New Construction Staingrade Work

mark_2222

I am new to new construction. I have been a residential repaint company for about 5 or so years now. I have done some staining in my line but not new construction staingrade stuff. Can anyone tell me their procedures for staining yellow pine door and window trim. I was told I need to use a wood conditioner to keep it from blotching but thats as far as I got. Also there is a lot of raw wood to be primed and finish coated. Normally on raw wood I use 123 oil based primer. Is this the easiest thing to use with a lot of raw wood or is there something better? thanx

DavidNTX

Can you prime, sand and apply all but the final coat of finish on the wood before it is installed? That will save you loads of money.

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mark_2222

Actually all of it is already installed. The homeowner did a lot of his own painting and the gc called me in to expedite what the homeowner didn't paint.

Kuba

sounds like

wait till she shows up to you for hrs on end......

NC home owners are worse than residential repaints for sure

DavidNTX

Years ago, almost before my time, we used to use orange shellac on knotty pine. I'm sure you have seen some of that old 50s paneling where this has been done. One thing about pine is that it has a lot of sap or natural oils in it that can bleed through a finish. I would check with your supplier for recomendations. Regular yellow pine shouldn't have any particular problems if it has been kiln dried good. If it is knotty pine then I would suggest sealing it or using orange shellac if that is the color you are shooting for. It is hard to match those old orange shellac on knotty pine finishes with stain. A wash coat of about 10% shellac might help you get a more even finish if you plan to stain the wood. Test a piece and see.

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vandyandsons

sometimes, even conditioning pine won't fully eliminate blotching.

make sure that you apply and wipe the same way for everything. don't change it up as you go. as long as something looks consistent, you'll usually get paid. even if it is consistently imperfect.

experiment on some samples and when you get one approved, do the same thing every time.

mark_2222

So being consistent with my method is key once I have my sample approved. I will do that but would my procedure be to..after the conditioner to putty with a stainable putty all the nail holes and then do 2 coats or 1?

DavidNTX

I would always stain it then use a colored putty. Once puttied use a good wood sealer, sand and a couple of coats of varnish or poly.

I just noticed what I said here and of course you would always seal it before puttying for 2 reasons. To prevent color splotching as noted by waynec and to get the finish color of the grain for matching putty. It always changes to a deeper color when sealed. WHo knows where my head was at the night I posted that.

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mark_2222

That sounds good I will do that. How does that estimating program work?

world llc

use the wood conditioner for sure!!
use rags or lambs wool for aplicator
i use polycrilic for top coat cause it dried fast, 2-3 coats 30 min. apart
use 100% acrilic primer for raw wood
charge extra

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Railman

Mark,
What collor stain are you doing? It makes a big difference. If doing a light color, consider putting some white pigment in the formula. It will slightly hide the grain, but will go on nice & even without a lot of fuss. It also ages nicely.

Most blotching is due to the change in porosity in the wood. Hard areas don't accept pigments well, & end up light, where as open pore areas tend to suck them in, & end up dark. Oils such as linseed oil in stain help, but won't eliminate problem. Some stains are a combination of pigments, & dyes. Pigments are extremely large in size as compared to dye particals & act differently with change in woods poostiy. It makes a difference whats in the stain. Dyes tend to go on more evenly, but are less colorfast.
Joe

waynec

You should not putty until trim is sealed with 1 coat of poly. If not it will leave a colorant residue around nail hole. Then finish coat poly.

mark_2222

Its a dark, reddish stain color that they want.

vandyandsons

Mark,
These are the steps I take.

1) Check wood for any dirt, grease, or oil spots and clean accordingly
2) Condition the pine
3) Apply stain (if it's already installed, I apply with a brush and wipe off with a rag) whatever you do, be consistent with your "set up" time between the time you apply to the time you wipe.
4) Let dry according to the manufacturers recommendations. I always let oil stain dry at least overnight.
5) Apply fast drying sanding sealer, let dry, sand and wipe SWARF off.
6) Apply colored putty to match.
7) Varnish away!

good luck

Kuba

sanding sealer is your friend young jedi

Cache

I'm far from being a painter, but I am a woodworker. Consequently, I've done a fair share of staingrade work. My preference is spraying dye.

Usually, I use Sher-Wood dyes, SW pre-cat vinyl sealer, and SW Hi Bild pre-cat lacquer topcoat. If I need a really tough finish I will switch the top coat to the SW Water White converison varnish. For me, wiping a pigment stain is only for glazing.

My process:

• Sand to 220.
• Wipe with microfiber
• Mist with light, even coats of dye.
  • HVLP for this step with 1.3 tip. Lots of air. Sneak up on the color for the first few pieces.
  • Don't hose it on. VERY light coats, until you get the hang of it.
• Vinyl sealer applied with airless.
  • I only do this with the airless for speed reasons. You have very little control with an airless, but blemishes in the sealer will be sanded out.
  • If you're gonna glaze, might need two coats. Especially on the end grain. Pay attention to wet mil specs.
• Scuff sand with 400grit
• Wipe with microfiber
• Glaze
  • Wipe on heavy; wipe off quick.
• Top Coat
  • One coat for some stuff. Two coats for the abused pieces.

Some will say that this method is slow. The only thing that is slow about it is the HVLP gun is slower than an airless. And gun cleanup is slower than throwing away a wiping rag. But the dyes are ready for sealer immediately after application and the sealer/topcoats only take 5 min to dry for handling, and 10-20min for sanding. You also won't have blotching problems regardless of wood type, and the color will be perfect and even. Heavy areas can be lightly sanded to remove soem dye, and obviously lighter areas can be blended in with the HVLP.