CS

"C & S"

18/04/2009 11:34 AM

Tip: Really really cheap spray "equipment"

My Swmbo is openning a small retail establishment in a couple of weeks.
Consequently, I have become "fixture-boy" for the last 6 weeks.

I just completed 12 feet of 7'-high shelving with 1/4" luan backs,
basically 3 large bookshelves. My finishing schedule calls for sealcoat
(shellac) fillowed by a coat of thinned poly.

I don't own any spray equipment, so brushing that first coat, especially
onto the thirsty luan was going to take some time.

On a whim, I decided to fill up a regulay spray bottle (like the kind for
ironing or misting your plants). I'll be damned.... it worked astoundingly
well. It's probably not suitable for a finish coat but perfectly acceptable
for a sealer.

For $2.50 I don't even feel like I have to clean it (although I did).

FWIW I thinned the sealcoat to a 1# cut.

-Steve


This topic has 4 replies

r

in reply to "C & S" on 18/04/2009 11:34 AM

19/04/2009 1:14 PM

On Apr 19, 2:09=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> On Apr 18, 8:33=A0pm, Robatoy <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > On Apr 18, 5:05=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
>
> > Hell, yes. A friend of mine sprayed his whole privacy fence that way.
> > Worked great. He used a piss-coat of Cetol, thinning it to about 50-50
> > then repeated it a few days later. That was 5 years ago. Looks pretty
> > darn spiffy today.
>
> Well there ya go.
>
> I think that when applying finish there is too much "stuff" in most
> folks minds. =A0For simple finish materials, there isn't much more than
> solvents, carriers (sometimes the same thing) and resins. =A0Not much to
> go wrong.
>
> Robert

Yep. I installed a wall of tongue and groove, bead board in our home
years ago. I wanted an oil finish so I loaded up a pump-spray bottle
with tung oil and it worked well. I soaked the wall well with the
bottle in one hand and followed with a well soaked rag in the other.
2-3 coats and it looked great. As nailshooter suggested, there is a
lot of "stuff" being offered to replace simplicity.

RonB

RC

Robatoy

in reply to "C & S" on 18/04/2009 11:34 AM

18/04/2009 7:33 PM

On Apr 18, 5:05=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Steve - might as well quit screwing around with it.
>
> Go to HD and buy their utility garden sprayer for $9.99. =A0It holds two
> gallons of material.
>
> Buy your poly (gloss is best for sealing, semi for finishing), thin by
> 50%, and adjust your little spray nozzle to the desired pattern.
> Pump her up and let her go.
>
> I used to seal closet shelves, backs of factory cabs that were really
> rough and unsealed and anything else I needed to reduce moisture
> movement or give just a bit of protection.
>
> This pump sprayer application method always resorted in gasps of
> disbelief by the unknowing, though. =A0The key is the really thin poly,
> it will shrink so much there is no sign of what sprayed it.
>
> Since most deck finishes are applied only on one side, this method is
> a great way to seal the unseen side of the wood as well and takes only
> a few minutes.
>
> As long as the top side stays open for a couple of months before
> applying a finish, the moisture will migrate to the top of he deck
> boards (wicking up as the exposed top dries out) and you won't have a
> problems with peeling.
>
> Robert

Hell, yes. A friend of mine sprayed his whole privacy fence that way.
Worked great. He used a piss-coat of Cetol, thinning it to about 50-50
then repeated it a few days later. That was 5 years ago. Looks pretty
darn spiffy today.

nn

in reply to "C & S" on 18/04/2009 11:34 AM

19/04/2009 12:09 PM

On Apr 18, 8:33=A0pm, Robatoy <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Apr 18, 5:05=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>

>
> Hell, yes. A friend of mine sprayed his whole privacy fence that way.
> Worked great. He used a piss-coat of Cetol, thinning it to about 50-50
> then repeated it a few days later. That was 5 years ago. Looks pretty
> darn spiffy today.

Well there ya go.

I think that when applying finish there is too much "stuff" in most
folks minds. For simple finish materials, there isn't much more than
solvents, carriers (sometimes the same thing) and resins. Not much to
go wrong.

Robert

nn

in reply to "C & S" on 18/04/2009 11:34 AM

18/04/2009 2:05 PM

Steve - might as well quit screwing around with it.

Go to HD and buy their utility garden sprayer for $9.99. It holds two
gallons of material.

Buy your poly (gloss is best for sealing, semi for finishing), thin by
50%, and adjust your little spray nozzle to the desired pattern.
Pump her up and let her go.

I used to seal closet shelves, backs of factory cabs that were really
rough and unsealed and anything else I needed to reduce moisture
movement or give just a bit of protection.

This pump sprayer application method always resorted in gasps of
disbelief by the unknowing, though. The key is the really thin poly,
it will shrink so much there is no sign of what sprayed it.

Since most deck finishes are applied only on one side, this method is
a great way to seal the unseen side of the wood as well and takes only
a few minutes.

As long as the top side stays open for a couple of months before
applying a finish, the moisture will migrate to the top of he deck
boards (wicking up as the exposed top dries out) and you won't have a
problems with peeling.

Robert


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