry is that the big box stores seem to be able to convince
manufacturers to cheapen a product yet still retain the branding of
their formerly good product.

The big box stores get their profit from volume retail selling, which
also benefits the manufacturers for their volume wholesale selling, and
therefore, are willing to lower their wholesale prices to those big box
stores.
I've bought the same color Cabots from a small hardware/paint store and
also from the big box stores (Lowes). They are no different in quality
that I noticed.
BTW, the small stores, with their small storage areas, usually only
carry the Cabots base, and they have to tint it with the final color.
The big box stores carry the color stain already mixed.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
in the original Orange County
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