• Cabot produces a number of wood stain colors to accentuate your wood products.wood texture image by PaulPaladin from Fotolia.com
  
  The Cabot company was originally formed in 1877 by American chemist Samuel Cabot. Today, the company produces hundreds of products for interior and exterior wood, include surface preparation, color staining and sealing or finishing products. Cabot offers a variety of types of colors, as well as color choices, to enable customers to match the wood stain to their ideal circumstances.
  
  

Color Types

• The Cabot company offers three main types of stain: Ready Mix, Custom Tint and Polystain.
  
  The 20 Ready Mix products are designed to be applied directly from the can. Customers select their color and follow instructions to apply it to their wood; there is no further tinting, mixing or other maintenance. Cabot provides Ready Mix products in three sheens: satin, semi-gloss, gloss; the sheen needed for the best look of the wood will vary depending on the type of wood, as well as the use of the wood (deck, furniture, etc.).
  
  There are 56 Custom Tint colors that enable the customer to choose more specific adjustments. These colors will be mixed and tinted by Cabot professionals at the retailer. These colors also come in satin, semi-gloss and gloss sheens.
  
  Polystain products combine color staining of other Cabot products with the protective finishing power of polyurethane. Instead of staining and then finishing, these products complete the two steps in one application. This type of stain is also available in the three sheens.
  
  Some Ready Mix products are also available as Custom Tint products, for those who wish to tweak Ready Mix colors.
  
  Remember that the color and sheen may appear different on your wood; the final stain colors can vary, depending on the type of wood, original color of the wood, grain direction and texture.
  
  

Exterior Colors

• Exterior colors come in a variety of opacity, which determines how well you will be able to see the original wood color through the stain.
  
  Clear and translucent exterior products provide a water-resistant finish with little to no color change over the original wood. The lack of color within the stain allows the wood's texture and grain to show through. Most of these products are light-colored, including Crystal Clear, Cedar and Natural.
  
  Semi-transparent wood stains provide light pigmentation that can enhance the details in the wood's texture and grain. Nearly 100 semi-transparent stains are available, ranging in color from deep Federal Blue to light Beachgrass.
  
  Semi-solid colors add a deeper pigment, significantly changing the color and hiding most of the wood grain. Some of the original texture of the wood will still show through. These stains can be light-colored, like Snowfield, and run all the way through deep Black.
  
  Finally, Solid colors completely cover the original look of the wood. These colors provide the best protection to the wood, since they completely mask the original grain and texture. These colors can be light-colored despite the heavy application; Linen and Milkweed are two such colors. However, most products in this section are deeper grays, greens and blues.
  
  

Interior Colors

• Interior colors are available as Ready Mixes, Custom Tints or Polystains.
  
  There are only six colors available as Polystain: Dark Oak, Fruitwood, Golden Oak, Maple, Walnut and Pecan. All of these are also available as Ready Mixes, but not as Custom Tints.
  
  The Ready Mixes include 20 colors, while the Custom Tints feature more than 50 colors; the tinting process allows for a larger variety.