Benjamin Moore Arborcoat was under testing for review at Topcoat Review for over a year before any assessment for publication was produced. We watched the weathering patterns on the test project through four seasons of observation. At that point, it was submitted for publication in American Painting Contractor magazine.
In addition to the main project under study for review, we thought it would be good to run some gallons of the semi-solid version of Arborcoat on about a half a mile of cedar in our shop, for a new construction project. Due diligence. This product was not provided to us by the manufacturer. It was purchased for our professional project by the end user.
By continuing to cycle test products through different stages of projects at different times, and even in different sheens or types within the same line, we begin to get a more complete picture of the product technology as a whole.
As an exterior oil stain user for most of my life, I had never had positive experiences with any waterborne exterior stains prior to this, with the exception of Cabot ProVT. Arborcoat is a bit more intriguing though, because of the number of variations within the product line.
Also, if any readers of Blogging Painters have experience with Arborcoat, please leave a reply in the comment section below. I would like to hook up with other professional Arborcoat users that I might be able to quote in my APC article.
It is always helpful to have additional shared experiences about products, and Arborcoat has certainly yielded different results for different folks. Please contribute to our ongoing knowledge base. Thanks.
Editor’s note: Scott published an update to his findings on Arborcoat at TopCoat Review
Editor’s note: Scott published an in depth review in the July 2012 American Painting Contractor