Cabot's Benchtop Clear
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Chose this product in satin to rejuvenate tired kitchen benchtops. Followed directions - applying with a short nap roller, and brush for the trims. Concerned after first coat when parts of the job looked milky rather than clear. Upon contacting Vinnie (online project support) I was advised to use a hair dryer on it (residual moisture). Anyway,… Read more · 1
worked a treat. Much improved benchtops after third coat applied. Really like the fact that there is minimal odour associated with it. 1 Litre more than covered it (probably 200 ml left).
Wanting to check compatabilities – It's a question rather than a review: I've use the cabots waterbased clear benchtop a few times in recent years, and it has been wonderful. Easy to apply, easy to recoat, and durable. I'm about to seal a newly installed wooden "live edge" benchtop with it. There are also cavities in the wood that I wish to fill with resin. The resin that I'm… Read more · 1
looking to purchase is GemRez CR. It's made by Gemco, I think, and is a 2:1 mix. I've been recommended it because it's designed for deeper cavities, and doesn't "yellow" with time. Are the two products likely to be compatible? Thanks for your advice
Milky – Just put the satin on. It’s all milky. Hoping it dries clear. Update. Rainy and humid day. Should have waited longer for it to dry - was 6 hours and still some milky. Show details · 1
Great varnish. Bad tin – Very impressed. Water based & fast drying. Have used it on kitchen benches & kids furniture, with brilliant results. The tin falls apart when it sees a rubber maul. I will continue buying it though. Show details · 2
Used it on my woodturned bowls and knife handles – I have used this product many times with complete success on my wood turning. At least 3 and sometimes 4 coats. I use my bowls for salads etc, and while this is not a recommended use, it works well. I used 6 coats on a number of ebony knife handles I made with spectacular appearance and longevity at present. The kitchen knives are used on a… Read more · 1
regular basis, of course they NEVER see the inside of a dishwasher!! ( no timber items ever should). The nature of the surfaces I use it on is, of course new sanded timber.
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Great product for natural timbers – I decided on the Cabots benchtop gloss as I had built a waterfall bar/table/sit stand desk from a 3.8m slab of aged Sydney Blue Gum. I filled in the wormholes etc with crushed red and green glass and casting resin. After planing and belt sanding down to 240 grade I did 3 coats in the 2 hour wait window (ie 6 hours) on a nice, sunny, dry day. The… Read more · 1
product does say wait 14 days and nearly a month for food. However, i used it with coasters after a day. I did slightly scratch it due to my impatience but only I can see it. I intend to leave for a month or so and do a quick 300 grade sand and add a 4th coat. I am very happy with this product as it showcases the natural timber. Others may want a more natural, matt finish but as the resin was glossy I decided to really flaunt all the natural features. Highly recommended.
Everything looks okay so far – I have no issues with this product. I did see some milky on a couple of coats but it was raining and very humid. After sanding and applying another couple of coats there isn't an issue. For the first coat I used norglass wood preservative epoxy to seal the timber and then serveal coats of Benchtop Clear. I have no issues with the benchtops… Read more · 1
including the laundry at the moment. I hope it wears well as stated on the can. But so far great look to outdoor table and laundry benchtop. Ps I applied 6 coats.
Product goes milky – Have used this product multiple times with no issue. We just redid our kitchen and applied this as a top coat on Cabinet doors. Had one old tin and one new bought May 2022. We used up the old old tin first and the used the new tin all done the same day. Result was old tin was perfect, new tin came up when dried with heaps of milky streaks in it. … Read more
Went to Bunnings manly West and they advised best to call the Cabot Number which I did. Was put through to a Technical person and explained the problem. Unfortunately the person was not interested instead blaming it on factors which were not relevant and did not listen to what I had explained. Was quick to blame it on humid weather as he said, and my ability, also he said you live in Brisbane so that’s a likely cause.
I explained that I used 2 different tins one good one was not, but he was not interested.
He also said why am I calling Cabot’s with this issue, said Bunnings should deal with it. Anyways as he insisted on talking over me and getting stroppy, not using logic, the conversation got heated so I disconnected the call.
Unfortunately we have 21 Cabinet doors that have to be re-sanded and-repainted.
My view it it is a bad batch.
I did ask the tech to send me an email so I had a record of the call and to provide a reference number, He declined. I asked nicely again and again but he was arrogant and refused to give me any form of ticket number or email. The problem for me is how one deals with these product inquiries and in my view he needs training or should not deal with customers
I’ll put a claim in via Bunnings
Amazing product – This is a great product I used it on my dining room table after restoring it in my office table. Did three coats waiting a day in between and sanding, did not find it milky unless I applied to much in which case I then just spread it around the table and it went clear.I allowed to cure 30 days as per instructions and have no issues. Would highly… Read more · 1
recommend. This was applied after already applying three coats of a clear varnish on the items. I applied using an old rag rather than a brush as I did not want the brushstrokes appearing in my final result.
Awful product. Surface becomes sticky over time – We moved into a rental where this product had been applied to the kitchen counters some years before. Yes, we are sure it was this product. The counter is sticky to the touch, but only in high-use areas that are frequently cleaned. If you leave a mug of hot coffee on the counter for 5 min, it sticks to the surface and pulls some of the coating… Read more
away. There are now pock-marked craters all over high-use areas where the coating has peeled off completely.
Hi there Steven H, Thank you for your time in reviewing… Read more
Problem with oil penetration after a few days – Easy to apply, no ordor and dries fast BUT ... I used Cabots Benchtop Clear Satin on jarrah benchtop previous coating unknown. Sanded down to fresh timber, applied 4 coats, drying and light sanding in between coats - it started out looking fantastic but with use it looks as if oil is penetrating the coating and causing a darker blotches in the… Read more
wood. It is water resistant. I now notice a small note on the can saying "Fully cure 14 days" and "We recommend waiting 28 days before contact with food". We waited one day before use. The blotchy problem seems to be getting worse – its now 3 weeks since final coat. It looks as if I have to re-sand and recoat with something else? Not happy.
Hello there Greg T, Thank you for taking the time to… Read more (+2 replies)
Worked exactly as advertised – Beautiful coating on our new beech kitchen bench tops. Did three coats, 2hr apart, sanding in between with 240 grit sand paper. Seemed quite dry an hour after the last coat but we waited 24hr before doing the cooktop/sink install. Show details · 1
Dries a milky white on to timber – I have tried three different tins of this to coat a benchtop of hardwood unfortunately it dries a milky white, it doesn’t dry clear. it’s very disappointing I have sanded the timber back and tried again each time the finish ends up being a milky colour. thinking it might have been one tin I brought another and tried to again I am making sure that… Read more
I don’t apply this when it’s cold or hot, but it doesn’t seem to matter the finished look is a milky white. I then brought more timber and a third tin, again there was a milky white finish. very disappointed in this
Hello Kerry, Thank you for reaching out to Cabot's via… Read more
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Poor water resistance – Used the Benchtop clear to coat amour new benchtop after 3 coats of stain. Have sanded between coats and applied 3 coats of the clear. Water droplets sitting for 30 sec leaves a white stain on the benchtop Really unhappy about the quality. Trying to see alternatives on how I can get rid of current one and then apply a different brand. If I had… Read more
an option for refund, would love to get it back.
A definite no - I will not recommend using it on kitchen benchtops (where water droplets will fall)
Hi Sumanth We're sorry to hear that your experience with… Read more
Absorbs water – I applied 3 x coats to a bathroom bench as advised by Bunnings. This is probably the big mistake. Any water splashes are absorbed into the bench after a little while. Not good for bathroom areas. Probably not the varnish - but wrong product for the wrong application. Please educate bunnigs staff on your products. Show details
Hi James, Thanks for your review. Sorry to hear that you… Read more
Disappointing – I used Cabots's Benchtop Clear on an old table. I was meticulous in removing the old varnish so that not a trace of that remained. I followed all of the instructions for Cabot's Benchtop Clear allowing correct drying time between coats and applied three coats. The table always felt sticky and the coating began to lift off in the high use end of… Read more
the table. In the past we had always used a raffia mat under any hot pot put on the table without any trouble. With the new Cabot's product using only one mat on the table under a hot pot the surface became damp and sticky. And even when using two mats under a hot pot the table felt sticky. So it is not very heat resistant. After 10 months the table looked quite bad as the surface was beginning to lift off. So now I have re-sanded the table and applied a turps based product. So I am sorry to say Cabot's Benchtop Clear didn't work out well for me in my circumstances.
Hi Harriet, Thanks so much for the detail there. I am… Read more (+1 reply)
Benchtop clear of use in a kitchen. Just let it cure for a few days – I've applied the Cabot's Benchtop Clear to the sanded wooden surfaces in my kitchen, including around the sink area with 4 coats, long time drying in between. If you read other reviews below it shows the problem with white staining has been experienced by many who have used the product. It is misleading to find a tick for Food Safety on the… Read more · 2
tin. Unfortunately I only found out the problem with staining and apparently not being waterproof, but water resistant, after I experienced the same. I've received an explanation from Cabots and after curing for a few days, no more problems.
Great product – This is fast drying low odour and a great product for my kitchen bench as it is food safe. I applied 3 coats in one day as it is quick drying. Only advice I would give is use a good quality brush (as it is thin product and dries quickly) in order to maintain consistency of brushwork. I usually hate the smell of treating wood as it gives me a headache but this had little to no odour at all
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Hello Swaziau1 Thank you for reaching out to us at… Read more