Your Method of Sealing?

[Greg Rentschler]

Over the years we have tried various different methods of effectively applying sealants to decks, fencing, etc... At this point I think we have a pretty good solution using airless sprayers and tarps with a little 4 mil plastic here and there. I am curious what everyones preferred method is and what tricks and tips you use.


*** Our method - 4 X 12 canvas tarps and spring clamps to shield the railings and spray 3 sides of the rail/ spindle system from the outside in. While doing so another guy is cutting in around the house. Then we tarp off the outside to spray the remaining inside perimeter of the rail.

OUR TRICK IS FOR THE FLOOR - Using a 517 spray tip we reverse it (the tip is on the cleaning side) and apply the sealant to the deck. This allows us to apply a large quantity of sealer (based on the pressure set) to the floor efficiently. Actually I discovered this by accident but it works so much better than to spray in high pressure mode. It's almost like having your airless and shurflo pump in one unit.

Lets here some input from you folks.

Greg Rentschler - TimberSeal

 

[JR Wood]

Shruflo for thin oil based,
Airless for semi trans stains and water based sealers(Raincoat,Cabot) maybe a solid on a rail system every once in a while.

Greg I cut out a 2.5 X 3.5 piece of luan with a hole for a handle and attach a sheet or a cut piece of that disposable dropcloth on it and when I do the inside rail facing out I just hold it over the rail and spray into it.It was a strain at first but now I can fly.

 

[Jon Fife]

great poll question, Greg

kinda like y'all, feel like i have tried everything. just got a deckhand and am excited to see how i like it, i think i will. airless is wonderful, the only problem is that when using a penetrating finish it takes a lot of time to get the necessary amount of finish on the wood. Greg, i'll have to try your idea about using the 'cleaning' side of the tip.

here's our drill---since using ready seal at the moment (not sure for how much longer) i dont have to worry about drips. i have a guy be on opposite side of rail from me and hold up tarp and block spray. clamping method is not bad, but you dont stop the overspray at the tops of the rails. we also use 1ml plastic to cover same-story windows, but all homes i work on are brick so i have minimal worries about getting finish on exterior home. on one story deck, will cover grass and plants on outside. one two story deck, will simply mist and wet the plants. (being careful not to get deck wet) we handpaint out 3ft from house, handpaint out 2 planks on the floor. usually will use pump-up on floor because of increased amount of product expenditure. you guys have a great weekend.

jon fife
nashville,TN
(615)837-3663

 

[Deck Works]

Clear Sealer - Pump Sprayer

TownHouse's or Condo's where they are are really close together by Hand unless clear sealer then pump sprayer.

Semi Trans Stain (I use Cuprinol Oil Based) I spray with an airless any vertical surfaces and the floor I spray but back brush with a stain brush.

Over Spray, my biggest Time Killer as I am very anal about protecting customers houses as I think it saves time in the long run. I run Poly on the whole side of the house against the deck. 3 ft up. When Im spraying the rails I have someone hold a canvas drop cloth up.

I like the clamp idea....Im gonna try that.

John

 

[Mike Hughes]

Whoever out there brushes everything.........would you please email me? I have a few questions for you.

mike@evclear.com


Mike Hughes

 

[Clean County]

We use mostly a shurflo sprayer or pump sprayers on decks and an airless sprayer on fences. This is when we are using transparent stains/sealers.

When dealing with solid stains we use mostly the airless sprayer and always do the surfaces with a stain pad. We use brushes when needed.

 

[rvagnoni]

Got a two tone deck to do. White rails and redwood floor. Those of you with experience doing similar. What do you do to mask the floor from the white stain?

 

[Greg Rentschler]

http://www.timberseal.com/dahltorppage.htm

Here is a pic of one we just did.

Mask the floor with 2mil plastic and spray the railings w/ the white. After it sets we pull up the plastic and seal the floor and handrail with Ready Seal. They go pretty quick actually. If we drip on the floor we just sand it out before sealing.

 

[Deck Works]

Greg,
Did you brush the floor after you sprayed the rails white or airless spray it? What about overspray on the white?

John

 

[Mike Hughes]

If you got some overspray on the white, couldn't you just take some white and touch it up? Or would that not look right......

Mike

 

[rvagnoni]

Greg...looks good! What brand of solid white did you use?

 

[Greg Rentschler]

We use Flood Deck & Siding Stain for all solids. If the white is dry the ready seal wipes off easily. We may have to do a few touchups after applying to the floor but they blend right in. I will typically either run plastic up the inside portion of rails or have a guy brush in the first 2-3 inches. Reverse the tip in the airless and apply to the floor. When you reverse the tip to the cleaning side there is NO overspray.

Greg

 

[rvagnoni]

Greg,

Used Sherwin Williams Solid Stain this most recent job. Applied by hand due to the customer's request. Charged heavily for that...believe me. Took ten hours with three men but went pretty well. I am hoping to go back tommorow (Monday) and seal the floor with Ready seal D. Redwood. Seem to be getting more requests for solid stains on decks. I guess people are just getting tired of having their decks sealed every one-two years. I will try and post a picture of the deck when completed.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Deck Works]

Greg,
How do you reverse the tip to the clean side and spray the floor. I am very confused. The cleaning function of the tip is supposed to blow air etc out of the line isn't it?

John

 

[Greg Rentschler]

We use Wagner and Graco Airless Sprayers. Both models have self cleaning reversable tips. One side is for spraying and if you twist it 180 degrees that side is for cleaning the tip. We apply the sealer with the tip turned to the cleanng side. It pumps the sealer on much like a flojet or a pump up sprayer and without any overspray.

 

[Rick - Pro Wash]

Hello All,

I voted for the pump up sprayer, but in reality I don't pump mine. I hate pumping them up and having the flow rate and pressure change as the product level drops. I use a 5 gallon stainless steel pressure can that I have fitted with 50 feet of 1/4" hose, a standard pressure wash trigger gun with 1/4" quick coupler on the output end. I then use a portable CO2 bottle to charge the can at a continuous pressure. The pressure and nozzle size varies with the type of product being used. This rig has no motors, no pumps, no cords and no batteries. It's completely silent. It can put out product from .5 GPM to over 3 GPM, with pressures from 25 PSI to 150 PSI

I am currently using Ready Seal. If it's windy we will brush, but man it's slow compared to spraying.

See ya,
Rick

 

[rvagnoni]

Hey Rick,

Long time buddy. I remember you telling me about that set up years ago. Glad to see you are using Ready seal...so are we. You should post a picture of that sprayer, if you can. Between the homemade surface cleaner and sprayer you just might be able to stop working so hard.

Hope all is well!

 

[dartonviper]

Hey Rick,
What kind of tip do you use with that set up?

 

[Rick - Pro Wash]

Hello Rick,

Yes it's been a while. I've been lurking here all the time. I usually don't take the time to post much. We have expaneded into some new areas and have been busy learning how to deliver what we sell.

I will try to post a picture of the spray rig. It really doesn't look like any special and I do'nt know if it's any better than what others use, but it works well for us.

For high production output (no wind), we generally use a 2507 nozzel at about 90 PSI for "Ready Seal".

See ya,
Rick

 

[Accu-Wash]

To lower overspray in a deckhand, I plumbed in a mini air pressure regulator w/gauge on inlet side of gun(front entry) using small pipe nipple. I use 25-35 psi on floors, 20 psi or less on spindles. This is 3rd year using it for around $20 in cost. Thought it might get damaged from sealers and solvents but not yet. It reduces the amount of masking and saves product. Picked it up at Lowes.