303 Products Fabric Guard – Restores Water Repellency 30606CSR

Brief summary: This stuff WORKS to keep outdoor sectional cushions dry. In a comparison of 303 Fabric Guard and Rust-Oleum 278146 NeverWet 11-Ounce Outdoor Fabric Spray, Clear, both are great but 303 is the winner on application, cost efficiency, drying time, look and feel.

OVERALL WINNER: 303

EASE OF APPLICATION: 303
– Rustoleum feels less greasy when wet than 303. The 303 bottle leaked more my hands.
– 303’s compact spray setting wasted less product than the mist setting on either product. Compact spray still gave an even coating like the mist, and wasted less product.
– Both products made cushions appear damp when treated, so it was easy to see where the product was applied.
– 303 left less troublesome bubbles than Rustoleum.

SCENT: Rustoleum
– Both scents are very strong. Apply outdoors.
– Rustoleum is pleasantly scented rather than unmasked chemical smell.

COST EFFICIENCY: 303
– Both products covered less area than they promised. 303 was farther off from its promise than Rustoleum, but still came out cheaper per square foot of coverage.
– Rustoleum promised 20-60 square feet of coverage fabric per 11oz at $15. Expected cost: $0.25 to $0.75/square foot.
-303 promised 80-200 square feet of coverage per 32oz at $22. Expected cost: $0.11 to $0.27/square foot.
– My cushions have a textured heavy fabric. I applied according to instructions, dampening but not saturating the fabric with the product. My 4-piece outdoor sectional with seat and back cushions had 67 square feet of cushion.
– One 11oz, $15 bottle of Rustoleum gave 11 square feet of coverage. $1.36 per square foot.
– Two 32oz, $22 bottles of 303 covered 56 square feet. $0.78 per square foot.

DRYING TIME: 303
– 303 required 6-12 hours before use depending on temperature and sunlight.
– Rustoleum required 24 hours before exposure to water.
– I left both products to dry overnight outside, 70-75 degrees, on a dry night.
– Within 3 hours, the 303 cushions started to look dry. After 5 hours, the Rustoleum cushions still looked wet. In the morning both looked totally dry.

LOOK AND FEEL WHEN DRY: 303
– Neither product changed the color or appearance of the cushions, or caused a change in feel noteworthy enough to outweigh the waterproofing benefits.
– Smell: 303’s was gone within 12 hours, and Rustoleum’s was gone after 24 hours.
– Feel: Both products make the upholstery feel slightly thicker and stiffer.
– Texture: Rustoleum has a very slightly rubbery, almost tacky feel while the 303 cushions do not.
– Cleaning: Because of the tackiness of the Rustoleum cushions, dirt and pollon stick slightly more, but are easily wiped off with a damp paper towel.

WATERPROOFING: Rustoleum, but barely
– Both treatments almost completely waterproofed the cushions.
– Dew: Morning dew beads up on both 303 and Rustoleum cushions. It can be brushed off completely from the Rustoleum cushions, and can be brushed off with very few droplets soaking in on the 303 cushions. Both are totally dry within an hour of sunlight exposure.
– Rain: At the end 2 hours of rain during the day, there was pooling and beading of water on both cushions. After shaking and brushing off the water from the cushions, both were left mildly damp, and were dry and ready to use within 2 hours.
– Spills: a full cup of water spilled on either cushion pools, beads, and runs off the sides. After using a paper towel to soak up what remained and brushing off droplets, the cushions were totally dry with no soaking-in through either product. An accidental watermelon spill on a 303 cushion cleaned easily by blotting with a dry paper towel the wiping with a wet paper towel. No word yet on red wine or other spills, but I will update if/when they happen.
– Too soon to tell how well it will last.

It’s the only product I use to waterproof my Ranger boat cover on an annual basis. Absolutely the best for my use, would work well on anything needing waterproofing.

Better coverage than competitors but costly

303 makes great automotive-grade products for care detailing. I LOVE their interior protectant, and this exterior protectant works great on convertible tops, too, if it’s layered. Otherwise, it won’t repel water on a convertible top the way that you want it to. I recommend getting it in a gallon size and that way, you can really layer it on. With a spray bottle like this, you’ll be pumping for days. It works if layered on the convertible top, but it takes a lot more time to use a spray bottle than if used in gallon form via a pump sprayer.

Used many times before definitely one of the best I’ve found.
Only downside this time was the trigger isn’t working properly.