Kerry Pianoforte, Editor02.12.21
COVID-19 has profoundly impacted all aspects of the paint and coatings industry. While some markets experienced slowdowns due to the shelter in place orders, others benefited from increased time at home. The market for consumer wood coatings experienced a surge in demand as homebound homeowners looked to update their surroundings to create a comforting space.
“As much of the world continues to shelter in place, homeowners have taken a closer look at their homes, evaluating how their home functions and how it makes them feel,” said Catie Landis, PPG senior marketing manager, Olympic stain. “Throughout the pandemic, homeowners have enjoyed spending time in their backyards, decks and balconies, which has helped spur a surge in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects nationwide, like staining.
Homeowners have used their excess time at home to tackle the projects that have long been on their to-do lists. During the pandemic, and readily armed with technology, a growing number of homeowners purchased wood stain supplies online for delivery to their house or for pickup in-store. Moving forward this year and beyond, PPG anticipates that homeowners will continue to prioritize staining projects, creating a home environment that looks refreshed and feels comforting.”
Rick Bautista, director of product marketing, Behr Paint Company, echoed these sentiments.
“Due to various stay-at-home orders across the country and widespread work-from-home arrangements, the pandemic has created more time and opportunity for homeowners to take on all types of projects – including wood coatings,” he said. “During this time, we have seen an appreciable increase in wood coating sales – both in-store and online – and we expect it to continue as home improvement projects remain top of mind. This growth has been seen to occur in both our exterior and interior wood care offerings.”
The professional wood coatings market did not bode as well. “Like many, the wood coatings market saw an immediate impact in second quarter 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Russell Bates, training implementation specialist at Benjamin Moore. “Not all states or cities listed wood finishing companies as essential, so there were some shutdowns. Most of that has since ended and companies are up and working and have been for many months. The biggest issue currently is demand, which is already beginning to recover and expected to grow in the near future.”
DIYers Driving Demand
In 2020, the exterior stain category was strong as PPG reported that the DIY segment was surging due to COVID-19. “Interior stain, which skews greatly towards the pros, PPG saw a similar impact as other residential based Pro categories,” said Landis. “In 2021, we expect to see a strong performance for exterior and interior will rebound as environmental conditions improve.”
Behr continues to see growth in the Millennial demographic, and particularly, first-time DIYers taking on new projects throughout the home. “Also, we have seen a significant increase in online sales and believe this trend will likely continue even after the pandemic,” Bautista said.
On the pro side, the key markets driving the market for wood coatings include new home construction, new and refinished hardwood floors and cabinet and furniture companies, according to Bates.
Customers’ Expectations
PPG’s research indicates that customers take on a staining project to protect or waterproof their wood surface. “Exterior staining is a project that customers are likely to tackle about every three years, and homeowners rely on professional recommendations and online product reviews to inform their product decisions,” Landis said. “In advance of taking on a wood stain project, we have found that DIYers are doing their research and are purposefully choosing to invest in high-quality sundries and stain products that have a reliable and trusted reputation. Customers are likely to invest in products that make the staining process seamless and deliver a long-lasting result.
“When it comes to exterior stain, today’s consumers are interested in products that offer durability and deliver on the claims on their label,” Landis continued. “They are in search of stain products with low-VOC properties and maintain premium performance attributes such as protection and appearance over the lifetime of the coating. OLYMPIC ELITE’s low-VOC [Colorants added to base stains may increase VOC levels significantly depending on color choice] formula features a proprietary PPG Urethane-fortified resin, originally developed to protect golf balls and vehicle bumpers from damage, that expertly balances the need for excellent protection with the desire to maintain the exceptional beauty of your wood project. Olympic MAXIMUM stain line makes planning an exterior stain project around weather easier by providing rain-ready protection in only 8 hours, damp wood application, and can be applied in temperatures ranging from as low as 35°F up to as high as 120°F.”
“Customers continue to demand wood coatings products that are durable, easy to apply, safe for the environment, easy to clean up, and provide excellent results,” said Bautista.
Environmental issues play a big role in product selection.
“The ask hasn’t really changed much – customers are looking for waterborne options,” said Bates. “VOC regulations and changes typically have an impact and affect some in their decisions, and they’re open to new products or options. With the need to withstand sanitizing type solvents and hand sanitizers, higher crosslinked films are the norm.”
Trends
Naturally, as we spend more time at home consumers are looking at ways to create a cozy living space.
“After an understandably stressful year, and because people are spending more time at home, consumers want to create a home that not only makes them feel comforted, but that also feels more spacious,” said Landis.
“Oftentimes, customers want stain colors that create an extension of their indoor and outdoor spaces, creating a deck or patio that seemingly extends their indoor living space and creates a private reprieve from the world. Similarly, consumers are shifting away from once-popular gray stains, and instead are choosing warmer, comforting, earthy-toned stains that help them feel connected to nature, especially while sheltering-in-place. Warmer wood tones instantly make any space feel more organic and lived-in, a characteristic that is fueling the momentum behind this growing trend.”
“Trends have remained pretty stable throughout the COVID crisis,” said Bates. “We are still seeing mostly pigmented systems, with some accent colors. Stains, when used, are pulling back from the darker, deeper tones to more mid-tone options. Blending of pigmented and clear wood finished pieces is becoming more popular.”
Color Trends
According to Bautista, the color trends of exterior wood stains tend to be tones such as brown, cedar, pine, and redwood. “We are also seeing a growing popularity in aged-grey tones,” he said. “Premix colors are proving to be most popular during the pandemic because it allows the customer to quickly “grab and go” their desired color off the shelf without being in the store for too long.”
“In terms of performance, weather conditions are important to the user to reduce or eliminate the effects of moisture, rain, UV, etc. on the wood surface. For example, our line of BEHR Premium Waterproofing Stains & Sealers resists rain four hours after application.”
Minwax recently announced its first-ever 2021 Color of the Year: Vintage Blue, a comforting organic color with a balance of green and renewing blue. Vintage Blue is the very first Color of the Year from Minwax, inspiring do-it-yourselfers to think of limitless color stain options when planning their next project.
“Capturing the stain color that reflects our evolving style at home is rooted in our desire to set a calmness and resilience as we move through the uncertainty,” said Sue Kim, Minwax color marketing manager. “Minwax now offers more color choices to express your personal style and bring out the beauty of wood.”
Kim described Vintage Blue as an organic color that balances nurturing green and renewing blue with subtle gray undertones. The hue creates a nostalgic mood and soothes with its natural strength, elevating everyday objects to new luxury.
Vintage Blue is one of the 240-plus color options available in Minwax Wood Finish Water-Based Color Stains, a line of water-based semi-transparent and new-to-the-world solid stains, offering the largest color assortment on the market.
The 2021 Color of the Year is complemented by a coordinating palette of Minwax color stains that includes White Frost, Amber, Carbonite, Denim Blue, as well as Classic Gray to help consumers make projects their own with more color combinations. Whether adding character to a cherished object or refurbishing an antique find, consumers can use Vintage Blue interior stain in place of paint to bring out wood’s inherent beauty while maintaining its texture.
New Products
Behr introduced BEHR Water-Based Stain & Poly in One allowing users to apply color and surface protection in one easy step. Also, Behr also launched a new line of BEHR Premium Exterior Penetrating Oil Stains. These products are available in Transparent and Semi-Transparent opacities with popular premix colors or base products tintable to a wide range of popular exterior colors.
Benjamin Moore is constantly working to innovate its products to ensure they are satisfying the needs of its customers. “While we are not able to provide details at this time, we are launching new bases in some products to obtain easier color matches and will also be launching new solutions in 2021 that look promising for wood customers,” said Bates.
PPG’s Olympic stain recently introduced a full lineup of interior wood products, including:
• Olympic Oil-Based Wood Finish: an oil-based interior stain with an advanced color penetration formula that evenly penetrates the wood surface. Ultra-fine pigments create a rich color appearance;
• Olympic Gel Stain: a no-drip, interior and exterior, slow-flowing gel stain intended for wood, metal and fiberglass. The ultra-fine pigments deliver a rich, uniform color;
• Olympic Water Based Wood Stain: a fast-drying, water-based interior wood stain, offering a rich and even stain color in just one coat. Its low odor formula can be cleaned with soap and water;
• Olympic Polyurethane: complete with advanced scratch resistance for long-lasting protection of wood surfaces, this polyurethane stain leaves a smooth and even finish;
• Olympic Ultra-Clear Polyurethane: an advanced polyurethane scratch resistant stain for long-lasting protection that also provides a smooth and even finish. With a fast-drying feature, the product can dry in 2 hours between coats;
• Olympic Spar Urethane: an all-weather friendly interior and exterior product, preventing fading and discoloration over time. It repels moisture and resists unsightly cracking and peeling.
“As much of the world continues to shelter in place, homeowners have taken a closer look at their homes, evaluating how their home functions and how it makes them feel,” said Catie Landis, PPG senior marketing manager, Olympic stain. “Throughout the pandemic, homeowners have enjoyed spending time in their backyards, decks and balconies, which has helped spur a surge in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects nationwide, like staining.
Homeowners have used their excess time at home to tackle the projects that have long been on their to-do lists. During the pandemic, and readily armed with technology, a growing number of homeowners purchased wood stain supplies online for delivery to their house or for pickup in-store. Moving forward this year and beyond, PPG anticipates that homeowners will continue to prioritize staining projects, creating a home environment that looks refreshed and feels comforting.”
Rick Bautista, director of product marketing, Behr Paint Company, echoed these sentiments.
“Due to various stay-at-home orders across the country and widespread work-from-home arrangements, the pandemic has created more time and opportunity for homeowners to take on all types of projects – including wood coatings,” he said. “During this time, we have seen an appreciable increase in wood coating sales – both in-store and online – and we expect it to continue as home improvement projects remain top of mind. This growth has been seen to occur in both our exterior and interior wood care offerings.”
The professional wood coatings market did not bode as well. “Like many, the wood coatings market saw an immediate impact in second quarter 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Russell Bates, training implementation specialist at Benjamin Moore. “Not all states or cities listed wood finishing companies as essential, so there were some shutdowns. Most of that has since ended and companies are up and working and have been for many months. The biggest issue currently is demand, which is already beginning to recover and expected to grow in the near future.”
DIYers Driving Demand
In 2020, the exterior stain category was strong as PPG reported that the DIY segment was surging due to COVID-19. “Interior stain, which skews greatly towards the pros, PPG saw a similar impact as other residential based Pro categories,” said Landis. “In 2021, we expect to see a strong performance for exterior and interior will rebound as environmental conditions improve.”
Behr continues to see growth in the Millennial demographic, and particularly, first-time DIYers taking on new projects throughout the home. “Also, we have seen a significant increase in online sales and believe this trend will likely continue even after the pandemic,” Bautista said.
On the pro side, the key markets driving the market for wood coatings include new home construction, new and refinished hardwood floors and cabinet and furniture companies, according to Bates.
Customers’ Expectations
PPG’s research indicates that customers take on a staining project to protect or waterproof their wood surface. “Exterior staining is a project that customers are likely to tackle about every three years, and homeowners rely on professional recommendations and online product reviews to inform their product decisions,” Landis said. “In advance of taking on a wood stain project, we have found that DIYers are doing their research and are purposefully choosing to invest in high-quality sundries and stain products that have a reliable and trusted reputation. Customers are likely to invest in products that make the staining process seamless and deliver a long-lasting result.
“When it comes to exterior stain, today’s consumers are interested in products that offer durability and deliver on the claims on their label,” Landis continued. “They are in search of stain products with low-VOC properties and maintain premium performance attributes such as protection and appearance over the lifetime of the coating. OLYMPIC ELITE’s low-VOC [Colorants added to base stains may increase VOC levels significantly depending on color choice] formula features a proprietary PPG Urethane-fortified resin, originally developed to protect golf balls and vehicle bumpers from damage, that expertly balances the need for excellent protection with the desire to maintain the exceptional beauty of your wood project. Olympic MAXIMUM stain line makes planning an exterior stain project around weather easier by providing rain-ready protection in only 8 hours, damp wood application, and can be applied in temperatures ranging from as low as 35°F up to as high as 120°F.”
“Customers continue to demand wood coatings products that are durable, easy to apply, safe for the environment, easy to clean up, and provide excellent results,” said Bautista.
Environmental issues play a big role in product selection.
“The ask hasn’t really changed much – customers are looking for waterborne options,” said Bates. “VOC regulations and changes typically have an impact and affect some in their decisions, and they’re open to new products or options. With the need to withstand sanitizing type solvents and hand sanitizers, higher crosslinked films are the norm.”
Trends
Naturally, as we spend more time at home consumers are looking at ways to create a cozy living space.
“After an understandably stressful year, and because people are spending more time at home, consumers want to create a home that not only makes them feel comforted, but that also feels more spacious,” said Landis.
“Oftentimes, customers want stain colors that create an extension of their indoor and outdoor spaces, creating a deck or patio that seemingly extends their indoor living space and creates a private reprieve from the world. Similarly, consumers are shifting away from once-popular gray stains, and instead are choosing warmer, comforting, earthy-toned stains that help them feel connected to nature, especially while sheltering-in-place. Warmer wood tones instantly make any space feel more organic and lived-in, a characteristic that is fueling the momentum behind this growing trend.”
“Trends have remained pretty stable throughout the COVID crisis,” said Bates. “We are still seeing mostly pigmented systems, with some accent colors. Stains, when used, are pulling back from the darker, deeper tones to more mid-tone options. Blending of pigmented and clear wood finished pieces is becoming more popular.”
Color Trends
According to Bautista, the color trends of exterior wood stains tend to be tones such as brown, cedar, pine, and redwood. “We are also seeing a growing popularity in aged-grey tones,” he said. “Premix colors are proving to be most popular during the pandemic because it allows the customer to quickly “grab and go” their desired color off the shelf without being in the store for too long.”
“In terms of performance, weather conditions are important to the user to reduce or eliminate the effects of moisture, rain, UV, etc. on the wood surface. For example, our line of BEHR Premium Waterproofing Stains & Sealers resists rain four hours after application.”
Minwax recently announced its first-ever 2021 Color of the Year: Vintage Blue, a comforting organic color with a balance of green and renewing blue. Vintage Blue is the very first Color of the Year from Minwax, inspiring do-it-yourselfers to think of limitless color stain options when planning their next project.
“Capturing the stain color that reflects our evolving style at home is rooted in our desire to set a calmness and resilience as we move through the uncertainty,” said Sue Kim, Minwax color marketing manager. “Minwax now offers more color choices to express your personal style and bring out the beauty of wood.”
Kim described Vintage Blue as an organic color that balances nurturing green and renewing blue with subtle gray undertones. The hue creates a nostalgic mood and soothes with its natural strength, elevating everyday objects to new luxury.
Vintage Blue is one of the 240-plus color options available in Minwax Wood Finish Water-Based Color Stains, a line of water-based semi-transparent and new-to-the-world solid stains, offering the largest color assortment on the market.
The 2021 Color of the Year is complemented by a coordinating palette of Minwax color stains that includes White Frost, Amber, Carbonite, Denim Blue, as well as Classic Gray to help consumers make projects their own with more color combinations. Whether adding character to a cherished object or refurbishing an antique find, consumers can use Vintage Blue interior stain in place of paint to bring out wood’s inherent beauty while maintaining its texture.
New Products
Behr introduced BEHR Water-Based Stain & Poly in One allowing users to apply color and surface protection in one easy step. Also, Behr also launched a new line of BEHR Premium Exterior Penetrating Oil Stains. These products are available in Transparent and Semi-Transparent opacities with popular premix colors or base products tintable to a wide range of popular exterior colors.
Benjamin Moore is constantly working to innovate its products to ensure they are satisfying the needs of its customers. “While we are not able to provide details at this time, we are launching new bases in some products to obtain easier color matches and will also be launching new solutions in 2021 that look promising for wood customers,” said Bates.
PPG’s Olympic stain recently introduced a full lineup of interior wood products, including:
• Olympic Oil-Based Wood Finish: an oil-based interior stain with an advanced color penetration formula that evenly penetrates the wood surface. Ultra-fine pigments create a rich color appearance;
• Olympic Gel Stain: a no-drip, interior and exterior, slow-flowing gel stain intended for wood, metal and fiberglass. The ultra-fine pigments deliver a rich, uniform color;
• Olympic Water Based Wood Stain: a fast-drying, water-based interior wood stain, offering a rich and even stain color in just one coat. Its low odor formula can be cleaned with soap and water;
• Olympic Polyurethane: complete with advanced scratch resistance for long-lasting protection of wood surfaces, this polyurethane stain leaves a smooth and even finish;
• Olympic Ultra-Clear Polyurethane: an advanced polyurethane scratch resistant stain for long-lasting protection that also provides a smooth and even finish. With a fast-drying feature, the product can dry in 2 hours between coats;
• Olympic Spar Urethane: an all-weather friendly interior and exterior product, preventing fading and discoloration over time. It repels moisture and resists unsightly cracking and peeling.
