# Arborcoat Semi Transparent Stain



## NEPS.US

We have this house on the ocean that had cedar shingles pre-dipped with Cabot's Bleaching Oil that are about six years old. The Bleaching Oil attracts mold and mildew very badly. We stripped, rinsed with ox and sanded out any left over streaking. 

The HO wants a better alternative to have the same look as the Bleaching Oil with out the mold/mildew issues.


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## NEPS.US

This is two coats of Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Semi Transparent stain in Silver gray. Sprayed and backbrushed twice. Very tedious. My guys did a tremendous job with this one. 

We are trimming it out now but I had to share this Arborcoat experience. Those of you on the northeast know what a hard time we have with Bleaching Oil on shakes. 

Great product. Looking forward to tracking how it weather's.


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## PatsPainting

Damn - Did the whole house look like the last picture where it's all black? If so that's a chit load of mold.

Pat


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## PatsPainting

Wow, what a freaking difference. Nice job!! 

Pat


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## NEPS.US

PatsPainting said:


> Damn - Did the whole house look like the last picture where it's all black? If so that's a chit load of mold.
> 
> Pat


Thats what it looks like with the stripper applied to it. In the picture above you can see the back of the garage and see it dry/before. But there were some very heavy areas in other sections of the house.


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## Different Strokes

nice job. Can't help but be a little partial to the look of the cabots oil in those pics. Just don't see that everyday. Then again, you don't see mold like that everyday either.


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## RCP

Wowser, what a difference, I really like the natural color of the shakes, but then when I got to the finished pics, I loved it! Kudos to your crew!


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## Schmidt & Co.

Great looking job Chris! Should make for some great before and after pictures on the new web-site! :thumbsup:


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## 6126

Nice. What did you use to strip it?


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## NEPS.US

BM Restore and Bleach. Pretty heavy concentrate.


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## straight_lines

That is an amazing transformation Neps.


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## doctors11

Beautiful transition. My only question is that the instructions say to apply only 1 coat. Aren't you concerned of the second coat not being able to penatrate and eventually peeling?


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## ezpaintks

Awesome! Great job.....good to hear about the product too. Hope to hear the "updates" on how it holds up for sure.


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## NEPS.US

doctors11 said:


> Beautiful transition. My only question is that the instructions say to apply only 1 coat. Aren't you concerned of the second coat not being able to penatrate and eventually peeling?


There is nothing about the second coat failing or not being able to penetrate on the can or the TDS. The first coat absorbed fantastic and the second coat penetrated and dried perfectly. No worries for over application and flashing in this case. 

Dont forget this product is still a 60% alkyd product and does not react like a typical latex stain. The only concern I had was in over applying that we would alter the look of the stain and lose the "semi-transparent" look.


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## doctors11

Can't tell from the pictures...did it still look like a semi trans?


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## NEPS.US

doctors11 said:


> Can't tell from the pictures...did it still look like a semi trans?


Yes. Just enough cedar popping through and I am confident that the shingles have enough coverage for protection for a long lasting finish. 

I would suggest asking your rep for a sample gallon and brushing out different types of wood and see the differneces in coverage, absorption and look.


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## ReNt A PaInTeR

Looks Good Neps


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## Lambrecht

Looks great! That was some crazy mold is that common in your area?


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## NEPS.US

Lambrecht said:


> Looks great! That was some crazy mold is that common in your area?


That was a combination of mold and mildew from the bleaching oil (linseed oil) and how the stripper reacted and worked on the shingles. They went from gray to black once it was squirted with the stripper.


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## Different Strokes

Neps, did it take much pressure to clean the shakes once the stripper had a chance to work, or did it rinse fairly easy? Nice work btw, didn't want you to take my previous post the wrong way.


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## NEPS.US

Different Strokes said:


> Neps, did it take much pressure to clean the shakes once the stripper had a chance to work, or did it rinse fairly easy? Nice work btw, didn't want you to take my previous post the wrong way.


I didnt. 

Not much pressure at all. The machine we used was a 4000psi, 4gpm direct drive and the white, 40 degree tip. Simple rinse. 

The part that really sucked was that someone took the downstreamer off the unit and it was in another truck 60 miles away. I had two guys with backpack garden spayers applying the solution while I washed.


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## Workaholic

I love the natural look but the semi looks great! Nice job. :thumbsup: I would be interested into see how it looks after the elements start sticking to it again.


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## NCPaint1

Yeah, the BM 315 stripper seems to be one of the hotter strippers readily available. Im sure that there are hotter ones out there, just not as readily available, or you have to blend it yourself. For a product right off the shelf, im pretty impressed.


On the first home,I wonder if you could go with the bleaching oil again, followed by a coat of BM 636 clear to help protect from the mildew? Just thinking out loud. BM used to make a bleaching oil, but I dont know if they still do....I cant find info on it. Either way, the Cabots oil followed by a coat of protective clear just may do the trick.


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## straight_lines

Dang seeing that job makes me want to do a cedar house on the islands now.


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## NEPS.US

NCPaint1 said:


> Yeah, the BM 315 stripper seems to be one of the hotter strippers readily available. Im sure that there are hotter ones out there, just not as readily available, or you have to blend it yourself. For a product right off the shelf, im pretty impressed.
> 
> 
> On the first home,I wonder if you could go with the bleaching oil again, followed by a coat of BM 636 clear to help protect from the mildew? Just thinking out loud. BM used to make a bleaching oil, but I dont know if they still do....I cant find info on it. Either way, the Cabots oil followed by a coat of protective clear just may do the trick.


The 315 was nice.

All of those pictures are of the same home. Before/after pics.


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## NEPS.US

Nice shot of the back over the marsh.


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## NCPaint1

NEPS.US said:


> The 315 was nice.
> 
> All of those pictures are of the same home. Before/after pics.


I wasn't sure from the first set. I take it you matched the "bleached " look in the semi trans. That's sweet. Did you use the clear coat too? You said you double coated the semi-transparent, would the semi-solid have given a similar result with only one coat?


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## NEPS.US

NCPaint1 said:


> I wasn't sure from the first set. I take it you matched the "bleached " look in the semi trans. That's sweet. Did you use the clear coat too? You said you double coated the semi-transparent, would the semi-solid have given a similar result with only one coat?


It might of but the way the shingles sucked in the first coat I dont think I would of felt comfortable finishing the job with one coat. Maybe I dont have enough experience with semi's but in this case we were going for look and performance. I really dont think one coat of the semi solid would of given us the results that we wanted. 

This was my first time with Arborcoat Semi Trans and the HO and myself are thrilled with the results.


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## PatsPainting

I thought the Arborcoat Semi Trans is a two part system that requires a clear. The semi solid and solid do not. 

Pat


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## TJ Paint

Nice looking job Neps.


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## NCPaint1

PatsPainting said:


> I thought the Arborcoat Semi Trans is a two part system that requires a clear. The semi solid and solid do not.
> 
> Pat


Yes :yes: It doesnt "require" the clear, but it is recommended. The clear should be applied annually. It makes sense. Keep the color intact and maintain with the clear coat. Let the clear coat be the sacrificial coat. 

Its less costly in most cases to maintain something rather than let it go 2-3 years, then a full strip and redo. Not to mention if you were to do maintenance coats with the tinted stain ( like most other products recommend ) the color gets darker.


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## straight_lines

Its require for decks. 



> As a complete system for decks the ARBORCOAT stain must be top coated with ARBORCOAT Waterborne Protective Clear Coat (636).


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## straight_lines

Is it weird that I can't stop looking at these pics? Loves me some cedar, and its a shame to see so many new homes now built with vinyl shakes instead.


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## doctors11

NCPaint1, do you have any thoughts on doubling up on the coats? Any concerns? OK to do it on decks before clear coating?

Thanks


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## TheRogueBristle

NCPaint1 said:


> Yes :yes: It doesnt "require" the clear, but it is recommended. The clear should be applied annually. It makes sense. Keep the color intact and maintain with the clear coat. Let the clear coat be the sacrificial coat.
> 
> Its less costly in most cases to maintain something rather than let it go 2-3 years, then a full strip and redo. Not to mention if you were to do maintenance coats with the tinted stain ( like most other products recommend ) the color gets darker.


I was wondering about the maintenance schedule for arbor coat. This is what what BM recommends? What clear? I've always just gone back with the original semi-trans stain after two or three years. 

And very nice work NEPS, that is a classic look.


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## NCPaint1

doctors11 said:


> NCPaint1, do you have any thoughts on doubling up on the coats? Any concerns? OK to do it on decks before clear coating?
> 
> Thanks


I treat it like any normal semi-trans. If you 2 coat, wet on wet coats. As far as the clear, BM recommends a maintenance coat every year. The idea is to keep the stain looking good and let the clear weather off.


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## NCPaint1

TheRogueBristle said:


> I was wondering about the maintenance schedule for arbor coat. I've always just gone back with the original semi-trans stain after two or three years.


That works too, except with most products the color gets darker every application unless removed prior.


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## Paint and Hammer

Hey, just saw this...nice job NEPS. 

It's cool to do such a drastic transformation.


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## TERRY365PAINTER

Yep very nice I would love to do a job 
Like that .


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